Following one of the most prolific seasons in team history in which both the men's and women's swimming and diving teams won their respective ACC championships, one might easily assume that Virginia has become satisfied with the program's progression in recent years. After all, last year's ACC titles were the second consecutive for the Cavalier women and a school-record sixth consecutive for the men.
But since last season, long-time Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino has instituted a brand new weight training program followed by each and every Cavalier swimmer.
"I feel as though the strength program we've been on the last couple of years has helped the swimmers become better athletes," Bernardino said. "But it didn't necessarily supplement our water strength as well as I would've liked it to."
In order to accomplish this new goal of increased swimming-specific power, the Cavaliers have brought in Ed Nordenschild. Nordenschild arrives as the head strength and conditioning coach for Olympic sports at Virginia after spending the last five years at Fresno State, where he was honored in 2003 with the Coach Practitioner Award from the National Strength & Conditioning Association.
"This year is different," junior Brielle White said. "It's the most intense weight training program I've ever done. I think there is going to be a big difference when we shave and taper; it's going to be amazing. We're going to swim so fast."
Bernardino agrees with White's optimism about the potential results of the new strength program. Although some of the swimmers may feel more fatigued during the early part of the season, Virginia is confident that the end product will be well worth the price.
"The athletes are being challenged by max strength tests which they've never done before," Bernardino said. "They're lifting fewer reps, but they're being asked to be more explosive, more quick and more exact. We're hopeful that that will translate into strength in the water."
If the Cavaliers truly are fatigued, the effects have yet to surface in competition. So far this season, the Virginia women are 4-0 in dual meets with the men also perfect at 3-0. Last weekend at Georgia Tech, both the men's and women's teams distanced themselves from the Yellow Jackets by over 30 points, keeping their perfect conference records in tact as well.
Tomorrow afternoon, the South Carolina Gamecocks flock to town to take on the No. 10 men and No. 15 women Cavaliers. Both Virginia squads claimed victory a year ago when the team traveled south and squared off against the Gamecocks in Columbia.
No doubt, South Carolina will be looking to exact some revenge from last season's Cavalier sweep Saturday at 1 p.m. at the AFC. The Gamecocks may even feel as though they have the momentum heading into the meet as their women's team trounced Virginia's new ACC foe, Miami, last weekend. The Cavaliers, however, have proven this offseason that by improving their training regime they intend to be better this season than ever before.
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