Virginia Sets Records on Third Day of NCAA Championships
Results (Finals) | Results (Prelims)
AUSTIN, Texas- The Virginia men’s swimming and diving team set four school records during the third day of events (March 29) at the NCAA Championships at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
The Cavaliers will head into the last day of competition in 11th place with 78 points. California leads the field with 372 points, while Texas is in second place with 329 points and Indiana is in third with 277.5 points.
Redshirt senior Brendan Casey (Santa Monica, Calif.) led the team, advancing to the A Finals of the 400-yard individual medley. He raced to the wall with a time of 3:38.43 to set a UVA record in the event and finish fourth overall, earning All-America honors with the performance. The finish was the best for the Cavaliers in the 400-yard individual medley since Pat Mellors placed third in the event in 2007.
In the consolation finals of the 200-yard medley relay, junior Joe Clark (Worcester Park, Great Britain), sophomore Keefer Barnum (Louisville, Ky.), senior Bryce Keblish (Fairfield, Conn.) and junior Ryan Baker (Arlington, Va.) set a school record, swimming a time of 1:24.35. The four finished third in the consolation finals and 11th overall, earning honorable mention All-America honors with the performance.
Additionally, Virginia had two swimmers set a UVA record during the morning’s preliminary races. Keblish swam a time of 45.43 in the 100-yard butterfly, while Clark finished with a time of 45.17 in the 100-yard backstroke. Keblish and Clark both held the UVA record in their respective events prior to entering the NCAA Championships.
“It was a historic day for our men, breaking four school records in one day,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “Leading the way with a fourth-place finish, Brendan Casey got us off to a great start. The 200 medley relay capped off a great day, moving up from its 27th seed coming into the meet and finishing 11th with another school record. The guys are thriving in the environment here and are 3-for-3 on breaking relay school records. We have already quadrupled our point total from last year and still have a full day left to compete. We are having a blast out in Austin.”
The Cavaliers had four swimmers compete in the consolation finals in individual events as Keblish followed his record setting 100-yard butterfly preliminary swim with a 13th-place finish for honorable mention All-America honors. He recorded a time of 45.52 during the finals.
Clark finished 14th in the consolation finals of the 100-yard backstroke, recording a time of 45.56 for honorable mention All-America honors.
Competing alongside Casey in the 400-yard individual medley, freshman Casey Storch (Great Falls, Va.) and junior Ted Schubert (Ashland, Va.) advanced to the consolation finals in the event. Storch recorded a time of 3:43.03 to place 13th overall, while Schubert finished 15th with a time of 3:44.89.
Virginia will conclude the NCAA Championships tomorrow, competing in the 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke, 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard freestyle relay at 11 a.m. ET. The platform will begin at 1 p.m., while the mile will start at 4:45 p.m.