After a spectacular performance last winter, William and Mary's Director of Swimming Matt Crispino '02 put together another demanding 2012-13 schedule to challenge the Tribe women's swimming program to even greater heights.  The Green and Gold returns 18 swimmers from last year's squad that went 8-5 and 4-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association before finishing a strong fourth at the conference championships.  Crispino and his staff have also brought in one of the strongest recruiting classes of 10 swimmers in school history, in anticipation of the Tribe continuing to climb the conference and national ladders.

The season begins on Saturday, Oct. 6, with the College hitting the road to take on CAA-foe Towson at 1 p.m.  While W&M leads the series 9-7 overall, the Tigers have been on a tear recently with six wins in the last seven meetings.  Towson was 10-1 and 5-0 in the league in 2011-12, before finishing second at the conference meet.   The first of six home meets comes the following Friday, with the Tribe hosting Mary Washington at 5 p.m. in the Rec Center Natatorium.  W&M has won all 14 of its match-ups with the D-III Eagles, including last season when UMW won its 22nd consecutive CAC Championship.

Two weeks later, on Friday, Oct. 26, the Tribe will host Richmond for Homecoming at 6 p.m.  The two teams have split the last four meetings, with Richmond winning the last two.  In 2011-12, the Spiders were 4-7 and won the Atlantic 10 for the 10th time in 11 years.  The following weekend, Nov. 3-4, the Tribe will be back on the road competing in the CAA Pod Meet at Delaware.  In addition to the Blue Hens, the College will also take on UNCW and defending CAA Champ James Madison in the two-day meet, which will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and resume at 11 a.m. on Sunday.  W&M fell to JMU in last year's Pod Meet at George Mason, 204-141, but beat Delaware on Senior Day in Williamsburg, 177-85.  The Tribe hasn't faced the Seahawks of UNCW in the regular season since 2009-10, but won two of the last three in the series.  Last winter, the Dukes were 13-2 and 4-0 in the CAA before capturing their first conference title since 2001.  Delaware was eighth at the CAA Championships after a 6-4 (2-4) regular season, and UNCW finished third at the conference meet after going 10-6 and 2-1 in dual meets.

The final tune-up before the fall invitational will come at home against East Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 10, at 1 p.m.  Last year's meet was one of the tightest in years, with just 14 points separating the Tribe from the Pirates, and without diving and the 32 points ECU picked up in those events, W&M looks to be in line for its first win in the series since 1988.  East Carolina finished the year 8-2, and took third at the C-USA meet.  The entire fall schedule is a run-up to the Hokie Fall Invitational, Nov. 15-17 in Christiansburg, Va.  The three-day prelim/final meet will give the Tribe a valuable try-out of the same schedule it'll face at the CAA Championships.  W&M will also sneak in one more dual meet before the winter exams and holiday break, hosting Georgetown for the first time in five years on Saturday, Dec. 1, at 1 p.m.  The Hoyas were 4-7 last year, and finished ninth at the Big East Championships.

Coming off the holidays and winter training, the 2013 portion of the schedule opens with a home meet against Matt Salerno's '03 Howard Bison on Jan. 12, at 1 p.m.  Howard was 3-13 last year, and finished 10th in the CCSA.  A return trip to Christiansburg comes one week later on Saturday, Jan. 19, with the Tribe taking on Virginia Tech and Miami at 11 a.m.  The Hokies went 8-3 last year and took fourth at the ACC Championships, with a 148-111 victory over W&M included in that ledger.  The Hurricanes went 2-6 (0-4) in 2011-12, finishing sixth in the ACC.

The fifth and final conference meet for the College will be at Old Dominion, on Jan. 26 at 1 p.m.  The Tribe has had the Monarch's number as of late, winning the last eight meets in a row.  ODU was 7-6 in the regular season, and 3-4 in league meets.  W&M will then host Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 1 p.m. against Villanova.  It is believed to be the first-ever meeting between the Tribe and the Wildcats, who were 6-6 and finished fifth in the Big East in 2011-12.  Before the meet, W&M will take a moment to honor its 11 seniors (six men, five women).

Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Tribe will take nearly the entire month to taper for the championship season.  The athletes who don't make the conference squad list will compete Feb. 9-10 at the Virginia Tech Invite, while the rest of the team trains through for the CAA Championships, Feb. 28-March 2 in Fairfax.  Last spring, the women's team finished fourth in the conference.  Several athletes could also challenge to reach the NCAA Championships, which will be held in Indianapolis March 21-23.  The last time W&M was represented at the national meet was 2010, the final year of Katie Radloff's '10 run of four-straight NCAA appearances.