NCAA Div. I Women: Virginia Dethrones North Carolina for ACC Crown

CHAPEL HILL, NC, February 22. ALL good things must come to an end sometime. And so it was for North Carolina's women's swim team's three-year reign as queen of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Coach Frank Comfort's Lady Tar Heels were dethroned this evening in their own Maurice J. Koury Natatorium by Coach Mark Bernardino's Virginia Cavaliers. The ladies from Charlottesville won their fourth ACC Championship in the 24-year history of the meet and first since 1999.

UVA scored 710 points, soundly defeating treble-defending champion North Carolina, which finished second with 609 points. By virute of its second-place finish, the Tar Heels keep alive their streak of having finished either first or second in every championship ever held.

Virginia hadn't ruled the ACC roost since the Cavaliers won back-to-back titles in '98 and '99. The win allows the Wahoos to tie Clemson for the second-most ACC women's swimming championships in history. Virginia also won in 1990 and Clemson won titles in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1997. The Tigers and Cavaliers have each won four while North Carolina has 15 and NC State two–in 1979 and 1980.

(Virginia is also defending men's ACC champs and expected to mount a vigorous defense of its title next week here.)

Florida State finished third for the second-consecutive year with 557 points. Maryland was fourth (538), Clemson fifth (339), Georgia Tech sixth (259), NC State seventh (241), and Duke eighth (230).

Maryland's Shandra Johnson was unanimously voted the meet's most valuable swimmer. She stroked to a trio of wins, taking the 500 free on opening day, coming back to win the 200 free Friday night and racing to the 100 free tonight in her first ACC meet.

Johnson is a Nebraska native and swam for the Huskers for two seasons before transferring. At the 2000 Big 12s she won the 500 free-200 back and was third in the 200 free, despite a nagging back injury that had hampered her throughout the season.

She also finished among the Top 16 at NCAAs in the 500 free-400 IM that season, making All-America in both events. She's the first Terp to even win the "triple Crown" for Maryland coach Jim Wenhold and she goes out her senior with a double-bang.

Florida State's Chelsie Lerew was deemed the most valuable diver, sweeping the competition with first-place finishes on both the one- and three-meter boards.

* * * * *

Virginia began its championship quest this evening with a one-two sweep of the 1650 freestyle. Freshman Rachael Burke captured her first ACC title with a 16:11.21 clocking and senior teammate CaraLane came in second (16:21.48). Rounding out the top three was Maryland's Elizabeth Lavell (16:30.22). NCAA auto cut is 16:27.53.

North Carolina's Laura Collier then won the 200 yard backstroke in 1:59.37. Virginia rookie Cory Berg was second (1:59.67), followed by Maryland's Inbal Levavi, a member of the Israeli national team (1:59.73). Only six-tenths of a second separated the top five finishers in the event.

None of the finalists made the NCAA "A" cut of 1:57.70 but Collier set the Tar Heel- and ACC record of 1:57.83 at last Noivember's Nike Cup here and was unshaved for this meet.

In the 100 freestyle, Maryland's Johnson claimed her third gold of the Championship with her 49.63, exactly tying the NCAA "A" cut. Virginia's Andrea Georoff, runner-uo to Carolina's Christy Watkins in the 50 free opening night, was runner-up here in 49.67 with North Carolina's Jessi Perruquet third (50.57).

Maryland won its second-straight race when Jillian Martin touched first in the 200 breaststroke with a pr and Terp-record 2:12.56. North Carolina's Becky Acker was next (2:14.31) and Florida State's Emma Douton — 100 breast champ — was third (2:15.31). Martin's time is well within t he"A" standard of 2:14.13.

In the final individual race of the championships, Carolina's Kelly Weeks took first in the 200 butterfly (1:59.61). Duke's Katie Ness (Elliott's daughter) placed second (2:00.14) and Virginia's Mirjana Bosevska came in third (2:00.17).

Weeks set the Tar Heel- and ACC-record with her 1:58.03 in a dual-meet against Minnesota here last fall, so like Collier, she too, was unshaved for this competition. She trailed Ness for the first 140 yards before pulling ahead for the win. NCAA auto is 1:58.98 so Weeks has a free trip to Auburn next month.

In three-meter diving, Florida State's Lerew retained her title by winning with a score of 504.30. Florida State's Tiffany Manning came in second with a total of 475.60. NC State freshman Molly Culberson finished third (470.45).

The Championships concluded with an exciting 400 freestyle relay that saw Florida State's Seminoles finish first in a pool-record 3:20.76 — just off the "A" cut of 3:20.26. Maryland took second with its 3:22.05 and North Carolina concluded the night with a third-place finish (3:22.97).

The Seminoles' Dutton anchored her team with a quick 48.49, fastest-split of the race. Johnson was a tick behind, anchoring the Terp foursome in 48.77.

Final Team Scores:
1. Virginia 710
2. North Carolina 609
3. Florida State 557
4. Maryland 538
5. Clemson 339
6. Georgia Tech 259
7. NC State 241
8. Duke 230

Individual Awards

Most Valuable Diver: Chelsie Lerew, Florida State

Most Valuable Swimmer: Shandra Johnson, Maryland

2003 WOMEN'S ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
MAURICE J. KOURY NATATORIUM
CHAPEL HILL, NC

FEB. 22, 2003

25 YD. POOL

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Event 14 Women 1650 Yard Freestyle
===============================================================================
NCAA A: $ 16:27.53
NCAA B: # 16:57.15
ACC REC: @ 15:53.86 2001 Cara Lane – Virginia
MEET REC: * 15:58.64 2001 Cara Lane – Virginia
POOL REC: ^ 16:06.60 1989 Julie Kole – Foxcatcher
16:27.53 A
16:57.15 B
Name Year School Finals Points
===============================================================================
1 Burke, Rachael FR Virginia 16:11.21$A
27.38 29.13 29.19 29.41 29.38 29.17 29.12 29.22
29.48 29.35 29.18 29.33 29.39 29.56 29.56 29.67
29.54 29.52 29.42 29.43 29.63 29.44 29.52 29.58
29.64 29.78 29.87 29.93 29.90 29.70 29.89 29.98
28.92
2 Lane, Cara SR Virginia 16:21.48$A
27.88 29.22 29.37 29.58 29.52 29.49 29.49 29.71
29.62 29.84 29.58 29.68 29.81 29.68 29.86 29.77
29.71 29.78 29.70 29.71 29.95 30.06 30.14 30.20
30.29 29.67 29.83 30.29 30.31 30.31 30.22 30.28
28.93
3 Lavell, Elizabeth SO Maryland 16:30.21#B
27.30 29.29 29.19 29.48 29.70 29.72 29.56 29.83
29.87 29.98 29.84 29.92 30.18 30.09 30.11 30.15
30.17 30.52 30.54 30.62 30.62 30.37 30.58 30.28
30.69 30.34 30.65 30.52 30.58 30.49 31.04 29.79
28.20
4 Routh, Kim FR Clemson 16:32.21#B
28.03 30.06 29.93 30.12 30.06 30.21 30.32 30.22
30.40 30.38 30.52 30.55 30.27 30.20 30.09 30.79
30.22 30.28 30.34 30.47 30.16 30.52 30.13 29.87
30.17 30.20 30.10 30.48 29.89 30.04 29.74 29.53
27.92
5 McWilliams, Katie SO Virginia 16:38.58#B
28.46 29.93 30.09 30.07 30.20 30.21 30.08 30.14
30.14 30.10 30.01 30.16 30.34 30.45 30.37 30.37
30.30 30.42 30.58 30.63 30.28 30.53 30.55 30.71
30.56 30.58 30.59 30.51 30.57 30.57 30.49 30.26
29.33
6 Smith, Whitney JR North Carolina 16:44.07#B
27.88 29.32 29.71 30.00 29.85 30.11 30.30 30.47
30.54 30.69 30.50 30.51 30.42 30.52 30.87 30.27
30.65 30.64 30.87 30.86 30.74 30.64 30.63 30.63
30.57 30.66 30.72 31.18 30.89 31.21 30.68 31.00
29.54
7 Carlton, Nichole FR Clemson 16:49.16#B
28.10 29.81 30.27 30.57 30.27 30.63 30.52 30.28
30.57 30.88 30.82 30.64 30.62 30.33 30.56 30.48
30.38 30.56 30.84 30.82 30.99 30.60 30.81 30.55
30.95 30.57 30.80 31.24 30.90 31.12 31.19 31.07
30.42
8 Baly, Amy JR Virginia 16:51.73#B
28.07 29.79 29.80 29.91 30.13 30.22 30.37 30.34
30.56 30.65 30.63 31.00 30.67 30.72 30.80 30.82
30.83 30.73 30.91 30.99 31.09 31.31 30.95 30.95
30.92 31.00 31.20 31.18 31.29 31.41 31.14 31.16
30.19

Event 15 Women 200 Yard Backstroke
===============================================================================
NCAA A: $ 1:57.70
NCAA B: # 2:01.23
ACC REC: @ 1:57.83 2003 Laura Collier – Unc
MEET REC: * 1:57.97 1999 Jennifer Mihalik – Clemson
POOL REC: ^ 1:57.83 2003 Laura Collier – Unc
1:57.70 A
2:01.23 B
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
===============================================================================
A – Final
1 Collier, Laura SR North Carolina 2:00.34 1:59.37#B
29.09 29.70 30.14 30.44
2 Berg, Corey FR Virginia 1:59.15 1:59.67#B
28.46 29.99 30.23 30.99
3 Levavi, Inbal FR Maryland 1:59.62 1:59.73#B
28.36 29.95 30.72 30.70
4 Kracke, Ashley FR Georgia Tech-GA 2:00.22 1:59.76#B
28.60 30.24 30.63 30.29
5 White, Brielle FR Virginia 1:59.86 1:59.97#B
28.13 30.58 30.44 30.82
6 Quinn, Kathleen SO North Carolina 2:00.60 2:00.88#B
28.59 30.14 30.82 31.33
7 Knepper, Megan SO Maryland 2:00.61 2:02.17
27.89 30.69 31.78 31.81
8 Gordon, Katie FR Virginia 2:01.30 2:02.20
29.12 30.44 31.25 31.39

Event 16 Women 100 Yard Freestyle
===============================================================================
NCAA A: $ 49.63
NCAA B: # 51.11
ACC REC: @ 48.84 1989 Mitzi Kremer – Clemson
MEET REC: * 48.89 1998 Richelle Fox – Unc
POOL REC: ^ 49.08 1991 Nicole Haislett – Florida
49.63 A
51.11 B
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
===============================================================================
A – Final
1 Johnson, Shandra SR Maryland 50.19 49.63$A
23.98 25.65
2 Georoff, Andrea SO Virginia 49.82 49.67#B
23.61 26.06
3 Perruquet, Jessi JR North Carolina 50.33 50.57#B
24.14 26.43
4 Watkins, Christy SR North Carolina 50.82 50.62#B
24.32 26.30
5 Lyes, Jennie SO Florida State 51.04 50.64#B
24.19 26.45
6 Breen, Emily SO Florida State 51.12 50.84#B
24.45 26.39
7 Crane, Lindsey SR Virginia 51.16 51.19
24.32 26.87
8 Parkinson, Liz SR Florida State 51.30 51.69
24.32 27.37

Event 17 Women 200 Yard Breaststroke
===============================================================================
NCAA A: $ 2:14.23
NCAA B: # 2:18.25
ACC REC: @ 2:11.12 2002 Katie Hathaway – Unc
MEET REC: * 2:11.82 1999 Danica Wizniuk – Virginia
POOL REC: ^ 2:09.06 1989 Mary Ellen Blanchard-Dynamos
2:14.23 A
2:18.25 B
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
===============================================================================
A – Final
1 Martin, Jillian SR Maryland 2:14.15 2:12.56$A
29.80 33.09 34.30 35.37
2 Acker, Becky JR North Carolina 2:14.87 2:14.31#B
30.13 33.69 34.74 35.75
3 Dutton, Emma JR Florida State 2:17.27 2:15.31#B
30.42 34.34 35.19 35.36
4 Kovacs, Krisztina FR Maryland 2:16.41 2:15.60#B
30.78 33.76 35.21 35.85
5 Bruce, Lizzy FR North Carolina 2:16.85 2:16.53#B
30.42 33.89 35.41 36.81
6 Cornet, Lauren JR Duke 2:18.76 2:17.93#B
31.19 35.00 35.56 36.18
7 DeVinny, Cara SO Georgia Tech-GA 2:18.70 2:21.08
31.89 35.76 36.51 36.92
8 Buck, Coco SO Virginia 2:18.34 2:22.27
31.07 34.62 37.07 39.51

Event 18 Women 200 Yard Butterfly
===============================================================================
NCAA A: $ 1:58.98
NCAA B: # 2:02.54
ACC REC: @ 1:58.03 2003 Kelly Weeks – Unc
MEET REC: * 1:58.41 1985 Melanie Buddemeyer – Unc
POOL REC: ^ 1:58.03 2003 Kelly Weeks – Unc
1:58.98 A
2:02.54 B
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
===============================================================================
A – Final
1 Weeks, Kelly JR North Carolina 2:01.08 1:59.61#B
27.48 30.31 30.73 31.09
2 Ness, Katie FR Duke 2:01.72 2:00.14#B
27.12 30.53 30.95 31.54
3 Bosevska, Mirjana SR Virginia 2:01.15 2:00.17#B
27.16 30.65 31.18 31.18
4 How, Lisa SO Florida State 2:00.69 2:01.33#B
26.73 30.57 31.53 32.50
5 Hansen, Loren JR Florida State 2:01.46 2:02.28#B
27.13 30.65 31.64 32.86
6 Hancock, Lisa SO Georgia Tech-GA 2:02.34 2:02.82
27.18 31.34 31.92 32.38
7 Wrenshall, Kate SO Virginia 2:01.55 2:02.92
27.84 30.89 31.54 32.65
8 Roller, Cynthia JR Virginia 2:02.04 2:03.85
28.04 31.34 32.14 32.33

Event 19 Women 3 mtr Diving
===============================================================================
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
===============================================================================
A – Final
1 Lerew, Chelsie JR Florida State 499.55 504.30
2 Manning, Tiffany SO Florida State 491.85 475.60
3 Culberson, Molly FR N.C. State 442.90 470.45
4 McClow, Courtney SO Florida State 433.45 462.35
5 O'Reilly, Amber SR N.C. State 440.85 460.75
6 Waddell, Lindsay JR North Carolina 448.60 439.80
7 Sharp, Alison SR Virginia 443.25 438.95
8 Benner, Ashley SR North Carolina 443.30 410.55

Event 20 Women 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
===============================================================================
NCAA A: $ 3:20.26
NCAA B: # 3:26.26
ACC REC: @ 3:19.81 2002 Virginia
ROESCH, ELLIS, GEOROFF, DYKEHOUSE
MEET REC: * 3:20.09 1999 Virginia
TRAKAS, ROESCH, CRONK, McCUBBINS
POOL REC: ^ 3:21.02 1993 North Carolina
HART, HAAG, HUBER, PERRONI
3:20.26 A
3:26.26 B
School Finals Points
===============================================================================
1 Florida State University 'A' 3:20.76^B
1) Lyes, Jennie SO 2) Hansen, Loren JR
3) Breen, Emily SO 4) Dutton, Emma JR
24.59 51.16 24.17 50.30 24.13 50.81 22.97 48.49
2 University of Maryland 'A' 3:22.05#B
1) Weir, Cynthia SO 2) Mulyayeva, Marina SO
3) Courtois, Valerie JR 4) Johnson, Shandra SR
24.56 51.83 24.10 50.55 24.03 50.90 23.37 48.77
3 University of North Carolina 'A' 3:22.97#B
1) Martin, Leila FR 2) Watkins, Christy SR
3) Brosch, Jessie SO 4) Perruquet, Jessi JR
24.57 51.40 23.57 49.65 24.81 52.23 23.69 49.69
4 University of Virginia 'A' 3:23.01#B
1) Georoff, Andrea SO 2) Crane, Lindsey SR
3) Bosevska, Mirjana SR 4) Dykehouse, Carlie JR
24.28 50.36 23.99 51.13 24.85 51.18 24.23 50.34
5 Duke University 'A' 3:29.02
1) Stupp, Nora FR 2) Sundberg, Alison FR
3) Lewis, Julia FR 4) Ness, Katie FR
25.41 53.11 24.57 51.61 25.28 53.18 24.42 51.12
6 N.C. State University 'A' 3:29.99
1) Smith, Kendall FR 2) Herron, Liz SO
3) Sheridan, Katie SR 4) Gazda, Anna SR
25.20 52.45 24.98 52.53 25.05 52.38 24.84 52.63
7 Georgia Tech Swimming-GA 'A' 3:30.57
1) Wallis, Moeko SO 2) Saum, Anna SO
3) Foster, Elizabeth FR 4) DeVinney, Meghan FR
25.13 52.47 24.82 52.72 25.48 52.79 24.89 52.59
— Clemson University 'A' DQ
1) Woodruff, Christine SO 2) Burtch, Jenna SR
3) Kroeger, Lindsey JR 4) Thieler, Elise SR
24.71 51.46 24.21 51.59 24.53 51.34 23.66 51.08

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