The Virginia men's and women's swimming and diving teams registered victories Friday afternoon, as they crushed the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the first-ever dual meet between the two squads.
The Cavalier women (3-2, 2-0 ACC) won eight out of 13 events en route to a 139-98 victory, while the men (4-1, 2-0) were victors in the first nine events before swimming exhibition in the final four, resulting in a 133-95 decision.
Sophomore Rachael Burke delivered an impressive performance in the 1650-yard freestyle for Virginia, finishing in 16:23.53 and automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships. She defeated her closest competition, freshman teammate Rory Schmidt, by 24 seconds.
"I actually had no idea how I was going to do," Burke said. "I was just focused, and I felt pretty good. I checked my time on the clock a couple of times and just kept going."
Sophomore Fran Crippen also received an automatic NCAA birth in the 1650-free, touching the wall in 15:05:15, nearly 30 seconds faster than the runner-up, teammate John Millen.
"I was very excited to swim the mile because it's probably my best event," Crippen said. "It's definitely good to get [qualifying for the NCAA Championships] out of the way and not have to worry about it. I was pretty excited about that."
The Cavaliers dominated from the start, with wins in the 200-yard medley relay. The women's team, composed of Brielle White, Jenny Steiner, Cynthia Roller and Shannon Hogan, and the men's team, composed of Luke Wagner, Vanja Rogulj, Mike Raab and Jon Haag, both defeated the closest competition by three seconds.
"We had some sterling performances coming off a very grueling week of training," coach Mark Bernardino said. "I credit the swimmers for mentally preparing themselves to swim fast today."
Individual event winners for the Virginia women included Hogan in the 50-yard freestyle, Erin Corgan in the 200-yard individual medley, Katy Bland in the 100-yard freestyle, Corey Berg in the 200-yard backstroke, Katie Gordon in the 500-yard freestyle and Steiner in the 200-yard breaststroke.
The women swam exhibition in the final event of the evening -- the 800-yard freestyle relay -- but the team of Corgan, Laura Lipskis, Bland and Schmidt touched with the top time.
Individual event winners for the Cavalier men included Wagner in the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard backstroke, Haag in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, Bo Greenwood in the 200-yard individual medley and Raab in the 200-yard butterfly.
The men swam exhibition in the final three swimming events but finished with the top times in each. Crippen touched first in the 500-yard freestyle, Rogulj in the 200-yard breaststroke and the team of freshman Stefan Hirniak, Crippen, Greenwood and senior Ian Prichard took the top time in the 800-yard freestyle relay.
Virginia diver Pete Amstutz also earned first place finishes on both the one- and three-meter boards, the latter being an exhibition effort.
"For our team to have our divers support us with some first places and some second places makes it very difficult for our opposition," Bernardino said. "They picked a good day to be crisp and on the mark with their dives and add a lot of significant points to the team total."
The Cavaliers next compete at the three-day Texas A&M Invitational Nov. 21-23 in College Station, Texas.
Read More
Seven Cavaliers, one recruit selected in 2025 MLB Draft
By Emory Huffman | YesterdayThe draft process went swimmingly for Virginia.
From debilitating illness to Grand Slam main draw: Chris Rodesch’s story
By Margaret Piatos | YesterdayChris Rodesch's torrid run has been an inspiring summer story.
Virginia reloads with a new leader, an emphasis on fundamentals and … bowling?
By Xander Tilock | July 10, 2025The new leader of Virginia men's basketball, and some players, offered an inside look at offseason plans.
