The William and Mary men's swimming team put up a tremendous score, but fell in a narrow loss at Old Dominion Saturday, 153-141.  The Tribe actually out-swam the Monarchs, making up 20 points out of a 32-point handicap after diving, and entered the final race with a narrow chance to claim the victory outright.  With the loss, W&M is now 5-4 and 2-2 in the CAA on the year, while ODU improves to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the league.  The Monarchs also claimed 10 points in the Optima Health Challenge standings, and now trail the Tribe 35-30 (first to 65 points wins).

Complete Results

Leading the way for W&M individually was the duo of junior Andrew Strait (Henrico, Va.) and freshman Justin Barden (Gordonsville, Va.).  Strait won all three of his individual races, timing 56.25 seconds in the 100 breast, 2:04.94 in the 200 breast, and 1:53.56 in the 200 IM.  The junior now has 21 wins on the season, fifth-most in school history and the first to eclipse 20 since 1998-99.  Strait also upped his career total to 47, just two wins shy of Jason Brisson's '09 third-place total of 49.

For his part, Barden won the 200 backstroke in 1:52.44, becoming the ninth-fastest swimmer in school history in the event.  He also turned in a collegiate-best time of 51.90 in the 100 back, placing third in the event and moving up to 10th all-time at the College.

Also picking up victories was sophomore Kemp Pettyjohn (Lynchburg, Va.), who swept the 500 and 1000 free.  The reigning CAA Rookie of the Year swam 9:33.47 in the 1000 for the win, and came back with 4:39.72 in the 500.  Freshman Will Manion (Haddonfield, N.J.) rounded out the winners with his 50.19 showing in the 100 back.

Claiming silver on day were three more Tribesmen.  Senior Sidney Glass (Mechanicsville, Va.) accounted for two second-place finishes himself, 51.84 in the 100 back and 1:53.77 in the 200 back.  Classmate Ben Ward (Maitland, Fla.) was the runner-up in the 50 free with a time of 21.05 seconds, and sophomore Chris Dong (Chapel Hill, N.C.) went 57.71 to take second in the 100 breast.

The Tribe's relays were also outstanding on the day, beginning with the 200 medley relay.  Both of the team's top two teams had top-10 all-time performances, a performance almost unheard of at invitationals, much less a dual meet.  The winning team of Manion, Strait, Barden, and Ward timed 1:32.39 for the gold, and the seventh-fastest time in school history.  The team of Glass, Dong, and seniors K.J. Shaw (Richmond, Va.) and Hunter Perrot (Falls Church, Va.) finished second in 1:32.84, which was the 10th-fastest time ever at the College.

Entering the final race, the 400 free relay, W&M needed to score two relays including a win to be able to claim the team victory.  The Tribe was able to score two teams, but unfortunately came just inches short of the win and corresponding 11 points.  The quartet of Ward, Glass, freshman Billy Russell (Newport News, Va.) and Perrot timed 3:05.83 for second; while Taegan Clarke (Chappaqua, N.Y.), Jake Stronko (Woodbridge, Va.), Ryan Natal (Great Falls, Va.), and Pettyjohn combined to take the bronze in 3:09.52.

William and Mary returns home next Saturday, Feb. 2, to host Villanova at 1 p.m.  Before the meet begins, the Tribe will take a moment to honor its six seniors who will be swimming for the final time at home.