/
.
Cavaliers Venture to Duke, UNC for ACC Dual Meets
Story Links
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams venture down Tobacco Road for Atlantic Coast Conference dual meets at Duke and North Carolina this weekend.
The Cavaliers will compete at Duke at 5 p.m. Friday at the Taishoff Aquatic Center in Durham, N.C. On Saturday, the Virginia men will square off against North Carolina at 12 p.m., with the women’s dual set for a 3 p.m. start the Maurice J. Koury Natatorium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
A live video feed for competition against North Carolina will be linked to VirginiaSports.com, along with live results.
“This weekend promises to be a difficult and dangerous weekend for us,” Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. “Both Duke and UNC are outstanding teams and we have to be on our ‘A’ game for two consecutive days. The challenge for us to do that is something we should benefit from down the road at the ACC Championships. We like the concept of swimming against two good teams on two consecutive days. We have to be mentally, emotionally and physically prepared.”
The Virginia men, ranked No. 12 in the most recent College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) top-25 poll, are 2-2 in dual meets this season and 1-0 against ACC foes. The Cavaliers most recently earned a 161-139 comeback win at Virginia Tech last Wednesday. Sophomore Taylor Grey earned three individual victories against the Hokies en route to ACC men’s performer of the week honors.
The Duke men are 4-4 in dual meets on the year, including a 1-3 mark against conference opponents. Last weekend, the Blue Devils earned a 232-61 win over Queens University of Charlotte, but fell at South Carolina, 170-130, in a double dual meet.
The North Carolina men stand at No. 16 in the latest polls and enter the weekend with a 5-1 dual meet mark and are undefeated against ACC teams at 4-0. The Tar Heels most recently earned a 178-118 victory at home vs. Clemson last weekend.
The Virginia women are ranked No. 11 in the most recent CSCAA top-25 poll and are an unbeaten 4-0 in dual meets this year. The Cavaliers are also 1-0 against ACC opponents after defeating Virginia Tech 166-132 on the road last week.
The Duke women stand at 3-5 in dual meets and are seeking their first conference win of the season after an 0-4 start. Similar to the men, the Blue Devil women are coming off a split in a double dual meet after beating Queens University of Charlotte (220-53) but falling to South Carolina (170-127).
The UNC women come in at No. 15 in the latest rankings and are 5-1 in dual meets this season, including an unblemished mark against ACC foes at 4-0. The Tar Heels are coming off a 183-104 win against Clemson last weekend.
A year ago, the UVa men earned a 155-132 win over Duke while the women were also victorious, 156-132. At home against UNC, the Cavalier men won six straight events to come back and win, 162-138, while the women also prevailed, 161.5-138.5, in come-from-behind fashion.