Women's Swimming Pre-Championship Webcast

Mary Washington continued its dominant reign atop the CAC at last year's championship meet, winning 17 of the 18 events to run away with its CAC-record 26^th-straight title. The battle for second place was neck-and-neck for the second straight season in 2016, as just 43 points separated second-place York from fifth-place Marymount, with Salisbury and St. Mary's sandwiched in between.

UMW was the unanimous pick of the CAC coaches to win the title in the conference's preseason poll, and completed a perfect 5-0 dual meet season against conference competitors this winter.

Reigning swimmer of the year Anna Corley returns for UMW, who was one of four UMW swimmers to qualify for last year's NCAA Championships. The Eagles will look to continue their winning streak this weekend (Feb. 17-19), when the six-team CAC championship meet is held at St. Mary's.

The action begins Friday (2/17) and continues with two sessions per day through Sunday afternoon (2/19).

Below is a team-by-team preview entering this weekend's meet:

FROSTBURG STATE enters the three-day 2016-17 CAC Championships with several of the top times in the league this winter. Junior Macie Nitchie currently boasts the CAC's top times in the 50 (24.49), 100 (52.87) and 200 freestyles (1:54.17) and she is fourth in 1,650 freestyle. Sophomore Maddie Weinberger also holds two of the CAC's top times as she is first in the 50 (31.83) and 100 breaststrokes (1:07.16). The foursome of Nitchie, Weinberger, freshman Elizabeth Myers and sophomore Emily Turner are second in the league in both the 200 (1:53.32) and 400 medley (4:06.64) relays.

MARY WASHINGTON will look to extend its CAC Championship run to 27 straight years led by leading returnees Anna Corley, Shannon Coryell, Megan Murphy, and top freshmen Carley Vaughn and Julia Geskey. The Eagles will look to qualify for NCAA Championships in multiple events, and send multiple athletes to the NCAA Championship for the second straight year.

MARYMOUNT rounded out a successful 2016-17 regular season campaign, with a dominating victory over CAC opponent Frostburg State. Junior Morgan Alston has paved the way for the Saints, notching eight top-place finishes in different butterfly, IM, and breaststroke events. Alston also competed in the 100-yard IM, where she set the new program record for Marymount with a time of 1:01.55. Freshman Hayley Elizondo has pieced together an impressive season thus far, bolstering 11 top-place finishes in her IM, breaststroke, and freestyle events. Both Alston and Elizondo have garnered CAC Swimming Athlete of the Week accolades this season, and look forward to notching top-place finishes at this year's CAC Championship.

ST. MARY'S seniors Samantha Liming and Elizabeth Straahof are looking to lead the Seahawks into a successful championship meet. Coach Brandt feels that the mid-season training trip in Florida helped the Seahawks improve greatly. Seahawks have been working well as a team and feel confident in meeting the competitive CAC atmosphere.

SALISBURY will be led by seniors Victoria Radcliffe and Layne Gable, junior Bizu Baldinazzo and freshman Emma Tarnosky. Radcliffe had another record-breaking year for the Sea Gulls, breaking the Maggs Physical Activities Center pool record in the 400-IM (5:22.02). Radcliffe also has a team-high of 19 victories on the season. Baldinazzo stood out in both the freestyle and butterfly events, capturing seven first-place and five second-place finishes for the season. Gable finished out her senior season notching six first-place and five second-place finishes in the butterfly and IM events. Tarnosky made a splash in her debut season as she recorded six first-place and eight second-place finishes for the maroon and gold.​Championships.

YORK heads to the 2017 CAC Championship looking to repeat their strong showing from last year's championships. The Spartans are led by sophomore Maddy Mann as she registered a team-best 19 individual wins for the year while she also racked up seven second place finishes. Mann, last year's CAC Rookie-of-the-Year, will look to defend her 200 free championships from a year ago while she should be in contention for two other individual championships. Danielle Werner and Andrea Sturgis will also be counted on to provide York with scoring in multiple events. Newcomers Rachel Spaulding, Caitlin Campbell, and Julia Trudel are each expected to add to the Spartan scoring at championships.