Cavaliers Host NC State Saturday on Senior Day
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams host NC State Saturday in the final dual meet of the season. Diving events will begin at 9:30 a.m. with swimming events slated for an 11 a.m. start at the Aquatic and Fitness Center. Live results will be linked on VirginiaSports.com.
Virginia will honor eight members of the 2012 class prior to the 11 a.m. start. The senior class includes Peter Geissinger, Briggy Imbriglia, David Karasek, David Wren, Kelly Flynn, Meredith Perdue, Erika Stewart and fourth year manager Shannan Fitzgerald.
“Senior day is always bittersweet,” head coach Mark Bernardino said. “It commemorates four special years in their lives and marks the last time they get to compete with their teams in front of their families in this environment. We hope we can have an electric crowd that can help us send these seniors away on a positive note. That being said, this is not going to be your typical senior day meet. This is going to be a get down, get dirty, battle and scrap kind of meet. We are going to have to fight for every point that’s available. It’s going to be a stern test for our athletes.”
The 15th-ranked Virginia men are 4-3 in dual meet competition and own a 2-1 record vs. ACC foes. Most recently, the Cavaliers downed Pitt, 162-130, last weekend at the AFC. Three Cavaliers – Jan Daniec (500 freestyle, 1000 freestyle), Taylor Grey (100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke) and Imbriglia (1-meter, 3-meter diving) were double event winners. Among ACC swimmers, both Daniec (9:07.61 in the 1000 freestyle) and Grey (1:58.22 in the 200 breaststroke) own the league’s fastest times, as does Karasek, whose 1:48.04 is tops in the 200 individual medley.
The NC State men stand at No. 23 in the latest rankings and have not lost a dual meet since opening the season with a loss at Virginia Tech on Oct. 15. The 9-1 Wolfpack upset 13th-ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill last weekend, 151.5-145.5, on the road to improve to 6-1 vs. ACC schools. Sophomore Barrett Miesfeld leads all conference swimmers with a time of 47.98 in the 100 butterfly.
“This is a new NC State program in many ways,” Bernardino continued. “They brought in a brand new coach in Braden Holloway and he has infused his team with a lot of energy and excitement. They have had an outstanding dual meet season. They are one of the most improved programs in the country in every regard.”
The 11th-ranked Cavalier women are 7-0 in dual meets on the year, including a 3-0 mark against ACC schools. Virginia is coming off a 159-133 victory at home over Pitt last weekend, where junior Meredith Cavalier (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle) and sophomore Charlotte Clarke (100 backstroke, 100 butterfly) each won two events. In the latest top times list out Tuesday, Cavalier continues to lead all ACC swimmers in the 100 backstroke (52.67) and 200 backstroke (1:54.09) while freshmen Alison Haulsee (1:58.04 in the 200 butterfly) and Ellen Williamson (1:59.18 in the 200 individual medley) are also tops in the league.
The Wolfpack women are 8-4 in dual meets with a 3-4 record in the conference. A week ago, NC State fell at 16th-ranked North Carolina, 178.5-119.5. Junior Hanna Hopkins leads all ACC divers on the 3-meter board this season (336.98) and also ranks fifth on the 1-meter. Teammate Hannah Freyman, a freshman, ranks ninth in both the 100 freestyle (50.08) and 200 freestyle (1:49.26) on the league’s top times list.
A year ago in Raleigh, both Cavalier teams came out victorious. The men earned a 164-125 victory while the women defeated NC State 168-117.