As the host of the 2001 ACC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, Virginia hopes history will repeat itself.
Virginia (7-1, 4-1 ACC) and North Carolina (8-1, 5-0), both swimming and diving powerhouses, have won the championship the past two years with the home team swimming to victory each year. This bodes well for the Cavaliers as the ACC Championships open today and run through Saturday at the Aquatics & Fitness Center. Preliminaries start at 11 a.m. and run throughout each day and finals begin at 7 p.m. each day.
The seven-team field has three teams ranked in the top 25 of the Women's Speedo College Swimming Coaches Association of America poll. No. 9 North Carolina and 12th-ranked Virginia will be the favorites in the meet, while the 16th-ranked Maryland also have swimmers capable of high finishes.
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Mirjana Bosevska and co-captain Cara Lane lead Virginia in its quest for another championship. The 2000 ACC champion in the 500-meter freestyle, 1650 free, 200 butterfly and 800 free relay, Lane was named ACC Swimmer of the Year and ACC Meet Swimmer of the Year at last year's ACC Championships in Chapel Hill, N.C.
"I've been concentrating on my events, the times I want to get," Lane said. "I've been practicing a lot. I've been thinking about my races and how I want to swim them."
Bosevska, a Virginia sophomore and a Macedonian Olympic team member, will compete in the 200 and 400 individual medleys, and the 200 fly. Despite winning the 200 and 400 IM last year, Bosevska has her sights set higher this year.
"I want to try and better my performance from last year," Bosevska said.
Virginia co-captain Megan Iffland is a strong contender in the 100 and 200 back and holds school records in both events. Iffland, a five-time All-American, was the ACC champion in the 200 medley relay in 2000.
Senior Courtney Coulbert, the Cavaliers' Diver of the Year in 2000, leads the Virginia diving team, which Carolina coach Frank Comfort called "utterly superb."
Coulbert placed eighth on the one-meter and three-meter boards at last year's ACC championship. Sophomore diver Allison Sharp will also be a key factor in the Cavaliers' diving success. She placed second on the one-meter board and third on the three-meter board at last year's competition.
With a team consisting of three returning ACC champions, North Carolina looks to return home with the championship trophy for the second year in a row.
Junior Katie Hathaway will try to repeat her victories in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Senior Erica Acuff, who sat out last season due to injury, will look to regain her 1999 200 IM title and best her ACC meet record in the 400 IM. As the reigning champion in the 200 back, senior Summer Mack will vie for the title once again. Sophomore Cristy Watkins will also try to repeat as both the 100 back and 50 free champion.
Ashley Bener, a sophomore diver, will lead what Comfort calls a "young but talented" group. Bener finished fourth on the three-meter board and sixth on the one-meter board at the 2000 ACC meet.
The ACC meet is the "highlight of what we do over the year," Comfort said. The "whole conference looks forward to it. My team can hardly wait until 11 o'clock on Thursday."
Maryland (9-3, 2-2) is ready to pounce on Virginia and North Carolinia if either falter. Maryland assistant coach Mark Murrey calls this weekend a "real festive event." According to Murrey, Suzie Catterson will be a "major contributor" in the 50 and 100 free and the 100 back.
Terrapin sophomores Bridget Mallon and Jill Martin will be threats in the 100 fly and the 200 breast, respectively. Junior Ashleye Henyan leads Maryland's strong diving team after placing second in last year at the ACCs on the three-meter dive.
Duke (6-3, 0-3) will rely on two freshmen this weekend. Lauren Cornet is a threat in the 100 and 200 breast, while Lauren Hankock looks to show what she can do in the butterfly at the same distances.
N.C. State (6-5, 0-5) expects a pair of juniors to turn in good times this weekend. Andrea Hastings is a strong freestyler and backstroker, and Mandy Horn will compete in freestyle events. Sophomore Erin Bailey is a leading diver for the Wolfpack.
Christy Tech leads a young Florida State team (8-5, 1-0) and will look to defend her 100 freestyle title.
Clemson (4-4, 1-2) also have the potential to make an impact this weekend. The Tigers' Jenna Burtch looks to improve on the personal best she set at last year's ACC tournament in the 100 free. Sophomore Mandy Commons looks to improve on her personal record in the 200 breast and 200 IM times set in 2000.
Virginia will be hard-pressed to continue the host school's winning streak but Lane thinks that the Cavs will rise to the challenge.
"Of course we want our best times," Lane said. "But more than anything we just want to have fun"
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