The William & Mary women's swimming team had a strong first prelim session at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships on Thursday morning, advancing 11 swimmers to the finals including six in the championship heats.  Both those numbers are the most for any team, as are the Tribe's five consolation finalists.  In the unofficial and projected team standings, W&M continues to lead the team race with 145 points, ahead of Towson in second with 122 points and James Madison in third, with 111 points.

500 Free
First up was the 500 free, where junior Megan Bull (Hillsborough, N.J.), the two-time reigning champion, returned to the championship finals in a season-fast time of 4:50.12.  That's the sixth-fastest time in school history, and earned Bull the number-two seed in the finals.  Also making the championship heat was freshman Elizabeth Intihar (Columbus, Ohio), who swam a lifetime-best 4:55.03 for seventh overall.  That time lifts Intihar into 12th in program history among Tribe athletes.  Advancing to the consolation finals was junior Tara Tiernan (West Hartford, Conn.), ninth in 4:55.66, as well as senior Norah Hunt (Stuarts Draft, Va.), who swam 4:58.52 for 13th overall.

200 Individual Medley
Next was the 200 IM, and another two championship qualifiers for the Tribe.  Freshman Maura Graff (Henrico, Va.) timed a lifetime-best 2:04.57 for fifth overall and her first "A" final qualification, just ahead of senior Julia Bland (Sea Girt, N.J.), the runner-up in this event a year ago, who tied for sixth overall in 2:05.04.  Graff's time improved her to 10th in school history among Tribe athletes.  Freshman Peyton Proffitt (Richmond, Va.) made the "B" finals in 2:06.66, advancing in 15th place overall.

50 Free
The last event of the morning was the 50 free, and W&M's swimmers came through with four more finals spots.  Sophomore Missy Cundiff (Leesburg, Va.) remained undefeated this season with her 12th win in the 50 free, and earned the top seed for tonight's finals in a lifetime-best 22.56 seconds.  That was an NCAA provisional qualifier for Cundiff, who now ranks fourth all-time among W&M athletes, and her race was tied for the 11th-fastest ever for the Tribe.  Freshman Katie Stevenson (Wilton, Conn.) had a lifetime-best of her own in 23.46 seconds, and also made the championship finals.  She now ranks 13th in school history.  Sophomores Inez Olszewski (New York, N.Y.) and Sonora Baker (Mechanicsville, Va.) both made the consolation finals, Olszewski in a lifetime-best 23.77 for 15th overall and Baker in 23.81 for 16th place.  Senior Lauren Freeman (Fairfax Station, Va.) also had a lifetime-best in the event, swimming 24.87 seconds, but did not advance.

The finals of all three events, as well as the 200 free relay and the 3-meter diving, begins tonight at 6 p.m.

2020 Colonial Athletic Association Women's Swimming & Diving Championships
Unofficial Projected Team Scores (after Thursday Prelims)
1. William & Mary 145
2. Towson 122
3. James Madison 111
4. Delaware 103
5. Drexel 91
6. UNCW 83
7. Northeastern 37