Virginia Opens ACC Championships with Second-Place Finish in 800 Freestyle Relay
GREENSBORO, N.C.- The Virginia men’s swimming team concluded the opening day of ACC Championships on Wednesday (Feb. 27) at the Greensboro Aquatic Center with a podium finish from the 800-yard freestyle relay team.
The Cavaliers are in sixth place with 184 points. Duke leads the field with 258 points, while Florida State is in second-place with 247 points and Louisville is in third with 243 points.
Junior Ryan Baker (Arlington, Va.), sophomore Samuel Schilling (Excelsior, Minn.), junior Joe Clark (Worcester Park, Great Britain), and sophomore Cooper Wozencraft (Houston, Texas) finished as the conference runner-up in the 800-yard freestyle relay, recording a time of 6:16.00. The four earned All-ACC honors and captured the second-fastest time in school history with the swim. The performance also ranks fifth in the NCAA heading into tonight’s meet.
Additionally, Baker’s 200-yard freestyle leadoff swim ranks fourth in school history as the junior concluded the opening leg with a time of 1:34.03 .
In the 200-yard medley relay, Clark, sophomore Keefer Barnum (Louisville, Ky.), senior Bryce Keblish (Fairfield, Conn.) and freshman Justin Grender (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished seventh with a time of 1:25.19. The relay swim ranks third in UVA history.
“The men had a rough start tonight with the 200 medley relay, but bounced back magnificently in the 800 free relay,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “That is the relay (800 free relay) the foundation of UVA was built on and it is only going to get better for our men. The guys tonight all swam faster than they ever have and put up the second-best time in UVA history. The second-place finish was icing (on the cake). I’m excited for the rest of the championships.”
Virginia will return to action tomorrow as the team competes in the 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley and 50-yard freestyle preliminary races at 10 a.m. The finals will begin at 6 p.m. and will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.