The William & Mary women's swimming team continued to take care of business at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships on Friday morning, qualifying a conference-best 18 women to this evening's finals, including nine to the championship finals.  Those performances allowed the Tribe to narrow the gap on James Madison in the unofficial and projected team standings, down to just 25.5 points (347 to 321.5).

400 Individual Medley
Starting things off was the 400 IM, where senior Julia Bland (Sea Girt, N.J.) earned the top seed for tonight's finals with a time of 4:22.99.  That was the 14th-fastest race ever for W&M.  She was joined in the championship heat by freshman Grace Tramack (Palo Alto, Calif.), fourth in a lifetime-best 4:24.08, which lifted Tramack up to ninth all-time among Tribe athletes.  W&M also had three women make the consolation finals, led by sophomore Rebecca Rogers (Richmond, Va.) who was 11th in 4:28.77.  Freshman Elizabeth Intihar (Columbus, Ohio) was right behind her in 4:29.10 for 12th overall, and her classmate Kim Jogis (Larchmont, N.Y.) rounded out the qualifiers in 13th place, timing 4:30.08.

100 Butterfly
In the 100 fly, freshman Maura Graff (Henrico, Va.) continued her impressive offseason with yet another lifetime-best, and placed fourth overall in 55.31.  That improved her to 10th all-time in school history.  Junior Madeline High (Raleigh, N.C.) was just off her collegiate-best time, placing seventh in 55.55 seconds, and sophomore Missy Cundiff (Leesburg, Va.) gave the Tribe three in the championship heat with her eighth-place lifetime-best of 56.00 seconds.  Cundiff now ranks 14th all-time among W&M athletes.

200 Freestyle
W&M picked up four more qualifiers in the 200 free, with a pair making each finals heat.  Into the championship final is junior Megan Bull (Hillsborough, N.J.), second overall in 1:48.12 which was the fifth-fastest single race ever for W&M.  She'll be joined in the top flight by sophomore Inez Olszewski (New York, N.Y.), who swam a lifetime-best 1:49.88 for seventh overall, and to improve to 10th among Tribe athletes.  Freshman Katie Stevenson (Wilton, Conn.) made the consolation finals in 10th place, swimming a collegiate-best 1:50.87 to rank 15th all-time at W&M, and junior Tara Tiernan (West Hartford, Conn.) was right behind her in 1:51.02 for 11th place.

100 Breaststroke
In the 100 breast, freshman Annie Tuttle (Alexandria, Va.) cruised to an impressive time of 1:03.07, breaking W&M's freshman record that had stood since 2015.  That was the third-fastest single race ever at W&M, and ranks the rookie second all-time among Tribe athletes.  Tuttle placed fifth overall in the prelims, earning a spot in tonight's championship final.  Her classmate Brooke Lamoureux (Virginia Beach, Va.) also advanced, placing 12th in a season-best 1:04.48 for a spot in the consolation final alongside senior Lauren Freeman (Fairfax Station, Va.) who was 14th overall in a season-best 1:04.98.

100 Backstroke
The final event of the morning was the 100 back, where sophomore Anna Kenna (Chantilly, Va.) is seeded third overall in the championship finals.  Kenna swam 54.96 in the prelims, tied for the 16th-fastest race ever at W&M.  Sophomore Sonora Baker (Mechanicsville, Va.) is the top seed in the consolation finals, ninth overall, after swimming 56.69 seconds, and the junior High qualified for the consolation finals in her second event of the day, placing 15th in 57.33 seconds.

The finals of all five events, as well as the 400 medley relay, begin tonight at 6 p.m.

2020 Colonial Athletic Association Women's Swimming & Diving Championships
Unofficial and Projected Team Standings (after Friday prelims)
1. James Madison 347
2. William & Mary 321.5
3. Towson 291
4. Delaware 228.5
5. Drexel 223
6. UNCW 184
7. Northeastern 123