No. 7 Virginia Women Start ACC Championship Wednesday
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Feb. 18, 2014
| 2014 Women’s ACC Championships | |
| Date | Wednesday-Saturday Feb. 19-22 |
| Location | Greensboro, N.C. | Greensboro Aquatic Center |
| Coverage | Championship Central (includes live results and video links) |
| Additional Information | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Schedule of Events |
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—The No. 7 Virginia women’s swimming and diving team will look to claim an unprecedented seventh consecutive ACC Championship when they compete Wednesday to Saturday (Feb. 19-22) at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.
The men’s divers, including UVa’s junior JB Kolod (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and sophomore Carl Buergler (Arlington, Va.), will compete as well in 1-meter, 3-meter and platform diving events.
The ACC Digital Network will broadcast the finals on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Links to the free live video and live results will be available and linked through VirginiaSports.com.
One change of note in this year’s Championship is the addition of the scoring of all 24 competitors competing in a swimming final. In previous years, only the top 16 competitors received points that counted toward their team’s total.
In 2013, the Cavaliers won their sixth consecutive ACC title with 832 points, nearly 300 ahead of second-place Virginia Tech (536 points). Virginia won seven events, including five individual events by student-athletes who returned this season. Junior Kelly Offutt (Reisterstown, Md.) won the 500 free and 1,650 free a year ago, while classmate Ellen Williamson (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) claimed the 200 IM. Sophomore Courtney Bartholomew (Holland, Mich.) touched first in both the 100 back and 200 back and went on to earn ACC Freshman of the Year honors, a season after Williamson was recognized with the same honor.
The Cavaliers went 11-1 overall this season and 5-0 in ACC meets with wins over Duke, NC State North Carolina, Pitt and Virginia Tech. UVa is the highest ranked team in the ACC at No. 7 in the latest College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) poll. North Carolina is No. 10, conference-newcomer Notre Dame is No. 20 and NC State is No. 22. Florida State also received votes in the poll.
Virginia earned five consecutive ACC Female Swimmer of the Week awards to close out the regular season and six overall. Bartholomew and freshman Leah Smith earned the award twice, while Williamson and freshman Shannon Rauth were recognized once.
The action gets started Wednesday at 6 p.m. with the 200 medley relay and 800 free relay. The men’s ACC Championships will be held in Greensboro Feb. 27-March 2.