Katie Radloff Repeats as CAA Swimmer of the Year

04/08/08 12:15PM

RICHMOND, VA - Following an impressive sophomore campaign that saw her break five conference records and win five gold medals at the conference championship meet, William and Mary swimmer Katie Radloff (Arlington, Va.) has repeated as the Colonial Athletic Association Women’s Swimmer of the Year. She is the fifth athlete in the 23-year history of the CAA to repeat as Swimmer of the Year, and the first since Old Dominion’s Mary Kay Bolduc won the award four years in a row from 1996-1999.

Radloff had an incredibly successful season culminate at the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year. After placing 34th in the 50 free on the first day and 51st in the 200 free on the second day, she blasted her own school and conference records in the 100 free by timing 48.91 seconds and placing 20th at the fastest national meet in history. The performance was only one of the three times she broke her own CAA record in the 100 free.

At the CAA Championships, Radloff again swept the three sprint freestyles, all in school and conference record times to repeat as the Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet. She achieved NCAA automatic-qualifying times of 22.61 seconds in the 50 free and 49.25 seconds in the 100 free, and won the 200 free with an NCAA-provisional time of 1:48.19. She also swam anchor on the Tribe’s gold-medal 200 and 400 free relay teams, helping William and Mary come back and take second in the team standings after starting the meet in a tie for sixth.

During the regular season, Radloff played a large part in the College’s achieving a winning record for the fourth year in a row at 7-4, 5-1 CAA. She won 21 of 23 races in the three sprinting events, and 25 of 28 overall. The 25 victories in a season is fourth-best in school history, and ranks Radloff with Kathy Welch ’86 as the only two athletes with a pair of 20+win seasons. Her career tally of 52 victories is tied for the fourth-most in school history with Welch.

Before the season even officially started, Radloff began making her bid as one of the all-time great swimmers in school history. At the Speedo Junior National Championships, which brings together the nation’s greatest swimmers under the age of 19, Radloff earned a pair of Olympic Trials berth in the 50-meter freestyle and the 100-meter freestyle. On the first night of the championships, she timed 56.92 seconds to place second in the 100m free, and then she finished the week by taking sixth in the 50m free with a time of 26.29 seconds.

2008 Colonial Athletic Association Awards Winners
CAA Swimmer of the Year: Katie Radloff, W&M
CAA Diver of the Year: Kate Hynes, Drexel
CAA Rookie Swimmer of the Year: Meredith Budner, Towson
CAA Rookie Diver of the Year: Lisa Faulkner, George Mason
CAA Swimmer of the Championships: Katie Radloff, W&M
CAA Diver of the Championships: Kate Hynes, Drexel
CAA Swimming Coach of the Year: Pat Mead, Towson
CAA Diving Coach of the Year: Larry May, Drexel