Virginia Takes Early Lead at ACC Men’s Swimming and Diving Championship

Virginia took the early lead in the first night of the ACC Men's Swimming and Diving Championship. The Cavaliers secured a dominating, 10-second victory in the 800 free relay while Georgia Tech set a new ACC record in the 200 medley relay. After two events, Virginia leads in the team competition with 74 points followed by Georgia Tech (72) and Florida State (66).

The Yellow Jackets took first place in the 200 Medley Relay with an ACC record time of 1:26.00 to open the Championship. The NCAA “B” cut time eclipsed the previous record by nearly a second. Virginia finished second (1:26.12) and Florida State took third place (1:26.14) in the event. All three teams on the podium broke the meet record while the top six teams earned NCAA Consideration times. Georgia Tech's time ranks as the seventh fastest time this season in the relay.

Virginia demolished the conference record in the 800 free relay with a time of 6:15.02. The mark was the fastest in the NCAA this season. Florida State clocked in for second place (6:25.11), followed by Georgia Tech (6:25.30). Virginia's NCAA “A” cut was the first posted this season by any school this year. The Cavaliers bested the ACC record by over seven seconds

The ACC Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships continue on Thursday with a full day of action. Preliminary rounds begin at 11 a.m., followed by swimming finals start at 7 p.m. Live video streaming of the finals will start at 7:00 p.m. on ACC Select. For more information, please visit www.ACCSelect.com.

Team Scores (After 2 events):
1. Virginia 74
2. Georgia Tech 72
Florida State 66
North Carolina 60
5. Virginia Tech 54
6. Maryland 50
NC State 50
8. Clemson 42
9. Duke 40
10. Boston College 28
11. Miami 0

MEN’S SWIMMING 2ND AFTER DAY 1 OF ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Behind an ACC record in the 200 medley relay, the Georgia Tech men’s swimming team is in second place just two points behind Virginia after the first day of action at the ACC Men’s Championships on the campus of the University of Maryland.
 
“This is a great way to start the meet,” head coach Stu Wilson said. “We will certainly enjoy it, but can’t get caught up in the moment. This is an extremely fast meet and now we need to get ready for tomorrow.”
 
The Yellow Jackets began the meet in style winning the 200 medley relay and setting a new ACC record in the process. The team of Ilia Ayzenshtok, Mickey Malul, Sullivan Lynch and Mauricio Sousa finished in a NCAA B-cut time of 1:26.00 breaking the record of 1:26.88 which was set by NC State in 2005.
 
In the 800 free relay, the Yellow Jackets finished third in a time of 6:25.30. The team of Noah Copeland, Travis Wagner, Matt Tang and Gal Nevo also set a NCAA B-cut time in the process. That shattered the previous school record set last year by more than six seconds.
 
In addition, Copeland’s 1:34.56 leadoff split in the 800-free relay set a school record for the 200-free. He broke his own record of 1:35.50 set earlier this season.
 
Record Breaking Seminoles Begin Men’s ACC Swimming Championships In Third Place
The Florida State men’s swimming team opened the ACC Swimming and Diving Championships on Wednesday with a pair of trips to the podium and two school records in College Park, Md.  FSU is in third-place after the first evening with 66 points.
 
“I’m excited and I’m glad that we got those records,” FSU head coach Neil Harper said.  “I was really proud of all seven guys that swam tonight and I think that it sends a message to our team that we prepared well and are swimming fast.”
 
The Seminoles opened the meet by shattering the school record in the 200 medley relay.  The team of juniors Andy Hodgson and Scott Thacker and seniors Jarryd Botha and Ed Denton finished third with a time of 1:26.14.
 
“To break the medley record by over a second is great because that is a short relay,” Harper said.  “Those guys did a great job to swim a fast time.”
 
In the 800 free relay the team of senior Kyle Young, Hodgson and sophomores Stephen Pendleton and Robby Hayes broke the school record by more than four seconds with a second-place swim of 6:25.11.
 
“We knew we had two strong legs on the front and our two untested legs on the back swam really well,” Harper said.  “Now we need to be confident and be ready for the individual events tomorrow.”
 
Carolina Men’s Swimmers  Set Two School Records On First Night Of ACCs
The University of North Carolina men’s swimming and diving team shattered two school records Wednesday night and currently stands in fourth place after the opening day of the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium on the University of Maryland campus.  Tar Heel swimmers eclipsed school records in both the 200-yard medley and 800-yard freestyle relay, the latter of which had stood for 16 years.
 
“It was great that we set two school records but we were looking to be better than four in both relays,” said Tar Heel head coach Rich DeSelm.  “We had two good races but we left feeling a little unsatisfied.  We have a very important morning tomorrow and need to swim to our capabilities.”
 
The 200-yard medley relay of sophomore Tommy Wyher, senior Brad Mitchell, sophomore Tyler Smith and freshman Steve Cebertowicz had an NCAA “B” qualifying time and a school record clocking of 1:27.01 to beat the school record set by the Tar Heels at last year’s ACC Championships.  Wyher led off in a blazing fast 21.70, followed by Mitchell’s 24.53 breaststroke leg, Smith’s 21.15 butterfly leg and Cebertowicz’s 19.63 freestyle split.  The record set last year was 1:27.97 and included Josh Hafkin (22.42), Mitchell (24.86), Wyher (20.94) and Robby Swendiman (19.75).
 
“We were better than we were a year ago in the 200 medley relay.  Tommy Wyher had a great leadoff leg and put us in first place,” said DeSelm. “We also improved our seed time as much as any other team in the field.  But we did make a couple of mistakes and in a relay that short and quick you can’t afford that.  We were only a second out of first though and we can improve and be better next year in the event.”
 
The 800-yard freestyle relay clocked an NCAA “B” time of 6:25.38 to finish fourth.  Freshman Evan Reed led off in 1:36.81, well below his previous career best of 1:38.34.  Junior Hank Browning split 1:36.80, sophomore Tyler Harris went 1:37.03 and sophomore Chip Peterson anchored in 1:34.74.  The old Tar Heel record was set in 1993 at 6:26.71.  That relay included David Monasterio (1:37.02), James Hamrick (1:36.22), Daniel Summerlin (1:37.66) and Yann deFabrique (1:35.81).
 
“You always like to see records broke.  I coached the guys who had the record that went down tonight and that was a very memorable swim for them at the 1993 NCAAs,” said DeSelm.  “They were great guys to coach and it is hard to see their name go off the record board but it’s exciting to get a new record.
 
“Freshman Evan Reed might have been a bit anxious but he put up a best time by two seconds.  The rest of the legs had to playing catch up and we were running fifth for a while.  We just barely ran out of room at the end trying to get second place.  Chip Peterson had a fast split and did a good job of fighting his way back amongst the top finishers.”
 
Virginia Tech In Fifth After Day One ACC
The Virginia Tech H2Okie men competed in the first day of competition at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in College Park, Md. Tech raced in the 200 medley relay and the 800 free relay in the first day of action. The H2Okies currently are in fifth with 54 points, while Virginia leads after day one with a score of 74 points.

The team of senior Ian deToll, junior Jonathan Huss, sophomore Zach Holmes and freshman Charlie Higgins competed in the 200 medley relay and picked up where the women’s team left off, setting another new team record. The squad touched in with a time of 1:27.11 for a new H2Okie record, while claiming fifth place and 28 team points. The team also garnered an NCAA “B” cut.

Meanwhile in the 800 free relay, Tech rewrote the record book for the second time in the opening night of competition. Junior Chip Hughes, sophomore Stephen Hawkins and freshmen Blake Trabuchi-Downey and Bryan Uncur edged the previous H2Okie top time by .52 seconds, while crossing the finish line in 6:30.03. The squad tallied an additional 26 points along with a sixth place finish and its second NCAA “B” cut of the night.

Two Records Falls on First Day at ACC’s
Two school records, including a 14-year old relay mark, met its demise as NC State men’s swimming performed exceptionally at the first day of the ACC Championships on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The Pack ended the evening with 50 points, good for fifth overall.

Mason McGee, Kevin Woodhull-Smith, Gaites Brown and Andrew Lester knocked nearly seven seconds off of the 800 freestyle relay with a combined 6:29.84, smashing the old school record of 6:36.26 set in 1995 by Braden Walts, J.J. Marus, Matt Ream and Carlos Santander. McGee offered a 1:35.96 in the leadoff split, with Woodhull-Smith posting a 1:37.81. Brown then put up a 1:38.25, before Lester ended in a hurry with a 1:37.82.

McGee’s split of 1:35.96 also stands as a new school record in the 200 freestyle, topping Santender’s 1:36.95 from 1997.

“I’m incredibly proud of our guys for the swim they had in the 800 freestyle relay,” said head coach Brooks Teal. “The finish was our highest relay placing in several years, and it allowed us to put some solid points on the scoreboard. Even more importantly were the individual splits that our guys put up, with Mason setting a new school record and the other guys giving us our top performances of the season when it mattered most.”

The time in the 800 freestyle also hit an NCAA “B” qualifying standard.

Earlier in the day Stephen Mellor, Dan Forsythe, Taylor Goodwin and Conor Brennan posted the top 200-medley relay on the squad this year with 1:29.55 for eighth place. Mellor started with a 23.23, which Forsythe followed with a 24.87. Goodwin (21.36) and Brennan (20.09) ended the race with lightning-fast splits.

“I’m very proud of our guys for scoring some solid points in the 200 medley relay, which is usually not one of our strongest events,” said Teal. “It shows the guys what they are capable of achieving and it helps set the tone for a positive run at the ACC Championships.”

Action will continue at the ACC Championships tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 26. Prelims will begin at 11 a.m., with the finals starting off at 6 p.m.

Men's Swimming & Diving Drops Three Records On Day One
The Duke men's swimming & diving wasted no time erasing some school records at the 2009 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships, as the Blue Devils set three new marks on day one of competition at the University of Maryland's Eppley Recreation Center on Wednesday evening in College Park.

Duke set school records in both of Wednesday's relay events - the 200 medley and the 800 free relays. In addition, Spencer Booth's split within in the 800 free relay was a new record for the 200 free as he clocked 1:36.9.

In the 200 medley relay, the team of David Hahn, Jordan Charles, Nick Garvy, and Andy Osterland took ninth place in a record time of 1:29.66. Garvy's 50 butterfly split of 20.84 was the third-fastest in the conference this season.

The 800 freestyle relay team of Booth, Pieter Den Hartog, David Carlson, and Ryan Packer also took ninth in another Duke record time of 6:34.83, which was a Duke best by over 10 seconds.

"We started off on a great note this evening, and were extremely competitive like we thought we would be," said head coach Dan Colella. "We're very proud and looking forward to tomorrow's events."

Thursday's preliminary swims begin at 11 a.m., with finals set to go at 7 p.m. and to be streamed live on the web via ACC Select. Live stats are also available for both sessions. For a full meet schedule and more information on the 2009 ACC Championships, see the attached link.