A year removed from its seventh consecutive ACC championship and an 11th-place finish at the NCAA meet, the Virginia women’s swimming and diving team entered the 2014-15 season with big expectations.
With a strong core of returners, the Cavaliers set preseason goals which reflected the squad’s high caliber — not only wanting to again score the highest fall grade-point average among ACC teams, but also seeking to claim yet another conference title.
Some goals, however, are a little more ambitious.
“They’re thinking about being the best team ever, in the history of this program,” coach Augie Busch said.
And after Saturday’s meet, this does not seem entirely unrealistic.
The No. 7 Virginia women (2-1, 1-0 ACC) claimed 11 of 16 events in a decisive 188-112 win against No. 22 NC State (2-2, 2-1 ACC) Saturday afternoon at the Aquatic and Fitness Center. Meanwhile, the Cavalier men (1-3, 0-1 ACC) dropped a hard-fought meet against the No. 6 Wolfpack (4-0, 3-0 ACC), 181-112.
Even with the defeat, Busch felt his men’s team rose to the challenge. Against one of the top men’s programs in the country in NC State — which upset No. 4 Georgia earlier in the season — the Cavaliers continued to compete, even with five of their top swimmers suspended for the entire fall semester.
“We’re missing some key ingredients, but we have several men that are stepping up,” Busch said.
Chief among them is sophomore Austin Quinn. In addition to junior Yannick Kaeser — who, as usual, won both the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke — Quinn provided a glimpse of what the Cavaliers hope to see more of in the future.
The sophomore from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, took second in three events — the 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke and 400-yard individual medley, which is often considered the most difficult event in the sport. Such performances have drawn rave reviews from his coach.
“Austin has taken a lot of the responsibility upon himself to just inspire the team with the way he trains and races,” Busch said. “He’s really stepped up since we’ve lost those guys. [He] is extremely talented, and I think he’s starting to realize that too, and that’s fueling his confidence.”
As athletes like Quinn continue to grow and the Cavalier men wait for several key players to return in 2015, Busch might have to wait another month or two for the men’s team’s hard work to reflect on paper via dual-meet wins.
But until then, the Virginia swimming community will be more than able to revel in the results of its women’s team.
After picking up second and third-place finishes from juniors Becca Corbett and Katie Warburg in both the 1- and 3-meter diving events earlier in the afternoon, the women won the first six events in the swimming competitions, quickly erasing any lingering doubt following their defeat a week prior.
“I think last weekend, we were really disappointed with our loss against Penn State and really wanted to come out just swinging today to show that we’re ready for Georgia in two and a half weeks,” junior Courtney Bartholomew said.
Virginia benefitted from a career day for Bartholomew, who — after what she considered to be an up-and-down performance last weekend — raced the first leg of the winning 200-yard medley relay team in the day’s first swimming event to set the tone early for the Cavaliers.
Later, she tied the Aquatic and Fitness Center record time of 52:58 in the 100-yard backstroke before breaking the AFC record in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:54.31, both resulting in event wins. In her first meet competing in the 100-yard butterfly event, Bartholomew also claimed second, behind teammate senior Ellen Williamson.
“She’s operating on a higher level than she’s ever operated on, and she’s a pretty high-level swimmer,” Busch said. “She is feeling confident, which I think is scary for the competition.”
The Virginia women also received major contributions from its trio of sensational sophomores: Leah Smith, Laura Simon and Kaitlyn Jones.
Smith picked up three event wins in the 200, 500 and 1,000-yard freestyle competitions, while Simon added her usual two victories in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke, breaking the AFC record for the 200-yard event with a time of 2:12.54 in the process. Meanwhile, Jones took the 200-yard butterfly and the 400-yard IM.
The Cavaliers also showed off their depth, with swimmers such as Williamson, senior Kelly Offutt, sophomore Ellen Thomas and freshman Jennifer Marrkand consistently placing among the top three in their respective events.
“You just have to really look at who our second- and third-place finishers were in every event,” Bartholomew said. “They’re the ones that really bring those points up.”
Saturday appeared to be a step in the right direction for both of Busch’s squads. And though the men’s team seems poised to break back into the win column, the women have said they believe they are well on their way to securing a position among the Cavalier greats.
“I definitely think it’s a realistic goal,” Bartholomew said.
The Virginia divers will compete at the Ohio State Invitational next weekend.
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