2020 COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, February 19-Saturday, February 22
- Christiansburg Aquatics Center, Christiansburg, Virginia (Eastern Time Zone)
- Defending Champion: James Madison women, William & Mary Men
- Live Video (requires subscription)
- Live Results
- Championship Central
The final day of competition at the 2020 CAA Swimming and Diving Championships saw the James Madison University women come away with their 3rd-straight title, and the William & Mary men win their 6th in a row.
Women’s Recap
JMU only had a 4 point lead over the William & Mary women coming into the day, but rolled up the points in a couple key events to eventually win by nearly 90 points. The Dukes kicked off the final session by sweeping the top three spots in the 1650, led by Julianna Jones’ 16:21.24. Jones won by nearly 30 seconds for her second individual title of the meet, to go along with her 500 victory on Thursday.
That was the only individual win of the day for JMU, but they racked up big points in other events, including the 1m diving event, where they put five women into the A-final, and then they wrapped up the session with a 3:22.68 victory in the 400 free relay, with Bonnie Zhang splitting 48.46, the fastest split in the field.
Three women from other schools each earned their second victory of the meet on the final day. Drexel’s Alexa Kutch swept the backstrokes with 1:55.85 win the 200 back, winning by roughly 2.5 seconds. Drexel’s Gab Rudy out dueled W&M’s Megan Bull, 2:14.54 to 2:14.62, in the 200 breast, giving her the breaststroke sweep. Towson’s Megan Cowan won the 200 fly in 1:58.68 to go along with her victory in the 200 IM on Thursday. Northeastern’s Megan Clark was the final individual winner, taking the 100 free in 48.67.
Women ‘s Final Scores
1. James Madison – 676.5
2. William & Mary – 592
3. Towson – 527
4. Drexel – 427
5. Delaware – 375
6. UNCW 299.5
7. Northeastern – 236
Women’s Award Winners
- Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet: Gab Rudy, Drexel
- Most Outstanding Diver of the Meet: Hope Byrum, James Madison
- Swimming Coach of the Year: Pablo Marmolejo, Delaware
- Diving Coach of the Year: John Wolsh, James Madison
Men’s Recap
The William & Mary Tribe won four events on the final day of competition, en route to their 6th-straight CAA championship. W&M lost head coach Matt Crispino to Princeton last summer, but the team didn’t seem to miss a beat under new head coach Nate Kellogg, who was named Coach of the Year.
W&M opened up the day with a win in the 1650, where senior Chris Balbo won by nearly 10 second with a time of 15:32.38. He had previously won the 500 free on Thursday.
Senior Colin Wright swept the sprint freestyle events for the second year in a row, winning the 100 free in 42.19 after going 42.01 in prelims. Wright is the fastest man CAA history in both events, and is in line to become W&M’s first male swimmer at the NCAA championships since the 1960s.
Another senior, Ben Skopic, earned his third win of the meet with a 1:58.79 as the only man to break 2:00 in finals. Skopic swept the IMs the previous two days to go along with his final win on Saturday.
The Tribe put the icing on the cake by going out with CAA record in the 400 free relay, where Wright, Christopher Pfuhl, Jack Doherty, and Ian Thompson combined for a 2:54.07. W&M ended up winning the team title by 83.5 points despite not having any divers.
Drexel senior Jason Arthur won the 200 back in a conference record time of 1:43.88, going 4-4 in that event through his college career. Drexel also got a win in the 200 fly, where Paris Raptis outlasted Towson’s Nick McClure to win 1:45.53 to 1:45.71.
Men’s Final Scores
1. William & Mary – 874.5
2. UNCW – 781
3. Drexel – 601
4. Towson – 531.5
5. Delaware – 314
Men’s Award Winners
- Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet: Colin Wright, William & Mary
- Most Outstanding Diver of the Meet: Kolbein Bjugan, UNCW
- Swimming Coach of the Year: Nate Kellogg, William & Mary
- Diving Coach of the Year: Beau Bunn, UNCW
Great performance by the Tribe! Awesome team!