Florida State Takes Over Lead at ACC Championships

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina, February 21. HEADING into day two of competition tied for the lead, Florida State battled to the top of the team standings at the 2007 ACC Men's Swimming and Diving Championships at Koury Natatorium in Chapel Hill. Florida State won two individual events and took silver in the 200 freestyle relay to move ahead of eight-time defending league champion Virginia Thursday night.

FSU now enters day three of the ACC Championships as the team leader with 257 points, followed by Virginia with 205.5. Virginia Tech notched a big win in the final event to stand in third with 178 points. North Carolina and Clemson totaled 164.5 and 131.5 points to round out the top five, respectively.

Completing the rest of the field from sixth through 11th are NC State (116), Georgia Tech (105.5), Maryland (103), Duke (62), Miami (37) and Boston College (36).

The Seminoles were relentless on the night, winning two of the three individual events. In an event that has been dominated by Virginia for the past decade, FSU's Kyle Young broke that trend as the junior became the first Seminole to win the 500-yard freestyle in ACC history. The Oviedo, Fla., native touched in with a winning NCAA "B" time of 4:19.16.

Hank Browning of North Carolina and FSU's Steve Roof rounded out the top three in the 500 free. Browning finished runner-up with a 4:19.99, while Roof came in third at 4:20.79. All eight swimmers in the championship final posted NCAA "B" times.

Virginia's Pat Mellors also had a big night as he shattered three records en route to successfully defending his title in the 200-yard individual medley for the third year in a row. The junior from Pittsburgh, Pa., recorded an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:45.77, setting new ACC, meet and pool records.

Clemson's Attila Ruszka took the silver in the 200 IM, swimming an NCAA "B" cut of 1:48.19, while Ed Denton of Florida State finished the race in 1:48.56 for third place.

Florida State would gain a slight lead heading into the final event of the night after senior Alex Kennon captured the 50-yard freestyle title with an NCAA "B" cut time of 19.84. The native from Winter Haven, Fla., became the first Seminole to win the event since 2001.

Virginia Tech's Kaan Tayla, who entered the 50 free championship final with the top time from Thursday's preliminaries, came in a close second by 0.12 (19.96). Danny Gray from Maryland placed third with an NCAA "B" cut of 20.01.

The Seminoles further extended its lead at the ACC Championship when the scores for the one-meter dive were added in after the 50 free. The men's diving events took place at last week's ACC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, but the team scores were to be withheld until the proper portions of the schedule were met for the men's championships.

Miami's Ruben Ross scored 387.30 points in the 1-meter diving competition, capturing his first league individual title. Teammate Derek Starks, who was the 1-meter champion in 2006, tallied 371.15 points for his second career silver medal, while NC State sophomore Austin Hampton came in third with a 350.90 total.

The final event of the day wrapped up in thrilling fashion, as Virginia Tech edged Florida State by 0.01 in the 200-yard freestyle relay. It marked the first time Virginia Tech has claimed the 200 free relay title in ACC history.

The Hokie foursome of Kaan Tayla, Jake Bova, Ian deToll and Scott Beard finished the race in an NCAA "B" time of 1:19.47, while Florida State's Jimmy Holway, Ed Denton, Alex Kennon and Jarryd Botha recorded a 1:19.48.

Clemson's quartet of Mark Vahle, Adam Farnham, Stephen Russell and Jay Crout combined for a third-place finish with an NCAA "B" cut of 1:20.30.

The ACC Men's Swimming and Diving Championships resume Friday with preliminaries beginning at 11 a.m. and finals starting at 7 p.m.

Exclusive coverage of the ACC Championship will be available on www.ACCSelect.com for fans to watch live at 7 p.m. ET through Saturday, February 24.

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