ACC Weekly Preview: Commonwealth Clash Highlights MLK Weekend Slate

Photo Courtesy: Virginia Athletics

More ACC teams will be back in action this weekend following a holiday break from competing, including defending conference champions Virginia (women) and NC State (men).

The Cavaliers will be competing in the most compelling dual meet on the schedule when they welcome cross-state rival Virginia Tech to town. Located less than 150 miles apart, any athletic showdown between the two schools is dubbed part of the “Commonwealth Clash.”

The Hokies swam in what was supposed to be a two-day tri-meet last weekend against Kentucky and Georgia Tech, but the second day of the meet was called off due to snow. Virginia has not competed since the Georgia Invite in early December, after which the most recent CSCAA poll ranked the Cavalier women fourth nationally and the men 15th.

Leah Smith, who actually missed the Georgia Invite to compete at Short Course Worlds, will be entering her last semester of competing collegiately, and she has a strong core around her—Kaitlyn Jones, Jenn Marrkand and breaststroker Laura Simon all impressed in Athens.

The UVA men, meanwhile, only have one returning NCAA championships participant (sophomore flyer Zach Fong), and their meet against the Hokies’ senior-laden squad figures to be the more competitive contest.

NC State, meanwhile, will be returning to Austin after its men took down Texas in a dual meet in November. Among major college teams, Texas A&M is the only other heading to Austin, but the roster of U.S. and foreign Olympians, as well as American up-and-comers, should be a challenge enough for the Wolfpack.

Meanwhile, both of the other Triangle-area teams will be in action this weekend as North Carolina heads northwards to take on Navy in Annapolis and Duke hosts South Carolina. The Tar Heel women, led by seniors Hellen Moffitt and Caroline Baldwin, were extremely impressive at the NC State Invite in November and were most recently ranked No. 2 in the CSCAA poll, while Jordan Merrilees has been one of the top swimmers in the conference in the men’s mid-distance events.

The Blue Devils-Gamecocks men’s meet will be rematch of a tight contest a season ago in Columbia, when Duke won a back-and-forth contest with a one-two finish in the meet-ending 400 free relay. Neither Duke nor South Carolina was ranked in the most recent CSCAA poll, although the Gamecocks received votes. The Duke women were ranked No. 23.

Florida State’s impressive season under first-year head coach Neal Studd will continue at Pittsburgh Saturday, with Division III Denison also in attendance. The Seminoles last competed at the Georgia Invite in December, where junior breaststroker Natalie Pierce posted the No. 2 time in the country in the women’s 100 breast (58.37), behind only Olympic gold medalist Lilly King. Meanwhile. the Panthers are coming off a sweep of former Big East rival West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will have a busy weekend with three days of racing against Big Ten opponents. After taking on Iowa and Illinois at home in a two-day meet (Thursday and Friday), the squads will head to Evanston, Ill., to face Northwestern.

Full schedule:

Illinois & Iowa at Notre Dame, 5 p.m. Thursday & 11 a.m. Friday
NC State at Arena Pro Swim Series (Austin), Friday through Sunday
Virginia Tech at Virginia, 5 p.m. Friday & 12 p.m. Saturday
North Carolina at Navy, 10 a.m. Saturday
Florida State & Denison at Pittsburgh, 11 a.m. Saturday
Clemson at Georgia Southern (diving only), 11 a.m. Saturday
South Carolina at Duke, 12 p.m. Saturday
Notre Dame at Northwestern, 12 p.m (CT) Saturday
Marist at Boston College, 1 p.m. Saturday

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

Name*

Email*

1 Comment

Oldest

Newest Most Voted

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

Katherine Nickel McFaden

7 years ago

Go Hoos!!!