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Cavaliers Head to Duke, UNC This Weekend
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams continue competition with two conference dual meets this weekend on the road. The Cavaliers will swim at Duke at 5 p.m. Friday in Durham, N.C., before participating in separate meets against nationally ranked North Carolina on Saturday in Chapel Hill, N.C. The men’s meet against the Tar Heels is set for a noon start while the women’s meet will begin at 3 p.m.
The Virginia women, ranked 11th in the latest CSCAA poll, are coming off a 163-123 victory over No. 23 Florida State. The ninth-ranked Cavalier men also defeated the 15th-ranked Seminoles 161-134. Both UVa squads have a 5-1 dual meet record and are 2-0 against ACC opponents.
“We had a really wonderful week of training down in Florida,” Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. “The conditions were cold but that attitudes of the athletes – their daily performances, focus and intensity – was great. We left there very satisfied and please from a training perspective.”
Duke swam last Saturday against South Carolina, where the Blue Devils split the meet. The women earned a 176.5-123.5 victory while the Duke men fell to the Gamecocks, 171-129. The Duke women’s team is 5-3 in dual meets this season, including a 2-3 ACC record. The men’s squad is 3-3 in dual meets with a 2-2 league mark.
“The combination of Duke and North Carolina on back-to-back days is an effort to mirror what it feels like to compete at the ACC Championships,” Bernardino said. “Duke is probably one of the most improved teams in the country over the course of the last three years, for both the men and women. Coach (Dan) Colella has done a great job recruiting and bringing in some fine athletes into his program. We will be challenged right out of the shoot.”
Both North Carolina teams, meanwhile, join Virginia in the latest CSCAA poll, with the Tar Heel men ranked No. 14 and the women No. 15. UNC is coming off dual meet victories at home against Clemson on Jan. 9. The North Carolina men earned a 181-110 win while the women defeated the Tigers 187-106. The UNC men’s team is an unblemished 8-0 in dual meets this year, including a 4-0 mark against ACC opponents, while the Tar Heel women are 7-1, also with a 4-0 conference record.
“I personally believe it’s not only one of the best swimming rivalries in the ACC, but it’s one of the premier swimming rivalries in the country,” Bernardino said of Virginia and North Carolina. “It’s two very good teams that get excited to race one another and have a great deal of respect for the abilities that each other has in the water. It will be an intense, action-packed, very fast meet.”
Both the men’s and women’s meets against North Carolina with be shown on the school’s website at www.TarHeelBlue.com. Live results for the UNC meet will also be available.