Virginia Opens the NCAA Championships With A School Record
AUSTIN, Texas- The Virginia men’s swimming and diving team concluded the opening day of competition at the NCAA Championships at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on Wednesday (March 27) with a school record in the 800-yard freestyle relay.
Junior Ryan Baker (Arlington, Va.), sophomore Samuel Schilling (Excelsior, Minn.), junior Joe Clark (Worcester Park, Great Britain) and sophomore Cooper Wozencraft (Houston, Texas) finished eighth in the 800-yard freestyle relay earning All-America honors. The four Cavaliers set a school record in the event, dropping 3.7 seconds to finish with a time of 6:12.28.
It was the first time since 2013 that the Cavaliers have finished in the top 16 at the NCAA Championships in the event.
“What a start to the meet for our men,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “Finishing in the top-eight after not scoring in that event in over five years is a huge improvement. Breaking the school record has been a goal of ours all year and the guys smashed through it. That relay just scored more points than this team did the entire meet last year. It’s a tribute to their hard work and dedication. I’m proud of these guys and happy for them as they’ve earned every bit of this success. I’m excited for the rest of the meet.”
In addition to the Cavaliers’ relay record, Baker recorded the third-fastest 200-yard freestyle time in program history with his leadoff swim of 1:33.50. Schilling followed with a split time of 1:33.13, while Clark turned in a time of 1:32.87 and Wozencraft swam a time of 1:32.78.
Virginia is in eighth place after the opening day of competition. The Cavaliers scored 22 points in the only event of the day, the 800-yard freestyle relay. Texas leads the field after finishing first in the event with 40 points. NC State is in second place with 34 points and California is in third place with 32 points.
The Cavaliers will return to action tomorrow competing in the 200-yard freestyle relay, 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle and 400-yard medley relay. Preliminary races will begin at 11 a.m. ET. The men’s 1m dive will begin at 1:15 p.m.