ACC Championships (Men): Day Two

ATLANTA, Georgia, February 28. BOTH Virginia and Virginia Tech each won a pair of events Thursday, with the Cavaliers knocking down two more records to start off day two of the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Swimming and Diving Championships held at the Aquatic Center on the campus of Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga.

Virginia holds onto the top spot of the team standings, collecting 284 points. Florida State moves up to second place with 208 points, while North Carolina remains in third at 161. Virginia Tech totaled 154 points for fourth place with Georgia Tech rounding out the top five with 139.

The Cavaliers jumped out to an early lead, sweeping the top four spots in the 500-yard freestyle. Freshman Matthew McLean swam an NCAA "A" cut 4:15.91, breaking the conference and ACC meet records and capturing his first individual title. Teammates Taylor Smith, Darren Ankosko and John Snawerdt posted "B" times of 4:20.32, 4:21.72 and 4:22.07 to place second through fourth, respectively.

Virginia continued its dominance in the 200 individual medley, as John Azar collected his first ACC individual title in the event and seventh consecutive for the Cavaliers after posting an NCAA "B" time and season-best 1:47.06. NC State's Steve Mellor came in second with a "B" mark 1:47.36, while Virginia's Pat Reams also posted a "B" time of 1:48.33 for third place.

Earning a spot in the ACC record book, Kaan Tayla became the first Virginia Tech swimmer to win the 50-yard freestyle. The senior from Ankara, Turkey, recorded an automatic qualifying time 19.50 to win the event. Florida State's Scott Baker and Maryland's Nick Corder received the silver and bronze medals, posting "B" marks of 19.73 and 19.88, respectively.

In the diving competition, Florida State clinched two of the top three spots in the one-meter as sophomore Terry Horner took first place with 393.15 points. The title is the first for Horner, who becomes the fifth Seminole to win the one-meter. Miami's JJ Kinzbach tallied 364.35 points to finish second, while Virginia's Tech's Mikey McDonald came in third with a score of 355.15.

The Hokies repeated as the ACC's 200-yard freestyle medley relay champion, as the foursome of Tayla, Jake Bova, Stephen Hawkins and Scott Beard posted an NCAA "B" time of 1:19.37 for the gold. Virginia finished runner-up and Maryland notched third place, as both schools registered "B" marks of 1:19.83 and 1:19.91, respectively.

Special thanks to the ACC for contributing to this report.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

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

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x