The 2020 Colonial Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championships began tonight in Blacksburg, VA. The CAA is comprised of seven women’s teams and five men’s teams. The William & Mary men are looking for their 6th-straight conference title, while the women of James Madison are shooting for a “three-peat.” Competitions tonight include the men’s and women’s 200 medley relays and 800 free relays, and the 1m men’s diving finals.
Women’s 200 Medley Relay
The Drexel Dragons kicked off the meet with a victory and a new conference and meet record. Alexa Kutch (24.97), Gab Rudy (27.09) Hollie Hopf (24.56) and Lera Nasedkina (22.64) combined to swim a 1:39.26. Finishing in a tight battle for second and third were William & Mary and Towson, respectively. UNCW finished fourth, followed by James Madison and Delaware. Northeastern, which originally finished second, was disqualified.
Men’s 200 Medley Relay
William & Mary started their quest for six straight with a strong first-place finish here. Colin Demers (21.17), Ian Bidwell (24.30), Jack Doherty (20.60), and Ian Thompson (19.45) dominated this race, winning by 2.5 seconds and setting new conference and meet records. UNCW held off a hard-charging anchor leg from Towson to take second. Drexel came in fourth, with Delaware taking fifth.
Men’s 1m Diving
Kolbein Bjugan, a freshman for UNCW, grabbed the Seahawks their first win of the meet, taking first with a total score of 285.45. He finished well clear of Will Canny from Towson (275.95) and his Seahawk teammate Brett Palo (272.55). UNCW divers made up half of the championship final, placing 1,3,5,8 to score big points early in the meet. Defending team champion William & Mary does not field a diving team, so the four other squads will have an advantage over them on the boards.
Women’s 800 Free Relay
The Tribe of William and Mary took the victory in the relay, with Megan Bull (1:47.59), Inez Olszewski (1:50.20), Katie Stevenson (1:48.55), and Tara Tiernan (1:49.08) swimming in at 7:15.42. James Madison took second in 7:17.66, anchored by Bonnie Zhang‘s field-best 1:46.53. Towson came in third, followed by Delaware, UNCW, Drexel, and Northeastern.
Men’s 800 Free Relay
The William & Mary men won their second relay of the night, downing the conference and meet records in 6:26.86. Their team was made up of Christopher Pfuhl (1:37.45), Colin Wright (1:33.96), Graham Hertweck (1:38.13), and Ben Skopic (1:37.32). Drexel took second in 6:33.53, followed by UNCW, Towson, and Delaware.
Women’s Team Scores:
- William & Mary – 74
- Drexel – 66
- Towson – 64
- James Madison – 62
- UNCW – 58
- Delaware – 56
- Northeastern – 26
Men’s Team Scores:
- UNCW – 134
- Towson – 92
- Drexel – 91
- William & Mary – 80
- Delaware – 65
Prelims for Day 2 will begin tomorrow at 10:00 am EST.
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Ivy Mangum I see a little Maddi action there! ??
Jodi Marston Mueller Aww! It was fun!?