Following the football game tomorrow, the Virginia swimming and diving teams will face the Clemson Tigers in their first ACC contest of the season. The meet starts at 4 p.m. at the Aquatic & Fitness Center.
The Cavalier men's and women's squads are coming off wins against West Virginia and James Madison. After two meets that served as season-opening tune-ups, Cav coach Mark Bernardino said the Tigers, who open their season today at Virginia Tech, will give Virginia their first test of the year.
"I expect two real good Clemson teams to show up here, two teams capable of beating us if we don't have focus and intensity," Bernardino said.
Last year at Clemson, the Cavaliers lacked that intensity. The Virginia women prepared for a tough meet and took a 145.5-97.5 win. The men, however, anticipated an easy victory, and Bernardino experimented a bit by putting some of his star swimmers in their secondary events. As a result, the Tigers slid by with a surprising 136-107 win.
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Bernardino attributed that loss in part to a lapse in focus after the Cav men beat Tennessee the previous week, seizing what Bernardino termed one of the biggest wins in program history. As far as senior co-captain Troy Johnson is concerned, the No. 11 Cavalier men (2-0) have no intention of getting upset again.
"I know that our team is very excited to compete against Clemson this year, especially because of our loss to them last year," Johnson said. "We will be looking for complete and total domination, to send out a message to the rest of the ACC that Virginia swimming is a great program and is only on the rise. Nobody comes in our house and thinks they can push us around. We make the rules in our house, and they have to abide by them."
The No. 12 Virginia women (2-0) have good reason to expect a tight meet against Clemson. Three of the last four meetings have gone down to the final relay. The Cavs are led by sophomores Cara Lane and Mirjana Bosevska, but the Tigers appear to have a deeper roster overall, with 25 returnees. Clemson All-American Ginny Kerouac and NCAA qualifier Mandy Commons also should make an impact.
Before they hit the water at the AFC, the Virginia men will be across the street at Scott Stadium, where they will be honored before the game for winning the 2000 ACC Championship. Ed Moses will be recognized at halftime for his performance at the Sydney Olympics, where he won an individual silver medal and a relay gold.
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