Virginia Sweeps 500 Free; Robison Takes 50 Free

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Virginia men’s swimming team went 1-2-3 in the 500 free and racked up two more wins in the 50 free and 200 free relay as competition continued Thursday at the 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships at Koury Natatorium in Chapel Hill, N.C.

After seven events, Virginia leads the field with 266 points, followed by North Carolina (221) and Florida State (189).

For the second straight day the Cavaliers ended the evening session with a relay victory. The team of Scot Robison, Peter Geissinger, Eric Olesen and John Azar teamed up to win the 200 free relay in 1:19.07, an NCAA ‘B’ time.

“We made the decision to front-load our relay,” head coach Mark Bernardino said. “In this pool sometimes the water can get a little rough, so we decided to put our best sprinters in front. They all had great swims.”

Junior Matt McLean won this third consecutive individual crown in the 500 free to break his own pool record with an NCAA ‘B’ time of 4:17.21. McLean was in good company as classmates John Snawerdt (4:19.67, ‘B’) and Taylor Smith (4:20.20, ‘B’) placed second and third, respectively. Senior Darren Ankosko also earned a fifth-place finish in a ‘B’ mark of 4:20.79.

“Another very solid, steady, clean performance from our distance group,” Bernardino said.

Robison then took first-place honors in the 50 free with a winning time of 19.64 while teammate Peter Geissinger finished third, clocking a time of 19.94. Both marks were NCAA ‘B’ times.

“Scot had another beautiful swim,” Bernardino said. “Before today, Peter had never broken 20 seconds from a flat start and he did it twice tonight. Our sprinters had a fantastic performance.”

Freshman Matt Houser led a trio of Cavaliers in the 200 IM with a third-place showing, clocking a time of 1:46.45. John Azar finished fifth (1:46.55) and Tom Casey was sixth (1:46.98). All three times were NCAA ‘B’ marks.

“They all did a great job against an outstanding field,” Bernardino said. “I am pleased we were able to score as many points as we did in that race.”

Men’s 1-meter diving scores were also added in Thursday to the running team scores. All diving events took place last week during the women’s conference championships.

The third day of the men’s swimming championships continues Friday with the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back and 400 medley relay. Prelims are slated for 11 a.m. with finals at 7 p.m. on ACC Select.

“Winning the relay is so very critical,” Bernardino said. “I love to leave the building with that momentum. It has certainly benefited us and we leave with that energy and will go from there.”

2010 Men’s ACC Championships

Through Event 7

1. Virginia 266 2. North Carolina 221 3. Florida State 189 4. Clemson 138 5. Virginia Tech 126 6. Duke 123 7. Georgia Tech 108 8. Maryland 98 9. NC State 62 10. Boston College 36 11. Miami (diving only) 15