Casey Wins 400 Individual Medley to Lead Virginia At ACC Championships
GREENSBORO, N.C.- Redshirt senior Brendan Casey (Santa Monica, Calif.) led the Virginia men’s swimming team on the third night of competition (March 1) at the ACC Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, capturing the program’s first ACC title since 2014.
After three days of competition the Cavaliers moved into third place with 724 points. NC State leads the team standings with 968.5 points, while Louisville is in second place with 817 points.
Casey won the ACC title in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 3:39.93, recording the second-fastest swim in school history and second-fastest time in the NCAA heading into tonight’s competition. His individual title is the first for the Cavalier men since 2014. He is also the first UVA swimmer to win the 400-yard individual medley since Pat Mellors won the ACC title in 2007.
In addition to Casey, two Cavaliers earned All-ACC honors for individual events. Junior Joe Clark (Worcester Park, Great Britain) finished third in the 100-yard backstroke. He topped his school record in the event, finishing with a time of 45.22. Sophomore Keefer Barnum (Louisville, Ky.) finished third in the 100-yard breaststroke, reaching the wall with a time of 52.64.
Virginia also captured a podium finish from the men’s 400-yard medley relay team of Clark, Barnum, senior Bryce Keblish (Fairfield, Conn.) and junior Ryan Baker (Arlington, Va.). UVA finished third and set a school record in the event with a time of 3:05.14.
“Another record setting day for our men, including our staff’s first ACC champion,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “It was a special moment for our program as it’s been five years since a (male) Wahoo has stood on the top of the podium. It’s the first of many to come and we are excited about the future. We had several podium finishes and school records throughout the night and we are comfortably in third (place). We will likely score more points overall than last year, and that’s another great step forward for our program.”
Keblish set a school record in the 100-yard butterfly, recording a time of 45.51. He finished fifth in the event, while senior Zach Fong (Moorestown, N.J.) followed with a sixth-place finish and a time of 45.70.
Joining Casey in the 400-yard individual medley, freshman Casey Storch (Great Falls, Va.) finished fifth with a time of 3:43.87, while junior Ted Schubert (Ashland, Va.) placed sixth with a time of 3:43.89.
Baker and sophomore Cooper Wozencraft (Houston, Texas) recorded career-best times in the 200-yard freestyle. Baker swam a time of 1:33.88 for a fifth-place finish as Wozencraft finished sixth with at time of 1:33.94.
Virginia will conclude the ACC Championships tomorrow. The team will compete in the prelims for the 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard butterfly beginning at 10 a.m. The finals will begin at 6 p.m. and will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.