Saturday’s Results | Full Results

GREENSBORO, N.C.- The Virginia men’s swimming and diving team finished third at the ACC Championships on Saturday (March 2) at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. Redshirt senior Brendan Casey (Santa Monica, Calif.) led the team during the day, recording his second 2019 ACC title with a first-place finish in the 1650-yard freestyle.

The Cavaliers finished third with 1,108 points. NC State recorded its fifth ACC championship with 1,396.5 points, while Louisville finished second with 1,135.5 points. Virginia also won a point in the Commonwealth Clash, the matchup between Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Casey recorded his second individual ACC title, winning the 1650-yard freestyle. He swam a time of 14:37.50, the second-fastest time in program history and fourth-fastest nationally heading into tonight’s final. He finished the meet with 92 points, tying as the top point scorer with the Co-ACC Most Valuable Swimmers of the Meet, Caio Pumputis from Georgia Tech and Coleman Stewart from NC State.

The Cavaliers concluded the ACC Championships with 14 All-ACC honors, including both ACC titles from Casey as he added a win in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 3:39.93 on Friday.

“I’m proud of how the guys fought today and throughout the meet,” head coach Todd DeSorbo. “We had our best session this morning, putting ourselves in a position to contend for second place, then backed it up with some great racing tonight. (We had) Another ACC title for Brendan Casey and a podium finish for Joe Clark. The men were energized and strong throughout the week. The way the team finished third is indicative of our improvement over last year, scoring over 100 points more, narrowing the gap between ourselves and NC State and Louisville, and separating (us) from the rest of the conference.”

Junior Joe Clark (Worcester Park, Great Britain) earned All-ACC honors in the 100-yard backstroke finishing third in the event and recording the second-fastest time in school history with a time of 1:40.68.

Three Cavaliers competed in the A finals of the 200-yard breaststroke as sophomore Keefer Barnum (Louisville, Ky.) finished fourth with a time of 1:54.04, fifth fastest in school history. Sophomore Matthew Otto (Newark, Del.) placed sixth in the finals with a time of 1:54.86, while freshman Casey Storch (Great Falls, Va.) finished seventh with a time of 1:55.58. Additionally, Otto’s swim during the prelims ranks second in program history as the sophomore recorded a time of 1:53.46.

In the 200-yard butterfly, senior Zach Fong (Moorestown, N.J.) captured a fourth-place finish with a time of 1:41.39. Junior Ted Schubert (Ashland, Va.) followed with a sixth-place finish and time of 1:42.66.

Junior Ryan Baker (Arlington, Va.) recorded a time of 42.77 for sixth place in the 100-yard freestyle. During the prelims, he swam a time of 42.64, capturing the second-best time in program history.

Senior Sam Magnan (Bethlehem, Pa.) finished sixth in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 14:54.03, while sophomore Cooper Wozencraft (Houston, Texas) finished sixth in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:41.83.

The Cavaliers concluded the meet with a fifth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Baker, Clark, senior Bryce Keblish (Fairfield, Conn.) and Wozencraft recorded a time of 2:51.24 in the event.

“We’ve got a great coaching staff pushing this program to elite status quickly,” DeSorbo said. “Now we will prepare for our biggest focus of the year, NCAAs, and improving on our national finish from last year.”

The Cavalier divers will return to action on March 11 at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships in Annapolis, Md., while the swimmers will prepare for the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas. The women’s four-day national meet will begin March 20, while the men’s competition will begin the following week (March 27).

Commonwealth Clash

The ACC Championships serve as the men’s swimming and diving matchup between Virginia and Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash. The Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams at University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line. The school that accumulates 11 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy. Visit www.TheCommonwealthClash.com for more information and updated standings.