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June 30, 2006
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Six University of Virginia men’s swimming and diving performers have been named to the inaugural 45-member 2006 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Men’s Swimming and Diving Team as announced Friday (June 30) by Commissioner John D. Swofford. The six UVa student-athletes earning the honor are rising third-years Ryan Hurley (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep), Pat Mellors (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic), Bryan Stahl (Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands), and PJ Sullivan (Franklin Mass./Bishop Feehan), and 2006 graduates Ryan Berg (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury) and Eric Kelley (Rockford, Ill./Rockford Christian School).
Florida State, Georgia Tech and North Carolina each placed seven student-athletes on the All-Academic squad, while UVa and NC State had six members on the team.
Hurley captured All-ACC honors by finishing third in the 200 breaststroke at the ACC Championships. He was also a finalist in the 400 individual medley (eighth) and a consolation finalist in the 100 breaststroke (10th) at ACCs. Hurley qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 200 breast and finished 20th with a time of 1:59.24.
Mellors earned All-America honors at the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive season. He finished 13th in the 400 individual medley and helped UVa to a 13th-place performance in the 800 freestyle for a pair of honorable mention All-America certificates. Mellors captured three titles at the ACC Championships as he swept the 200 and 400 individual medley for the second consecutive season and swam a leg on the Cavaliers’ winning 800 free relay. He was also the runner-up in the 200 backstroke.
Stahl also captured honorable mention All-America honors as he swam the backstroke leg on Virginia’s 16th place 200 medley relay at the 2006 NCAA Championships. He helped UVa win the 400 medley relay at the ACC Championships by swimming the backstroke leg. Stahl was fourth in the 100 backstroke and fifth in the 200 back at ACCs.
Sullivan swam the 200 breaststroke at the NCAA Championships and placed 25th with a time of 2:01.01. He earned All-ACC honors for the second consecutive year by finishing second in the 200 breaststroke in a top three Cavaliers sweep. Sullivan was also eighth in the 100 breaststroke and 10th in 200 I.M. at ACCs.
Berg was runner-up in the 200 individual medley to Mellors in earning All-ACC accolades. He was also a finalist in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, placing seventh in both events at the conference championship.
Kelley was the lone UVa diver to be named to the All-Academic Team. He competed in the Zone B Diving Championships for the first time in his career and finished 22nd on the one-meter board and 24th in the three-meter competition. At ACCs, Kelley was 11th on the three-meter board and 14th in the one-meter event.
To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must earn a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and have maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career.