Two Virginia Relays Earn All-America Honors

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Virginia’s 200 free and 400 medley relay teams each picked up All-American honors as the first night of finals was held Friday at the 2010 NCAA Championships. The meet, which runs through Sunday, is being held at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion on Ohio State’s campus.

Through six events, Virginia stands in eighth place with 53 points. Texas currently leads all teams with 145 points, followed by California (139) and Florida (118).

“I feel very good about what we accomplished today,” Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. “We had our better swims during prelims, but I will take those great swims in the morning anytime. If it allows you to be in the final eight, you are still putting those team points on the board. You have to swim fast in the morning or you don’t get that chance at night.”

The 400 medley relay team moved up one spot from its prelim finish to place seventh overall. Eric Olesen, Tom Casey, Peter Geissinger and Scot Robison finished with a time of 3:10.59.

The 200 free relay team opened the night with an eighth-place finish; it was the first time Virginia has earned All-America status in that relay event. Robison, Geissinger, Olesen and John Azar teamed up to finish in 1:18.55; that foursome set the school record this morning in the prelims with a mark of 1:18.05.

“Kudos today to Peter Geissinger,” Bernardino said. “He has had such tremendous improvement from the ACC meet until now. Nobody deserves more credit for what he gave to his team today than him. I am pleased to see him achieve those kind of performances.”

Junior Matt McLean, a Sterling, Va., native, finished second in the consolation final heat of the 500 free to place 10th overall. McLean clocked a time of 4:17.93, improving on his prelim time of 4:19.58.

“It was great to see Matt swim a completely different race than he did in the prelims,” Bernardino said. “He conserved his energy and used his pacing skills to a much better degree this evening. To move up and darn near win that heat is a positive sign.”

Day two of the NCAA Championships continues Saturday morning with preliminaries in the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 200 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 3-meter diving and 800 free relay.

“We are just going to come out and swim our best tomorrow,” Bernardino said. “We know it’s going to be an intense team battle from seventh to 14th. There are going to be ups and downs for every team along the way; we have to maximize our ups, minimize our downs and stay positive along the way.”

2010 Men’s NCAA Championships
Team Standings – Top 10
Through event 6