Virginia Concludes NCAAs with Three All-America Performances
March 24, 2018
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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Virginia men’s swimming and diving team recorded All-America Honorable Mention honors with two individual swims and a relay performance on the final day of the NCAA Championships, concluding the meet on Saturday (March 24) at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.
The Cavaliers finished 29th in the team standings with 19 points. Texas captured the program’s fourth consecutive NCAA title with 449 points. California finished second with 437.5 points, while Indiana finished third with 422 points.
For the first time since 2008, the Cavaliers recorded two All-America honors in the 200-yard butterfly. Junior Zach Fong (Moorestown, N.J.) led the team with a 12th-place finish, swimming a time of 1:41.44. He set a school record with his preliminary swim of 1:41.26. Sophomore Ted Schubert (Ashland, Va.) finished 15th with a time of 1:41.86.
The 400-yard freestyle relay team of sophomore Ryan Baker (Arlington, Va.), sophomore Joe Clark (Worcester Park, Great Britain), junior Bryce Keblish (Fairfield, Conn.) and freshman Cooper Wozencraft (Houston, Texas), respectively, finished 16th with a time of 2:51.79, earning All-America Honorable Mention honors. The Cavaliers set a school record during preliminary races with a time of 2:51.05.
In the 1650-yard freestyle, redshirt junior Brendan Casey (Santa Monica, Calif.) finished 18th with a career-best time of 14:47.63. Junior Sam Magnan (Bethlehem, Pa.) recorded a career-best time of 14:52.59 to finished 24th. Magnan’s performance ranks sixth in school history.
Freshman Matthew Otto (Newark, Del.) captured a time of 1:54.88 to place 20th in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Sophomore Bryce Shelton (Vienna, Va.) finished 24th in the platform dive, recording a score of 309.65.
“It was a great night for the men,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “We had two guys in the consolation finals of the 200 fly and set a school record today. We also had a 400 free relay that scored. That put us in a place that this team has not been in a while, which is putting points on the board at the national championship. It is a fantastic finale to a season. It is one, that I don’t think, any of these guys or our coaches or the country will ever forget. Taking a team from almost the bottom of the ACC to jumping up three spots to finish third. We had multiple All-Americans, two relays and five individual swims. It’s a fantastic result for this program and where we are now. We exceeded outside expectations all year and continued to do that here. We know this team is good and can continue to do great things. We are really excited about the future.”
The Cavaliers concluded the meet with five individual All-America honors. Virginia also earned All-America Honorable Mentions in the 400-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Schubert led the team in individual honors as a two-time All-American, capturing All-America Honorable Mention in the 400-yard individual medley and the 200-yard butterfly. Clark finished as a three-time All-American after competing on both relays and finishing 14th in the 100-yard backstroke.