The William & Mary women's swimming team set itself up for an exciting final night at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships, advancing 18 swimmers (including the 1,650 free) to finals in the midst of a tight race for the team title. After the morning prelims in four swimming events and one diving event, projected scores show James Madison back in the lead with 548 points, while the Tribe is second at 517 points and Towson third with 468.5 points.
200 Back
- Freshman
Sonora Baker (Mechanicsville, Va.) has been on a tear in the backstroke events this week, and earned the third seed in tonight's championship finals with a lifetime-best 1:59.42. That was the 15th-fastest race in school history, and lifts Baker all the way up to fourth all-time among Tribe athletes.
- W&M also had three more lifetime-bests, including to sophomore
Tara Tiernan (West Hartford, Conn.) and freshman
Ellie Henry (Southern Pines, N.C.) who made the championship finals. Tiernan swam 2:00.49 for fifth overall, and to rank fifth in school history, while Henry was sixth in the prelims at 2:00.57. That places her seventh all-time among W&M athletes.
- Another rookie,
Anna Kenna (Chantilly, Va.) advanced to the consolation finals as the top seed, after finishing ninth overall in prelims at 2:01.66. Kenna now ranks 11th all-time at W&M in the event.
100 Free
- All four of the Tribe's entries in the 100 free advanced to the consolation finals, led by freshman
Missy Cundiff (Leesburg, Va.) who was ninth overall in 51.03 seconds. That was a lifetime-best, and ranks Cundiff tied for 11th all-time among Tribe athletes.
- Right behind her in 10th place was senior
Katie Sell (Fredericksburg, Va.), who swam a season-fast 51.10 seconds.
- Freshman
Inez Olszewski (New York, N.Y.) turned in her fifth lifetime-best in as many races with a 12th-place time of 51.50 seconds, and improved to 14th all-time at W&M in the event.
- Senior
Annie Miller (Houston, Texas) rounded out the qualifiers, stopping the clock in 51.97 seconds for 16th overall.
200 Breast
- Senior
Claire Williams (Apex, N.C.) was the silver medalist in the 200 breast in 2017, and she'll have a chance to duplicate or improve that finish this year after advancing to the championship finals. Williams swam 2:17.79 for fifth place overall in the prelims.
- Advancing to the consolation finals was junior
Lauren Freeman (Fairfax Station, Va.), who was 13th overall in 2:21.50 as well as sophomore
Diana Tramontano (Greenwich, Conn.) who took 15th in 2:21.61.
200 Fly
- Senior
Maria Oceguera (New Rochelle, N.Y.) will take a shot at the CAA title in the 200 fly, advancing to the championship finals after placing second in prelims at 2:01.67. She'll be joined in the top heat by junior
Julia Bland (Sea Girt, N.J.), already with a pair of silver medals in the IM events this week, who swam a season-best 2:04.00 to place eighth overall.
- Freshmen
Gabby Zhang (Ashburn, Va.) and
Rebecca Rogers (Richmond, Va.) both reached the consolation finals after nearly identical times. Zhang swam 2:04.20 for 10th place, with Rogers very close behind in 2:04.22 for 11th.
The finals of all four events, as well as the 1,650 free, 1-meter diving, and the 400 free relay, begins tonight at 6 p.m. The meet is being streamed live and for free on CAA.TV.
2019 CAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships
Projected Team Standings After Saturday Prelims
1. James Madison 548
2. William & Mary 517
3. Towson 468.5
4. Drexel 337.5
5. UNCW 324.5
6. Northeastern 269.5
7. Delaware 242
