Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) – Men and Women
- Dates: Wednesday, February 25–Saturday, February 28
- Location: Hampton Aquaplex, Hampton, VA
- Defending Champions: UNC-Wilmington women (3x); UNC-Wilmington men (4x)
- Live Results
- Live Video: FloCollege
- Schedule of Events (PDF)
- Championship Central
- SwimSwam Fan Guide
- Teams: Campbell (women), Drexel, Monmouth, Northeastern (women), Stony Brook (women), Towson, UNC-Wilmington, William & Mary
The final week of NCAA conference action is upon us, and over in Hampton, Virginia, the University of North Carolina Wilmington women wasted no time before altering the Colonial Athletic Association conference record books.
The foursome of Maeren McGonigal (25.23), Gil Shaw (27.65), Cameron Snowden (22.80), and Alex Tysinger (22.15) smashed the CAA conference and meet record in the women’s 200 medley with a cumulative effort of 1:37.83. This time downed the 1:38.48 that rival William and Mary set one year prior.
The middle two legs swum by seniors Shaw and Snowden proved most essential to the win. They were the only sub-28 breaststroke and sub-23 butterfly splits in the competitive field.
In their own right, the Tribe women also got under their old conference by .01 record to reap runner-up. From last year’s line-up, William and Mary retained backstroker Julie Addison and anchor Caroline Burgeson, who both produced field-leading splits on their respective legs tonight. Addison fired off a 24.61 backstroke, and Burgeson brought the Williamsburg-based school home in 21.78. Joining them in the middle were Lindsay Jublin on breast and Lauren Klinefelter on fly.
After the women set off fireworks in their first event, they turned the pool over to the men. With two freshmen on their squad, Drexel emerged at the top of a close three-way race with UNCW and Towson in 1:25.82. With a .05 reaction start and 19.43 overall split, first-year Declan Egger ran down UNCW and Towson’s anchors to bring Drexel to a final time of 1:25.82. Joining Egger on top were his teammates Theo Andreopoulos (21.98 bk), Mark Eszes (24.29 br), and Sebastian Smith (20.12 fl).
Despite being outsplit by Drexel on three out of four legs, the UNCW Seahawk men finished only .08 behind the victors. Their 1:25.90 effort was highlighted by a blazing 23.45 breaststroke split from William Carrico.
Towson was close behind the Seahawks with a 1:26.09. UNCW and Towson’s divers then avenged the teams’ narrow losses with one NCAA A cut each in the men’s 1 meter diving (Sam Tennell for Towson, Etan Ferguson for UNCW).
Then, it was back to the pool for the 800 free relays. William & Mary handily emerged atop of the women’s field, while the men’s race went to UNCW. The Tribe women posted a result of 7:14.30, electing the foursome of Ellie Hunt, Flynn Truskett, Haley Lehman, and Tess Lankford to get the job done. Towson finished second in 7:17.21, but they boasted the fields fastest split in 1:47.32, courtesy of Addie Scott. Lehman, a freshman, was only .01 slower for William & Mary.
The Seakhawks topped the last podium of the night with a 6:24.66 in the men’s 800 relay. Like in the medley relay, William Carrico was the star of the show with a 1:34.21 split on the second leg, the field’s fastest. Joining him were Nathan Jao, Will Spencer, and Jack Haywood. Depth kept second-place Towson within arms reach of the victors, posting a time of 6:25.37. In a stunning blow to the team race, William and Mary disqualified in this event.
Men’s Rankings Through Day 1
- University of North Carolina W 133
- Towson University 113
- Drexel University 100
- Monmouth University 58
- William and Mary 30
Women’s Rankings Through Day 1
- William and Mary 120
- University of North Carolina W 116
- Towson University 110
- Drexel University 106
- Northeastern University 100
- Campbell University 94
- Stony Brook University 94
- Monmouth University 88
