William and Mary Men, Women Emerge Victorious at CAA Championships

Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) – Men and Women

• Wednesday, February 24 – Saturday, February 27, 2016
• Richmond, VA (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending champion: William & Mary men; Towson women (3x) (results)
• Live results: Available here
• Live video: Available here
• On demand video: Diving Day 1 │ Diving Day 2 │ Swim Day 1
• Championship Central

Complete results

William and Mary walked away with their 2nd-consecutive men’s title and first women’s CAA conference championship since 2007, but it was a close contest that could have gone in any number of directions throughout the meet, and especially on the final day of competition.

1650 Yard Freestyle

1. Morgan Smith, William and Mary, 16:36.86
2. Hannah Snyder, Towson, 16:44.18
3. Ashley Illenye, Towson, 16:46.98

Freshman Morgan Smith of William and Mary walked away with the 1650 title in 16:36.86. Towson senior Hannah Snyder was runner-up in 16:44.18, ahead of her teammate, freshman Ashley Illenye (16:46.98).

1. Conrad Zamparello, William and Mary, 15:31.99
2. Alex Tooley, Delaware, 15:38.26
3. Cory Camp, Delaware, 15:39.24

The mile, which used to be a Towson stronghold, was more evenly representative of the whole CAA cast of characters this year. Conrad Zamparello took home the gold with 15:31.99; he was followed by Delaware teammates Alex Tooley (15:38.26) and Cory Camp (15:39.24). Zamparello was 13.5 seconds faster than his 12th-place finish from 2015. The first Towson miler this year was freshman Will Dougherty at fourth, in 15:39.86.

200 Yard Backstroke

1. Sophie Rittenhouse, William and Mary, 1:56.95
2. Natalie Obando, Towson, 1:57.69
3. MaryElizabeth Warhol, James Madison, 1:58.24

William and Mary’s Sophie Rittenhouse, who set a meet and conference record in the 100 back on Friday, added a gold in the 200 back to her medal count, winning with 1:56.95. Towson freshman Natalie Obando, who led the field at the halfway mark, came in second with 1:57.69. James Madison junior MaryElizabeth Warhol was third to the wall with 1:58.24.

1. Will Manion, William and Mary, 1:45.19
2. Dominic Breschi, Towson, 1:45.48
3. Alex Henderson, William and Mary, 1:46.74

Will Manion of William and Mary successfully defended his 2015 title in the 200 back but fell short of the meet and CAA record (1:44.13) he set last year, stopping the clock this time with 1:45.19. Towson junior Dominic Breschi improved on his fifth-place finish from last year with a 1:45.48 for runner-up. Alex Henderson of William and Mary took third in 14:6.74, a vast improvement from his eight-place showing a year ago.

100 Yard Freestyle

1. Jaimie Miller, William and Mary, 49.55
2. Morgan Whyte, Delaware, 49.85
3. Kristen Zielinski, James Madison 50.10

The names were familiar but in a different order: Jaimie Miller, last year’s runner-up, edged Morgan Whyte, last year’s winner; for the 2016 in the women’s 100 free. William and Mary junior Miller got to the wall just in front of defending champ, senior Whyte of Delaware, 49.55 to 49.85. James Madison senior Kristen Zielinski rounded out the podium with 50.10.

1. Joel Berryman, Drexel, 43.56
2. Billy Russell, William and Mary, 44.73
3. Nicholas Badsky, Delaware, 44.81

Drexel senior Joel Berryman did a lot to keep Drexel in the hunt for second place this weekend, and his win in the men’s 100 free may turn out to have been pivotal. Berryman broke the meet record by 1/100 with 43.56. Billy Russell of William and Mary came to the wall second with 44.73, just ahead of Delaware’s Nicholas Badsky (44.81).

200 Yard Breaststroke

1. Rachel Bernhardt, Drexel, 2:10.89
2. Jenna Van Camp, Towson, 2:13.11
3. Katie Parker, James Madison, 2:13.16

Drexel junior Rachel Berhnardt completed her sweep of breaststroke events with a win in the 200 on Saturday. The 2015 runner-up in this event, Bernhardt clocked a 2:10.89 to win by 2.3 seconds. Defending champion, Towson senior Jenna Van Camp, went 2:13.11 to place second, just .05 ahead of James Madison’s Katie Parker.

1. Jeremiah O’Donnell, William and Mary, 1:57.36
2. Will Ryan, UCNW, 1:59.69
3. Joseph Brown, Drexel, 2:00.50

In nearly the same podium finish as a year ago, William and Mary’s Jeremiah O’Donnell led the finalists in the men’s 200 breast. O’Donnell stopped the clock at 1:57.36 this year, 3/100 faster than his winning time from 2015. Will Ryan of UNC Wilmington was second in 1:59.69, about a half-second off his third-place finish from a year ago. Drexel freshman Joseph Brown came in third with 2:00.50. Missing from the podium was last year’s runner-up, Josh Zimmt of William and Mary; he was DQd for a one-hand touch infraction in finals.

200 Yard Butterfly

1. Jessie Ustjanauskas, William and Mary, 1:58.74
2. Delaney Lanker, Northeastern, 2:01.38
3. Abby Mack, William and Mary, 2:01.94

2015 runner-up, senior Jessie Ustjanauskas of William and Mary, went 1:58.74 to win the women’s 200 fly in the only sub-2:00 in the field. Delaney Lanker of Northeastern, who finished tenth last year, made great strides with her 3-second improvement for runner-up (2:01.38). William and Mary’s Abby Mack placed third for the second year in a row; this time with 2:01.94.

1. Jack Saunderson, Towson, 1:45.02
2. Tommy Kealy, William and Mary, 1:46.59
3. Kyle Lukens, Drexel, 1:46.65

Towson freshman Jack Saunderson earned a CAA title in the men’s 200 fly with a 1:45.02. Tommy Kealy of William and Mary clipped Kyle Lukens of Drexel, 1:46.59 to 1:46.65, to grab the silver medal.

400 Yard Free Relay

1. James Madison, 3:20.51
2. Delaware, 3:22.31
3. William and Mary, 3:23.56

James Madison came within 6/100 of the meet and championship record in the women’s 400 free relay with Kristen Zielinski (49.87), Carli Molano (50.42), Camilla Czulada (49.97), and Quinn MacMillan (50.25). Their 3:20.51 beat the field by two seconds, as Delaware finished second in 3:22.31 and William and Mary took third in 3:23.56.

1. William and Mary, 2:57.23
2. Delaware, 2:59.71
3. Drexel, 3:00.02

William and Mary closed out the meet with a decisive victory in the men’s 400 free relay from Joseph Eiden (44.38), Kyle Neri (44.28), Manion (44.65), Billy Russell (43.92), who combined for 2:57.23. Delaware came in second with 2:59.71; Drexel rounded out the podium with 3:00.02.

Final Scores – Women

1. William and Mary, 731.50
2. James Madison University,681.50
3. Towson University, 515.50
4. University of Delaware, 458
5. Northeastern University, 422.50
6. University of North Carolina, Wilmington, 278
7. Drexel University, 258

Final Scores – Men

1. William and Mary, 969.50
2. Drexel University, 572
3. Towson University, 533
4. University of Delaware, 502
5. University of North Carolina, Wilmington, 429.50