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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. The Virginia swimming and diving teams open the 2008-09 campaign with two dual meets this weekend. The defending Atlantic Coast Conference men’s and women’s squads will compete at 2 p.m. Friday at South Carolina before taking on conference foe Clemson at 11 a.m. Saturday.
“We have two good opponents and we will take them one at a time,” Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. “South Carolina comes out of the very tough SEC and Clemson is an annual foe in the ACC. We will take them one at a time one on Friday, one on Saturday, and we will perform to the best of our abilities each day.”
The Virginia women’s team, ranked 10th by the College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA), is led by seniors Megan Evo and Kristen Wallace. The Cavaliers also return All-Americans Liz Shaw (200 fly, 400 IM), Mei Christensen (100 back) and Claire Crippen (400 IM) in addition to Evo (200 fly) and Jenna Harris, who were both members of the record-breaking 800 free relay team a year ago.
The South Carolina women, which opened the season to a loss at North Carolina last Friday, return 15 letterwinners on a team that placed ninth at the SEC Championships last spring. Lindsey Olson claimed first-place honors in the 100 fly (56.46) and also finished second in the 200 (2:01.16) against the Tar Heels.
Clemson, meanwhile, has competed in two dual meets thus far with wins over Davidson and Georgia Tech. The women won every event against the Yellow Jackets, led by junior Katrina Obas. Obas was a four-event winner with victories in the 200 medley relay, 200 IM, 200 breast and 100 breast.
The 15th-ranked Cavalier men’s team is led by returning captain Lee Robertson, fellow fourth-year Pat Reams and national team members Ryan Hurley and Pat Mellors, who both return for the 2008-09 season after redshirting last year. Virginia welcomes back seven All-Americans, including both Reams (200 fly) and Robertson (200 fly). Second-years Matt McLean (500 free, 200 free) and John Snawerdt (1650 free) also return in addition to the All-American 800 free relay team of John Azar, Scot Robison, Taylor Smith and McLean.
The Gamecocks finished eighth at the SEC Championships last year. Redshirt senior Nicholas Walkotten finished fifth in the 200-meter butterfly at the FINA Short Course World Championships last spring. In addition, Walkotten and junior teammate Dominique Lendjel competed in last year’s NCAA Championships where Walkotten finished 21st in the 200 fly and 24th in the 100 fly.
The Tigers suffered a 172-126 loss to Georgia Tech following a 186-99 defeat of Davidson to begin the season. The men’s team found success in freshmen swimmers Will Clark and Alex Carr, who finished first and second, respectively, in both the 500 and 1000 freestyle events. Diver David Giambra had a solid performance in the season opener, winning the three-meter event to earn a NCAA Zone qualifying score. He also posted a personal-best on the one-meter boards.