FAIRFAX, Va. - In winning the last three Colonial Athletic Association women's swimming and diving championships, the Tigers have used a strong effort on the second full night of competition to build a comfortable lead at the CAA Meet.
While the Tigers continued their trend of a strong second night effort on Friday evening, the three-time defending champions will enter Saturday's events with a slim 6.5-point lead over James Madison after an exciting evening session at the Jim McKay Natatorium at George Mason University.
The Tigers have 454 points while the Dukes are in second place with 447.50 points. Meanwhile, UNC Wilmington is third with 367.50 points followed by William & Mary in fourth place (273).
"It was a great night for us tonight," Towson Coach Pat Mead said. "We have never done this before where we had great swims in the morning and did even better in the evening. I don't know what it is, but maybe it is because of how hard we work. When you swim fast in the morning and even faster at night, it is directly tied to the way you train.
"Everyone came back tonight and either held their spots or moved up, which is huge for us," Coach Mead added.
Led by senior Meredith Budner, the Tigers won three individual events on Friday night along with taking the 800-yard freestyle relay in convincing fashion.
Budner, who became the first female swimmer in CAA history to win the 400-yard individual medley in four straight years, and senior Kayla Zeller teamed up to take the first two spots in the event. While Budner broke her own school, CAA and CAA Championship record with an NCAA 'B' cut time of 4:10.67, Zeller posted an NCAA 'B' cut time of her own by completing the event in a time of 4:19.62.
Meanwhile, sophomore Adrienne Phillips and junior Maegan McLaughlin took the top two spots in the consolation final, posting times of 4:22.53 and 4:23.24, respectively.
Then, it was junior Cari Czarnecki's turn to put in a heroic performance. She entered the final 25 yards of the 100-yard butterfly in second place before putting in a final split of 28.53 seconds to win the event with a time of 54.24 seconds.
Freshman Kaitlin Burke followed with a first place performance in the 200-yard freestyle by posting a school freshman record time of 1:48.14 while senior Erica Hall earned third place with a time of 1:49.22. Freshman Melanie Rowland finished in eighth place in the event, turning in a time of 1:53.24.
Senior Megen Donovan placed seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke championship final with a time of 1:04.32.
Knowing that James Madison had four divers competing in the championship final of the one-meter diving event, the Tigers needed a strong effort from junior Caroline Baker and she delivered.
Baker, who finished fourth in the one-meter diving event on Wednesday night, gave another outstanding effort and finished third with a score of 315.55 points after rallying from fifth place following the second round. She had her best score in the third round when she scored 55.90 points, which led all divers in the round.
"Caroline Baker was unbelievable for us tonight, especially in a pressure situation like she had to face with four talented JMU divers in the event," Coach Mead said.
The Tigers wrapped up the night by taking the 800-yard freestyle relay in dominating fashion, missing the CAA record by less than two seconds. Towson turned in an NCAA 'B' cut time of 7:14.59 to win the event by 13 seconds over William & Mary.
"Like anything in athletics, you see the momentum switch and it tends to really make a huge difference," Coach Mead said. "Tonight's performances definitely set us up to be able to come in tomorrow and get the job done before coming back at night and just enjoy and not have any stress."
The CAA Championships wrap up on Saturday with a pair of sessions beginning at 10 a.m.
