2016 Men’s ACC Championship Preview

Photo Courtesy: Kenneth Martin

By Chandler Brandes, ACC Beat Writer

If last week’s Women’s ACC Championship meet is any indication of how the Men’s ACC Championships will go, fast swimming is going to come out of Greensboro again this weekend. The meet begins Feb. 24.

In 2015, NC State won, followed by Louisville with Virginia Tech claiming a close third. The No. 8 Wolfpack will look to win their second-consecutive and 26th overall ACC Championship title, but will face tough competition.

NC State is led by sprint stars Simonas Bilis and Ryan Held. Bilis, a senior, will look to win the 50, 100, and 200 freestyles as he did in 2015. Held, a sophomore, holds the top time in the conference in the 200 free. Junior Joe Bonk has added even more depth to the NC State powerhouse sprint group.

The Wolfpack continue their dominance in the distance events, as Anton Ipsen leads the conference in the three longer freestyle races and also puts up a strong 400 IM. The sophomore won the 500 and 1650 last year, and will look to reclaim his titles in both. The depth the Wolfpack has in each event, combined with their stellar relays, put them in a good position to defend their ACC title.

No. 10 Louisville will challenge NC State this weekend, especially in the shorter freestyle races. Trevor Carroll and Matthias Lindenbauer both hold some of the fastest times in the conference in the 50, 100, 200, and 500 freestyles, making their relays extremely competitive as well. Although they lack depth in the distance races, Grigory Tarasevich has dominated both backstroke events this season, and Nolan Tesone holds the top seeds in both the 200 and 400 IM.

No. 18 Virginia Tech was only 55.5 points behind Louisville last year. Brandon Fiala leads Virginia Tech this season in both breaststrokes, and the 2015 ACC Champion in the 200 IM will look to reclaim his title. Despite the graduation of some key seniors, the Hokies will rely on Fiala, Robert Owen, Michal Szuba, and Lucas Bureau to keep them in the running.

Men’s diving competed last weekend at the Women’s ACC Championships. Miami’s Briadam Herrera won both the 1m (436.60) and 3m (440.00), and Georgia Tech’s Brad Homza won the platform (436.25).

The men’s diving will be added into the team scores. With this, Virginia Tech will begin the swimming portion of the meet with 247 points. Georgia Tech will enter in second with 149 points while Florida State is a close third with 134 points.

Full psych sheet: 2016 Men’s ACC Psych Sheet – Results

Schedule of events: 2016 ACC Schedule of Events – Results

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P. Kirsch

8 years ago

Keep an eye out for UVA distance swimmer Sam Magnan who has posted faster times than VA Tech all season.