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Virginia Concludes Regular Season This Weekend
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams conclude the regular season portion of their schedule this weekend with two dual meets. The Cavaliers will compete at Navy at 4 p.m. Friday before returning home to the Aquatic and Fitness Center for a 1 p.m. meet with Pittsburgh. Live results for the Pitt meet will be available on VirginiaSports.com.
The Saturday meet against the Panthers will also honor Virginia’s 15 seniors, who will be competing in their final home event: Darren Ankosko, John Azar, Alex D’Ambrosio, Alex Germain, Graham Greytak, Daniel Johnson, Dan McMahon, Eric Olesen, Garrett Wren, Mei Christensen, Jenna Harris, Colleen Law, Katherine McDonnell, Jen Narum and Leslie Swinley. Diving events will begin at 11:30 a.m. with the senior ceremony starting shortly before 1 p.m.
“The last home meet is always a lot of fun for our senior class,” Bernardino said. “We try to make it as special as we can. It’s obviously emotional for them so we want them to go out in a great fashion, and all have an opportunity to race in their best events. They are special and should be recognized for all the great things they have done.”
The Cavaliers are coming off a weekend of stellar performances that included wins over conference foes Duke and nationally ranked North Carolina.
The 11th-ranked women’s team earned a 157.5-127.5 win at Duke on Friday night. Virginia then defeated No. 15 North Carolina 185-113 on Saturday to improve to 7-1 in dual meets this year, including an undefeated mark of 4-0 against ACC foes.
Against the Tar Heels, freshman Lauren Perdue set UVa school records in two events as she picked up wins in the 50 free (22.40, ‘B’) and also set the school and UNC pool record in the 100 free with a winning time of 48.78, another ‘B’ mark. The previous Virginia records were both set in 2009 by Christensen (22.42, 48.99). Christensen posted an NCAA ‘A’ cut with her win in the 100 back, clocking a time of 52.93. That mark also set the pool record. She went on to win the 200 back with a mark of 1:56.30, an NCAA ‘B’ time.
“What we are trying to do right now is determine who our best 18 athletes are, on both teams,” Bernardino said. “The competition for our travel teams is very intense. We are still trying to make an accurate determination of who the best 18 athletes will be.”
The eighth-ranked Cavalier men defeated Duke 159-133 on Friday before taking a 168-132 victory at No. 14 North Carolina on Saturday. The Virginia men also improved to 7-1 in dual meets this season, including a 4-0 mark against ACC opponents.
At UNC, junior Taylor Smith claimed the 1000 free (9:01.84), his first of two event wins on the day. Smith also earned a victory in the 500 free, clocking an NCAA ‘B’ time of 4:26.27. His time in the 1000 is the fastest in the nation to date. Freshman Tom Casey also had a solid performance, winning the 100 breast (55.81) and 200 breast (2:00.01). He also took second in the 200 IM with a time of 1:50.55. Scot Robison claimed two victories in the 50 free (20.40) and 100 free (44.20, ‘B’) and Azar won the 200 free (1:37.86, ‘B’).
“Pitt is a long-standing meet between the two universities,” Bernardino said. “It’s an area that a lot of our swimmers have come from over the years and it is a good, competitive meet against an outstanding program.”
The Navy swimming and diving teams are undefeated on the season as both programs posted wins over Yale last in New Haven, Conn. A victory in the final event of the meet gave the Navy women a 151-149 win over the Bulldogs, while the Navy men won a 152-142 decision.
The Pitt men are 3-3 in dual meets this season, most recently earning a 161-99 win at Duquesne over the weekend. The Panther women are 4-2 and also defeated Duquesne 199.5-60.5.
Both the Navy and Pitt men are receiving votes in the latest CSCAA top-25 poll.