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Virginia Competes in Outdoor Meet Thursday at Florida State
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are set to compete at Florida State at 3 p.m. Thursday, in the second conference dual meet of the season for the Cavaliers.
The UVa men and women are both coming off wins at home against Tennessee last weekend and have been training in Florida all week. Both Cavalier squads are 4-1 in dual meets.
“Florida State is probably the most improved team in the ACC over the course of the last nine months,” UVa head coach Mark Bernardino said. “They are a well-coached, hard-working group of kids. We just want to go down and compete and see how we do away from home. Interestingly, it’s an outdoor meet, in cold weather. We’ve rarely had outdoor meets so it will be fun to see how we respond to that environment.”
Virginia’s Scot Robison and Mei Christensen were each named ACC Performers of the Week for their contributions in the Tennessee win. Robison posted the fastest time in the conference in the 100 free (44.25) against the Vols, while Christensen continues to lead the conference in both the 100 and 200 back events.
The Florida State men, ranked No. 15 in the latest CSCAA poll, are coming off a 169-131 dual meet loss at fourth-ranked Florida at the end of November, having not competed since. The Seminole men are 3-1 in dual meets this season while the women are 6-1.
FSU junior Ian Rowe, an honorable mention All-American in 2009, currently leads the conference with his times in the 500 free (4:24.59), 1650 free (15:09.03) and 100 breast (53.39). Teammate Andy Hodgson also leads the league in the 200 back (1:42.90) while Rob Holderness (200 breast, 1:58.08) and Robby Hayes (200 IM, 1:47.96).
The Florida State 200 free relay (1:20.92) and 200 medley relay (1:28.69) teams also lead the conference.
The Seminole diving program is also strong – junior transfer Landon Marzullo has the highest score in the ACC to date on the 3-meter board (452.31) while senior Terry Horner boasts a league-best 405.23 on the 1-meter board. Horner won the NCAA title on the 1-meter as a freshman in 2007. For the women, Aleia Monden leads the ACC with a 1-meter score of 338.25 and is second on the 3-meter (339.50).
The Seminole women are ranked 24th in the latest CSCAA poll and also fell to the fifth-ranked Gator women, 212-88, in November. Freshman Marissa Harrington paces Florida State with a league-best time of 9:50.77 in the 1000 free, while sophomore Stephanie Sarandos leads the ACC in the 100 breast (57.43) and trails only Christensen in the 200 back (1:57.43). Newcomer Kristine Polley also has the conference’s fastest time in the 200 breast (2:14.23).