Podium Finishes Highlight Third Night of ACC Championships
Feb. 23, 2018
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GREENSBORO, N.C. – The No. 23 Virginia men’s swim team finished the third day of competition at the 2018 ACC Championships on Friday (Feb. 23) at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, placing in the top three and reaching the podium in four events.
The Cavaliers are in fifth place in the team standings with 604.5 points. NC State paces the field with 1,021 points, while Louisville ranks second with 826.5 points, Florida State ranks third with 642.5 points and Notre Dame ranks fourth with 640 points.
Three Cavaliers reached the podium in individual events and earned All-ACC honors for their performance. Senior Luke Georgiadis (Jacksonville, Fla.) placed second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:33.78, third-fastest performance in UVA history. Sophomore Joe Clark (Worcester Park, Great Britain) finished third in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 45.54, setting a UVA record in the event. Junior Brendan Casey (Santa Monica, Calif.) finished third in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 3.41.94. His performance ranks second in UVA history.
The 400-yard medley relay team of Clark, freshman Keefer Barnum (Louisville, Ky.), junior Bryce Keblish (Fairfield, Conn.) and sophomore Ryan Baker (Arlington, Va.), respectively finished third, setting a school record with a time of 3:05.57.
Juniors Keblish and Zach Fong (Moorestown, N.J.) made history as the first UVA’s swimmers to break 46 seconds in the 100-yard butterfly. Keblish captured a school-record time of 45.76, for fourth place in the meet, while Fong recorded a time of 45.95, placing fifth overall and ranking second in school history.
Barnum placed fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 52.98, while freshman Robby Giller (Wilton, Conn.) placed sixth in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 3:44.72, fifth-fastest in school history. Barnum’s preliminary time of 52.60 ranks second in UVA history.
“Great night for the Wahoos,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “Really this is one of our better days in the competition and we really made a move in the team standings. A lot of school records. A lot of lifetime best. We had two guys go under the 400 IM school record with Brendan Casey breaking it and Ted Schubert, with a little bit of bad luck this morning getting disqualified in the prelims, came back in a time trial at the end of the night and went 3:39. It’s the fourth fastest time in the country and a time that would have won the event. So, hats off to Ted (Schubert) for making a comeback and not letting the disqualification bother him.
“In the 100 butterfly, we had two guys in the A Final, both of which went under the school record. Bryce Keblish came out on top in the event. The 200 freestyle, one of the most amazing swims I have seen was Luke Georgiadis. He had a phenomenal out of body swim this morning to even make the finals. He is a senior and it’s the first A Final he has ever made. He ended up getting second place and went even faster. As a fourth year, he really came through for us. The 100 breaststroke was phenomenal with Keefer Barnum making the A Final as a first year and getting fourth place. Alex Albracht also getting a lifetime best by over a second. The 100 backstroke also had a great night with Joe Clark getting on the podium for a third-place finish and breaking his own school record from last year. We ended on a phenomenal note with the 400 medley relay and really gave two of the top teams in the conference a run, finishing just behind NC State and Louisville for another school record. We broke our school record by over three seconds. This men’s team is really on their way and we look forward to another great day tomorrow.”
In the B Finals, junior Sam Magnan (Bethlehem, Pa.) placed 12th in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:35.79, while Baker placed 16th in the event with a time of 1:36.49.
In the B Finals of the 100-yard breaststroke, junior Alex Albracht (Mission Hills, Kan.) and freshman Matthew Otto (Newark, Del.) finished 11th and 13th, respectively. Albracht recorded a time of 53.05, fourth-best in school history, while Otto recorded a time of 53.68, ranking seventh on UVA’s all-time list.
Otto also placed 10th in the 400-yard individual medley, recording a time of 3:46.06.
In a time trial for the 400-yard individual medley, sophomore Ted Schubert (Ashland, Va.) recorded a time of 3:39.52, setting a pool and a school record.
Virginia will conclude action at the ACC Championships tomorrow with preliminary races starting at 10 a.m. and finals starting at 6 p.m. Additionally, members both the women’s and men’s teams will compete in the ECAC Championships at Rutgers’ Sonny Werblin Recreation Center in Piscataway, N.J.