Virginia Cruises into ACC Finale With 222 Point Cushion

The 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Swimming and Diving Championships concluded Friday night, with Virginia intact at the top with 559 points after three days of competition at the Aquatic Center on the campus of Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga.

Two more records fell for a total of six on the week, this time by North Carolina which moved up to second place with 377 points after three days of competition. Virginia continued to distance itself from the rest of the field, finishing in the top three in six of the seven events for the day.

Florida State drops to third with 352 points, while Virginia Tech (275) and Georgia Tech (269) remain in the same spots at fourth and fifth, respectively.

The future looks bright for the ACC with the freshmen heating things up early, sweeping the top three in the 400 individual medley and notching two of the three spots in the 200 freestyle. Tyler Harris from North Carolina shattered the conference and ACC meet records en route to capturing the 400 IM title, the school's first champion in the event since 1986. Virginia's Ian Vogt posted a runner-up finish, while UNC's Andy Brake placed third.

In the 200 freestyle, Virginia placed first and third with Matthew McLean winning the title and teammate Scot Robison finishing third. Georgia Tech's Noah Copeland came in second in the race.

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The veterans were unwavering in their performance on the night, as Virginia Tech's Scott Beard successfully defended his title in the 100 butterfly for the third straight year. The senior from Chesterfield, Va., is the sixth swimmer in ACC history to win the 100 fly at least three times.

Georgia Tech's Mickey Malul also had a big night, as the junior from Rishun Le-Zion, Israel, posted an NCAA "B" time of 53.91 to capture the 100 breaststroke title and become the first Yellow Jacket to ever win the event in ACC history. Virginia pushed ahead in the final stretch to finish in the top three, as PJ Sullivan touched in at 54.28 for second. Rounding out in third place was Andy Miller from Georgia Tech with a "B" cut 54.81.

Diving competition continued Friday with the men's three-meter, as Florida State secured the top two spots in the event. Terry Horner posted a score of 399.35 to clinch his second ACC diving title this week, making it a sweep of both springboard events. In addition, the sophomore from Orlando, Fla., was named ACC Most Valuable Diver.

The final day of the ACC Championships resumes Saturday, Mar. 1, with preliminaries beginning at 11 a.m. and finals starting at 7 p.m. In addition, platform diving will be conducted for the first time in ACC history.

Raycom Sports, in a partnership with Turner Broadcasting, will produce the ACC Swimming & Diving Championships for broadband video streaming on www.ACCSelect.com, providing live coverage of the final events only on Saturday.

Below are the team standings and results from day three of the ACC Championships.

Team	Standings	Points
1.	Virginia	559
2.	North Carolina	377
3.	Florida State	352
4.	Virginia Tech	275
5.	Georgia Tech	269
6.	Clemson	232
7.	NC State	204
8.	Maryland	142
9.	Duke	74
10.	Boston College	54
11.	Miami	24