LEXINGTON, Va. — The Washington and Lee University men's swimming team opened the 2026-27 season with seven event victories to finish first at the ODAC Relays on Saturday at the W&L Natatorium.
The Generals accumulated 476 points, finishing 178 points ahead of second-place Lynchburg (298), while Bridgewater rounded out the top three with 268.5 points. W&L collected seven gold, three silver and three bronze finishes across the 10 scored men's events.
Leighton Chapman led the Generals with five relay victories, while
Ryan Smith,
Elijah Koh and
Zane Ross each contributed to three wins. Smith added two runner-up performances, Koh recorded one second- and one third-place finish and Ross added a runner-up showing.
Meet Information
- When: Saturday, Sept. 26, noon
- Where: W&L Natatorium, Lexington, Virginia
- Watch On Demand: FloCollege
- Web Results: Swim Cloud
Notable Performances
- Chapman led the Generals with five relay victories, contributing to wins in the 100 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay, 50-100-150-200 freestyle relay, 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay.
- Smith finished with three victories and two runner-up performances, while Koh contributed three wins, one runner-up and one third-place finish. Ross added three victories and one runner-up performance.
- W&L displayed its depth in the 3x100 individual medley relay, taking second, third and fourth. Smith, Koh and Ross led the way with a runner-up time of 2:41.04, just 0.19 seconds behind Bridgewater. John Ramos, Blomgren and Luke Dinusson-Wiger followed in third at 2:44.54.
- Thomas and Szabo each contributed to two relay victories, including their shared win with Chapman and Koh in the 400 freestyle relay. The quartet touched in 3:10.67, more than four seconds ahead of runner-up Roanoke.
- The Generals added another top-two performance in the 3x50 breaststroke relay as Blomgren, Ramos and Dinusson-Wiger finished second in 1:21.34. W&L also placed fourth and fifth in the event.
By the Numbers
- Teams: 9
- Team Finish: 1st
- Team Score: 476
- Event Wins: 7 of 10 / 70%
- Top-Three Finishes: 13
- First-Second-Third Place Finishes: 7-3-3
- Margin Over Second Place: 178 points
Up Next
The Generals will hold their Blue/White intrasquad meet Saturday, Oct. 3 for Parents and Family Weekend, before opening regular-season dual-meet competition at Mary Washington on Friday, Oct. 9. A full preview of the W&L men's and women's teams will be available Wednesday, Oct. 7.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
