RICHMOND, Va. - William & Mary's Claire Williams was named the winner of the Colonial Athletic Association Leadership and Sport Excellence Award for women's swimming on Tuesday.
 
The award mirrors the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award, which is presented in men's and women's basketball, and the Chuck Boone Leadership Award, which is presented in football. One student-athlete was chosen from each of the 19 other sports sponsored by the CAA for embodying the highest standards of leadership, integrity, teamwork and sportsmanship in his or her academic and athletic achievements. The winners are voted on by the CAA's Faculty Athletic Representatives.
 
Earlier this year, Williams was selected as the 2018-19 CAA Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She graduated with a double major in psychology and Hispanic studies while sporting a 3.95 GPA. Williams was one of 40 total W&M seniors to get be honored with the Ewell Award at graduation. In December, she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most prestigious academic honor society, and she is also a member of the Psi Chi National Honor Society in psychology and the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society.
 
Williams is a four-time recipient of the W&M Provosts' Award (GPA over 3.5) and Monroe Scholar, and also serves as the swimming representative for W&M's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  Williams has been a volunteer with Camp Kesem since 2016, an annual summer camp for children whose parents are fighting cancer, serving as a member of the executive board for training and fundraising each of the last two years in addition to counseling at the camp every summer.

Williams placed fifth in the 200 breaststroke (2:17.90) and 10th in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.56) at the 2019 CAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championship, helping the Tribe earn a second-place team finish.  She received all-conference accolades in 2017 following a second-place performance in the 200 breast at the CAA Championship and has been a finalist at the conference meet eight times in her career across her three events (200 breast, 100 breast and 200 IM). The Tribe has won two CAA team titles during her career and finished runner-up the other two years. Williams was an NCAA provisional qualifier in the 200 breast in 2017, breaking the W&M school record that had stood since 2002, and in 2016 set the still-standing record in the 100m breast in a summer long-course meet.

Williams will pursue her doctorate in psychology at Indiana University in Bloomington.