NCAA Div. I Men; Virginia Takes 4th Straight ACC Title

COLLEGE PARK, Md., March 2. THE University of Virginia men's swimming and diving team won its fourth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference Swimming and Diving title Saturday (March 2) with at the University
of Maryland Campus Recreation Center Natatorium.

The Cavaliers won 16 of 20 events during the three-day meet, including six of seven events during Saturday's competition, and scored 872 points.

UVa second-year Luke Anderson (Charlottesville, Va./ Bolles School) was named the Most Valuable Swimmer of the ACC Championships after winning three individual titles and three relay titles.

Virginia, the three-time defending champions won 16 of 20 events and compiled 872 points with Georgia Tech finished a distant second with 580.5 points. North Carolina was third with 501.5 points, while Florida State took fourth with 395. Rounding out the field were Clemson (383), Maryland (280), N.C. State (259) and Duke (88).

"This was a complete team effort from top to bottom," said head coach Mark Bernardino. "At the beginning of the season we set some high goals for this team. We wanted to put forth a dominating performance and win as many events as we could and qualify as many
athletes as possible for nationals. To be in a position to win four ACC titles in a row is special and we were motivated and challenged to win four in a row. We will also be motivated to win a fifth title
in a row next year. We intend to win more ACC titles in a row than any team at the University of Virginia will ever win."

UVa began the final night of competition by taking first and third place in the 1650 freestyle. Second-year Ian Prichard (Ventura, Calif./Buena) successfully defended his title in the 1650 freestyle with a winning time of 14:54.07, which automatically qualified him for the NCAA Championships March 28-30 in Athens, Ga. It marks the six consecutive year a UVa swimmer has won the 1650 free at the ACCs. Third-year Dan DeMarco (Great Neck, N.Y./Great Neck) was third in the 1650 free with a time of 15:11.39.

In the 200 backstroke, second-year Luke Wagner (Englewood, Colo./Regis Jesuit) won his second backstroke title of the championship and his second consecutive 200 back ACC title with a time of 1:44.47. He automatically qualified for NCAAs with his prelim time of 1:44.02. First-year Bo Greenwood (Manakin, Va./Goochland) took second place (1:45.46), while first-year Chad Barlow (Williamsburg, Va./ Walsingham Academy) was fourth (1:46.41).

Anderson won his third ACC freestyle title in as many nights as he captured the 100 free in a time of 43.08 seconds. Anderson, who also won the 50 and 200 freestyle events, automatically qualified for NCAAs with his time in the 100 free. Second-year Adam Kerpelman (Lutherville, Md./St. Paul's School) was third in the 100 free (44.72), while second-year Jon Haag (Ashland, Ohio/Ashland) placed eighth (45.41).

Second-year Gary Marshall (Bartlesville, Okla./
Bartlesville) turned in a brilliant performance in winning the 200 breaststroke for the second-consecutive year. Marshall automatically qualified for the NCAAs with a time of 1:54.79, while third-year teammate Jon Baird (Nashville, Tenn./Montgomery Bell Academy) touched in 1:58.59 to take third place.

First-year Michael Raab (Rockville, Md./Walter Johnson) rounded out UVa's individual event winners as he clocked a time of 1:45.88 in winning the 200 butterfly for his first ACC title. Third-year Guy
Yimsomruay (Bangkok, Thailand/Germantown Academy) placed third in the 200 fly with a time of 1:47.88.

Second-year Pete Amstutz (St. Joseph, Mich./St. Joseph) scored 444.30 points to finish eighth in the three-meter diving competition. In the final event of the night, the 400 free relay, the Cavaliers put an exclamation point on their performance by winning the relay with a time of 2:56.39. Kerpelman, Haag, Wagner and Anderson swam legs on the winning relay.

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