FAIRFAX, Virginia - Aided by a strong showing in the 100 Freestyle, UNCW's men's team broke open a close meet and cruised to its 11th consecutive Colonial Athletic Association title on Saturday at the McKay Natatorium in Fairfax, Va.

The Seahawks, who led from wire-to-wire, claimed their 11th title by 57 points over second-place George Mason.

The women finished third overall, behind James Madison and Towson, respectively. The Dukes halted a four-year championship reign by Towson with their first title since 2001.

UNCW held a 17-point lead after 16 events after GMU narrowed its deficit with pair of top-five finishes in the 200 Backstroke. In the 100 Freestyle, though, UNCW, lead by Joe Gallene, placed three swimmers in the top five and added a seventh-place finish to push its lead to 64 points. Gallene, who was UNCW's lone individual champion on the day, posted a time of 44.25 to win the event.

Freshman Valtteri Halonen finished second and earned All-CAA honors in the 200 Backstroke while senior Brandon Hicks also earned all-conference honors when he placed second in the 200 Butterfly.

In the pivotal 100 Free, junior Michael Williams gave UNCW valuable third-place points and earned All-CAA honors. Freshman C.J. Fiala was fourth and sophomore Gabe Thran was seventh as UNCW captured 63 points in the championship final.

The Seahawks finished off their title performance with the 400 Free Relay of Fiala, Thran, Gallene and Williams setting a meet record with a winning time of 2:57.34.

In the women's 100 Free, UNCW was represented in the top three by senior Anna Munger (second place) and junior Carly Tanner (third place).

The women's 400 Free Relay also claimed a conference championship when the relay of Tanner, Mattie Riley, Libby Mayock and Munger set a meet record with a time of 3:20.81.