JMU Women, William & Mary Men Hold Early Leads after First Day of CAA Swimming and Diving Championships

JMU Women, William & Mary Men Hold Early Leads after First Day of CAA Swimming and Diving Championships

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FAIRFAX, Va. (Feb. 27, 2013) - James Madison collected two individual victories and holds a 17-point lead over Towson after day one of the 2013 CAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championship. On the men's side, William & Mary holds a small four-point advantage on 11-time defending champion UNCW after picking up a win in the 800 freestyle relay.

The Dukes kicked off the championship by setting a new meet record in the 200 yard medley relay. The team of Caroline Burns, Andrea Criscuolo, Sin Hye Won, and Susanne Gingher posted a time of 1:43.71 in the event  to pick up 40 points and knocked off the previous record by a mere two tenths of a second. Senior diver Kimberly Helfrich netted JMU 20 points by picking up the win on the three-meter dive. Helfrich tallied 327 points while runner up Lyndsey Dickson of Towson collected 276.20 points.

In the women's 800 freestyle relay the Towson team of Caroline Hodgins, Kaitlin Burke, Charlotte Holz, and Melanie Rowland picked up the victory after posting a time of 7:14.76. The James Madison team of Kelsey Holmgaard, Anna Susko, Morgan Johnson, and Aimee Hooper took home second place honors with a time of 7:16.31.

Records fell in both men's events today as William & Mary's Kemp Pettyjohn, Taegan Clarke, Andrew Strait, and Hunter Perrot earned the Tribe 40 points after posting a 6:32.80 to take top honors in the men's 800 freestyle relay and set a new meet record. The team bested the previous record by over three seconds.

The Seahawk men made their presence felt as well by setting a new meet record in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:27.40. The team of Valtteri Halonen, CJ Faila, Stephen Conrad, and Joe Gallene knocked off the old record by over a second to earn UNCW 40 points.

The teams will return to the water tomorrow for day two of the championship. Scheduled events in the pool include the men's and women's 50, 200, and 500 freestyle events. On the boards will be the men's one-meter diving.

 For full coverage of the 2013 CAA Swimming and Diving championships including daily recaps, highlights, live results, and official program please visit the Championship Central page. Fans not in attendance at the championship can watch all the finals of all the events live and for free on CAA.TV.