When Virginia wins a swim race, the noise in the Aquatic & Fitness Center rivals the roar at Scott Stadium. Teammates line the sides of the pool and cheer on the contestants while competing among themselves to see who can shout loudest.
Saturday AFC shook from the uproar as the Virginia men's and women's swimming and diving teams defeated Clemson in their first ACC matches. The men's team won with a score of 156-87, while the women extended their win streak in dual meets to 23 with a 150-93 victory.
"I think basically we wanted to swim well," Virginia coach Mark Bernardino said. "We stepped up a big notch in competition from our first two meets, and our goals this weekend were to make some significant improvements of what we have done the last two weekends. We are steadily improving and finding where our freshmen can step up for these more competitive meets."
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After losing the men's 400-yard med-ley relay, Virginia won three events in a row and never looked back. Freshmen Luke Anderson and Ian Prichard led the way for the No. 11 men (3-0, 1-0 ACC) by each winning two individual events. Anderson won the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.89 seconds and the 100 free with a 45.54. He also anchored the first-place 400 free relay, which won with a time of 3:03.15. That relay team also included freshmen Jon Haag and Luke Wagner and senior Troy Johnson.
Prichard's victories included the 200 free (1:40.72) and the 500 free (4:27.26). He posted an NCAA "B" qualifying time in the 500 free, which puts him in contention for a bid to the NCAA championships.
The Cavalier men also gained victories from other key swimmers: Jamie Grimes in the 1,000 free (9:11.79), Guy Yimsomruay in the 200 individual medley (1:51.95), Michael Fuller in the 200 butterfly (1:49.83) and Luke Wagner in the 200 backstroke (1:47.17).
"The team swam great," Cav junior Chris Mousetis said "We showed a lot of energy. We kept our heads high and kept on swimming. That is the key to a lot of these dual meets. We met them early on and hung onto the lead and used it to our advantage."
Clemson also had the upper hand on the No. 12 Virginia women (3-0, 1-0) after the 400 medley relay. But just like the men, the Cav women fought back and dominated Clemson throughout the rest of the match. Sophomore Cara Lane had an exceptional meet and captured three NCAA "B" qualifying times by winning the 500 free (4:47.42) and the 200 fly (2:00.85) and placing second in the 200 free (1:50.35).
"I swam pretty well today," Lane said. "It was a pretty good meet overall and we did really well."
Sophomore Mirjana Bosevska won the 200 IM (2:03.92) and the 1,000 free (9:48.69). Other women's victories included Carlie Dykehouse in the 200 free (1:50.26), Megan Iffland in the 200 back (2:03.44) and the 400 free relay team of Iffland, Dykehouse, Megan Roesch and Jenna Bridges (3:28.76).
The Cavs also showed dominance in women's diving. Sophomore Alison Sharp won the women's three-meter diving competition with a score of 276.75, which qualified her for the NCAA Zone Diving Regionals. She also won the one- meter diving with a score of 252.25. Clemson sophomore Craig Thomas won both men's events.
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