Virginia to Compete at ACC Championships

Feb. 13, 2018

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s swimming and diving team and the men’s diving team will compete in the four-day 2018 ACC Championships beginning on Wednesday (Feb. 14) at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C. The women’s 1-meter dive will open the conference championships on Wednesday at 10 a.m., while the 200-yard medley relay will begin the swim meet at 4:15 p.m.

ACC Network Extra will stream the finals on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, beginning at 6 p.m. all three days. Fans can access links at VirginiaSports.com.

The Cavaliers finished the regular season undefeated in dual competition with a 10-0 overall record and 5-0 ACC record. Virginia defeated defending ACC champion NC State in addition to topping Duke, Louisville, Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

Senior Jennifer Marrkand (Westford, Mass.) and freshman Emma Seiberlich (Audubon, Pa.) pace the ACC in the 200-yard butterfly and 200-yard backstroke, respectively. Marrkand captured an NCAA “A” standard time of 1:53.55, while Seiberlich recorded a time of 1:53.45. Both times were captured at the UGA Fall Invitational.

Additionally, Virginia ranks second in the conference in four events. Marrkand holds the second-fastest time in the ACC in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:39.52 and in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:56.42. Sophomore Morgan Hill (Olney, Md.) recorded a time of 1:44.81 in the 200-yard freestyle, while senior Caitlin Cooper’s (Atlanta, Ga.) performance in the 50-yard freestyle enters as the second-fastest time in the event.

Virginia set four school records during the season as junior diver Kylie Towbin (New Canaan, Conn.) set a new standard in the 3-meter dive with a score of 355.05 and the platform with a score of 270.05. Cooper was the first UVA female swimmer to break 22 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle, recording a time of 21.86. The Cavaliers set a school record in the 400-yard freestyle relay with Hill, Cooper, freshman Anna Pang (SINGAPORE) and senior Laine Reed (Austin, Texas), respectively, capturing a time of 3:12.06.

The meet will also signify the women’s matchup between Virginia and Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash. The Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams at University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line. The school that accumulates 11 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy. Visit www.TheCommonwealthClash.com for more information and updated standings.