Virginia Records Four Podium Finishes on Day Two at ACC Championships
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Junior Morgan Hill (Olney, Md.) led the Virginia women’s swimming and men’s and women’s diving teams on the second day of competition (Feb. 21) at the ACC Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, recording her fifth ACC title with her performance in the 50-yard freestyle.
The Cavaliers concluded the day with 379 points to rank third at the meet. NC State paces the competition with 454 points, while Louisville is in second place with 409 points.
Hill earned her first individual conference title with a first-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle. She swam a career-best time of 21.68 to top the event. The time ranks second in program history and seventh nationally heading into this weekend’s events. The win was the fifth career ACC title for Hill, who has won four times as member of a UVA relay team.
In addition to Hill, Virginia captured podium finishes from sophomore Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) and sophomore Abby Richter (Henderson, Nev.) as both swimmers finished second in an event.
Madden was the ACC runner-up in the 500-yard freestyle, recording the fourth-fastest time in program history with a time of 4:38.13. Richter finished second in the 200-yard individual medley. She raced to the wall with a time of 1:55.92, recording the fourth-best swim in program history. Both Madden and Richter earned All-ACC honors for their performance.
The Cavaliers concluded the night with the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Hill, sophomore Kyla Valls (Miami, Fla.), sophomore Anna Pang (London) and senior Eryn Eddy (Loveland, Colo.) swimming a time of 1:28.60 for a third-place finish and All-ACC honors.
“The women caught fire tonight, starting with Emma’s (Seiberlich) 500 free and roared until the very end,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “To podium in every single event is phenomenal. It was a fantastic session. I’m so proud of how the women are racing and excited for the next couple of days. They brought a lot of energy tonight and we are going to have to continue to thrive if we want to be in the title contention the next two days.”
Three Hoos added to the Cavaliers’ night, advancing to the B finals in an event.
Sophomore Emma Seiberlich (Audubon, Pa.) swam a time of 4:43.47 in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing 10th overall and second in the B final. The swim was a career-best for the sophomore, who dropped four seconds off her entry time.
Freshman Julia Menkhaus (Charlotte, N.C.) placed 13th in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:59.18, while sophomore Anna Pang (London) finished 16th in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.55.
On the men’s 3m board, junior Bryce Shelton (Vienna, Va.) and freshman Walker Creedon (Cary, N.C.) rallied to finish 11th and 12th respectively. Shelton captured a score of 323.70 as Creedon recorded a score of 322.20.
“Our male divers continue to perform exceptionally well with massive improvements over the last year,” DeSorbo said. “Our men have scored more than triple what they did last year and still have the platform. Hats off to them and coach Livingston.”
The Cavaliers will return tomorrow for day three of the ACC Swimming and Diving Championships. The preliminary races will begin at 10 a.m. as Virginia competes in the 100-yard butterfly, 400-yard individual medley, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke and women’s platform during the morning session. The finals will be streamed on ESPNU and ACC Network Extra beginning at 6 p.m.