NC State vs. Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia, February 4. THE Virginia men's and women's swimming and diving teams both earned wins over NC State Saturday in the final dual meet of the season. The 15th-ranked Cavalier men knocked off No. 23 NCSU 170-123, while the No. 11 Cavalier women also came out on top, 169-111.

Prior to the meet, Virginia honored its eight seniors – Kelly Flynn, Meredith Perdue, Erika Stewart, Briggy Imbriglia, Peter Geissinger, David Karasek, David Wren and manager Shannan Fitzgerald.

The Virginia men finished the dual meet season with a 5-3 record, including a 3-1 mark vs. Atlantic Coast Conference foes. The Cavalier women concluded the year with an unblemished 8-0 record and went 4-0 against conference opponents.

"It was a very solid performance for both teams," Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. "I liked our energy and the aggressive way we raced today. We took our races out hard and settled into a really strong pace. This was a good way to head into the championship portion of the season."

Sophomore Taylor Grey led the Virginia men with a win in the 200 breaststroke and tied with teammate Nick Montes de Oca for first-place honors in the 200 individual medley. Redshirt freshman Megan Fox paced the Cavalier women with wins in the 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke.

After the men finished second to NC State in the opening event, the 200 medley relay, the Cavaliers rallied to finish 1-2 in the 1000 freestyle. Sophomore Jan Daniec won the event in 9:15.37 while classmate Bradley Phillips was second in 9:19.56.

Virginia put up three sweeps in the meet, including the 100 backstroke, 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley. Parker Camp led the 1-2-3 UVa finish in the 100 backstroke with a winning time of 49.21. He was followed by teammates Brady Fox (49.81) and Jack Murfee (49.83).

Freshman David Ingraham recorded a win in the 200 butterfly, finishing in 1:49.98. Matt Houser (1:50.55) and Cody Brunette (1:52.34) were second and third, respectively.

Grey and Montes de Oca both hit the wall at 1:51.80 to tie for first-place honors in the 200 individual medley. Karasek placed third with a time of 1:52.40. Grey also put up a time of 2:00.60 to win the 200 breaststroke while Montes de Oca was third in 2:02.73.

Other event winners for the Virginia men included Phillips in the 500 freestyle (4:30.02), Geissinger in the 200 freestyle (1:38.33) and Brady Fox in the 200 backstroke (1:45.91, 'B').

"It really came down to matchups," Bernardino said of the men's victory. "We were able to get the better of the matchups. They (NC State) have some really outstanding swimmers and we had no answer for a couple of them. But most importantly, I was impressed with how our guys raced. The difference in the meet was team depth and we are blessed with 18-20 really solid swimmers."

The Virginia women got off to a solid start, notching a NCAA 'B' cut to open the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay. Charlotte Clark, Flynn, Meredith Cavalier and Emily Lloyd teamed up to finish in 1:42.35.

The Cavaliers swept five events en route to victory. Sophomore Rachel Naurath took first place honors in the 1000 freestyle in 9:44.91. Teammates Alison Haulsee (9:57.80) and Kelly Offutt (9:59.32) were second and third, respectively.

Virginia swept both backstroke events with 1-2-3 finishes. In the 100 backstroke, Clarke picked up the victory with a 'B' time of 54.30 and was followed by Cavalier (55.63) and Stewart (56.20). Caroline Kenney went on to win the 200 backstroke in 1:57.37 ahead of Clarke (2:00.17) and Stewart (2:01.84).

Fox led a UVa sweep in the 200 butterfly with a winning mark of 2:01.12. She was followed by teammates Sarah White (2:02.56) and Riley Flanagan (2:02.87). Freshman Ellen Williamson earned first-place honors in the 100 butterfly (55.69) while Naurath (55.89) and Flanagan (56.65) were second and third, respectively, in a race that was exhibitioned and did not count toward the team score. Naurath also posted the fastest time of the day in the 200 individual medley (2:03.34), another exhibitioned race.

Cavalier took the win in the 100 freestyle, touching in 51.03. Lloyd was second in 51.43 and Meredith Perdue was third in 51.72.

Other event winners for the Virginia women included Lauren Perdue in the 200 freestyle (1:48.40), Christine Olson in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.64), Flynn in the 50 freestyle (23.37), Fox in the 200 breaststroke (2:21.08) and Offutt in the 500 freestyle (4:54.01).

"Our depth is no different on the women's side," Bernardino said. "Because we are deep, we make one another better. Every day you are racing two, three, four people of the same ability level. That helps you get better."

Following the meet, former Virginia swimmer Katya Bachrouche set a pool record in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:40.12. She broke former Cavalier Rachel Burke's previous mark of 4:43.24, which was set in 2004. Bachrouche, who graduated in 2011, is training at UVa for the 2012 Olympic Games where she will represent Lebanon.

Both Virginia teams are off until the ACC Championships, held later this month at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center in Christiansburg, Va., and hosted by Virginia Tech. The women's meet will take place Feb. 15-18 along with men's diving. The men's meet is slated for Feb. 22-25.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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