Virginia Concludes Opening Day of ACC/Big Ten Challenge
West Lafayette, Ind.- Members of the Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams concluded day one of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Saturday (Nov. 10) at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center.
The Big Ten Conference finished the day ahead in both competitions, leading the ACC women 123-44 and the men 85-82.
“This is a great experience for our men and women as well as the rest of the ACC,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “It’s the first time in history that two conference have teamed up to compete against each other. The men are in a tight battle and the Big Ten women got the best of the ACC tonight, but tomorrow is a new session. Our (Virginia) men and women had some solid swims coming off one of the best weeks of training all year. I’m pleased with the performances today, and I’m looking forward to more great racing tomorrow.”
Sophomore Abby Richter (Henderson, Nev.) swam leadoff for the ACC’s 400-yard medley relay team, swimming alongside Julia Poole (NC State), Alyssa Marsh (Duke) and Abigail Dolan (Notre Dame). Richter led the team to a fifth-place finish, recording a time of 3:35.16.
In the men’s 400-yard medley relay, sophomore Keefer Barnum (Louisville, Ky.) captured a 52.12 breaststroke split, helping his team of Alvin Jiang (North Carolina), Nicolas Albiero (Louisville) and Andrej Barna (Louisville) finish fourth in the event with a time of 3:08.56. Additionally, senior Zach Fong (Moorestown, N.J.) swam the third relay leg, competing alongside teammates Taylor Cortens (Boston College), Charles Kleinsmith (Boston College) and Aaron Scultz (Notre Dame). The four finished eighth with a time of 3:17.30.
Barnum followed his relay performance with an individual third-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke. He recorded a time of 1:56.99, the fastest time by a Cavalier and fifth-best time nationally this season.
Junior Ted Schubert (Ashland, Va.) captured a time of 3:46.50, finishing fifth in the 400-yard individual medley and recording the fifth-fastest performance in the nation. Sophomore Robby Giller (Wilton, Conn.) finished seventh in the event with a time of 3:50.99.
Senior Brendan Casey (Santa Monica, Calif.) captured a sixth-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:23.27, his fastest time this year.
In the 100-yard freestyle, Morgan Hill (Olney, Md.) swam a time of 49.63. She finished fifth in the event.
Sophomore Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) placed seventh in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:57.00
Freshman Julie Menkhaus (Charlotte, N.C.) placed eighth in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:15.73 as Richter placed eighth in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:57.94.
On the platform, senior Kylie Towbin (New Canaan, Conn.) finished eighth, recording a score of 232.50.
The meet concluded with the 800-yard freestyle relay. Hill and Madden led the ACC to a second-place finish. Hill recorded a 1:46.59 leadoff split in the event, aiding teammates Mallory Comerford (Louisville), Dolan and Madden to a time of 7:00.43. Richter led the team of Emma Muzzy (NC State), Valerie Daigneault (Pittsburgh) and Allison Kea (Boston College), recording a time of 7:19.01 for seventh place.
Giller swam leadoff for the men’s 800-yard freestyle team of Miles Williams (Duke), Aaron Schultz (Notre Dame) and Christian Ferraro (Georgia Tech). The team finished fifth with a time of 6:27.92, while Giller swam a split time of 1:38.36.
Fong led the team of Colin O’Leary (Boston College), Christopher Thames (North Carolina) and Taylor Cortens (Boston College) to a seventh-place finish and a time of 6:47.41 in the 800-yard freestyle relay. Fong swam a time of 1:38.60.
The conference matchup will conclude tomorrow with action beginning at 10 a.m.