William and Mary junior Megan Howard (McLean, Va.) began the spring as she finished the fall, winning Colonial Athletic Association Swimmer of the Week honors.
Howard was honored Tuesday for the fourth time this season, after leading the Tribe to a pair of dual-meet victories last weekend.
Howard was a perfect 6-6 in her races against Davidson and Richmond, winning all three individual efforts as well as all three relays. In a quiet day’s work against Davidson on Saturday, she won the 100 back in a lifetime-best 57.76 seconds, and led-off the 200 free relay to a pool and dual-meet record time of 1:34.84. As well, her lead-off of 23.33 broke the Tribe’s dual-meet record in the 50 free, bettering the time of 23.36 set by Katie Radloff ’10 in 2010.
Howard had a busier day Sunday at Richmond, leading W&M to its first win over the Spiders since 2010. In the first event of the day, the 200 medley relay, she dove in on the anchor more than two body-length’s behind, but had made up most of it by the turn and completed her charge down the homestretch to claim the win in 1:45.67. Howard then swept the 50 free, in 23.47, and the 100 free, in 51.33 which was a dual-meet best for the junior. Coming into the final 400 free relay, Richmond held a 139-138 lead, and the winner of the event would win the meet. Howard led-off the relay with a 51.48, putting W&M comfortably in front and enabling her teammates to set another dual-meet record in 3:28.69. Howard now has 22 victories on the season with at least three meets left, the most for any Tribe swimmer since 2009-10.
William and Mary is off this weekend, before returning to the Rec Center pool on Saturday, Jan. 25, with the Senior Day meet against Old Dominion. The meet against the Monarchs is worth 10 points in the Optima Health Challenge, the year-long challenge between W&M and ODU, and will also mark the final home meet for seniors Jen Bentley (Jamestown, N.Y.),Sara Shaner (Clarendon Hills, Ill.), and Devin Henry (Roanoke, Va.).
Billy Russell Earns Second CAA Swimming Award for Tribe Men
William and Mary sophomore Billy Russell (Newport News, Va.) was honored for the second time this season on Tuesday, winning Colonial Athletic Association Swimmer of the Week honors again. He was also featured during the fall season after the Tribe’s match against Duke.
In W&M’s win over Davidson Saturday at the Rec Center, Russell won both of his individual events with dual-meet bests, and also anchored the 200 free relay to victory.
First in the 50 free, he easily out-paced the field in 20.81 seconds, just a quarter-second off of the pool record and only .05 seconds away from his lifetime-best. He came back five events later to lead a sweep of the 100 fly with a lifetime-best 51.36 performance, and closed out the meet by anchoring the 200 free relay to a time of 1:25.59. Russell now has 13 wins on the year, second on the team and light years ahead of the single victory he managed as a freshman in 2012-13.
William and Mary has this weekend off before hosting Old Dominion on Saturday, Jan. 25. The meet against the Monarchs is worth 10 points in the Optima Health Challenge, the yearlong challenge between W&M and ODU, and will also mark the final home meet for seniors Andrew Strait (Henrico, Va.), Tyler Poling (Morristown, N.J.), and John Rittenhouse (London, England).
