Entering the final dual meets of the season this Friday and Saturday, the Virginia men and women's swim and dive teams will look to finish strong with victories against Navy and Pittsburgh, and to propel themselves confidently into the ACC and NCAA championships.
Both the Navy men and women's swim and dive teams possess undefeated records thus far. Sophomore Mac Anthony helped lead the men's squad to its most recent 152-142 victory against Yale. The squad walked away with individual first-place finishes in the 200-meter freestyle (1:40.05), as well as the 100 freestyle (46.15). Senior Tara Chapmon led the women's squad in its 151-149 victory against Yale with individual victories in the 1,000-meter freestyle (10:11.83), the 200 freestyle (1:47.74) and the 500 freestyle (4:57.04).
"Their men's program is one of the most improved programs in the country over the last five years," Virginia coach Mark Bernardino said of Navy. "We have a lot of respect for their athletes and a lot of respect for their team, and we feel that this [will be] an outstanding meet. We're looking forward to real good competition."
Pittsburgh also is hoping to provide the Cavaliers with a solid performance in both the individual and team events. Despite losing to both Virginia squads during the 2008-09 season, the Panthers remain optimistic that they can be successful, especially after their most recent victories again Duquesne (169-99 men; 199.5-60.5 women).
The No. 8 Virginia men's squad and the No. 11 Virginia women's squad are both in search of improving their dual meet records to an impressive 9-1 on the season with victories against the Midshipmen and the Panthers. In their most recent dual meets, the teams garnered wins against ACC rivals Duke and nationally-ranked North Carolina.
"That's a huge swimming rival; it's probably one of the biggest swimming rivalries in the country and for our athletes to go to Chapel Hill and beat two very good North Carolina teams on the road is pretty exciting," Bernardino said. "I think that meet brought out the best in us from a physical, from a mental [and] from an emotional perspective. [It] gave us a lot of direction and really, I would say, a lot of positive emotion going into the final last eight weeks of the season."
Senior John Azar contributed to the men's 168-132 victory against the No. 14 Tar Heels with a national qualifying time of 1:37.86 in the 200 freestyle, as well as a strong individual performance in the 200 medley relay. Senior Mei Christensen led the Cavaliers to a 185-113 victory against the No. 15 Tar Heels with impressive showings in the 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, 200 medley relay and the 400 medley relay. Both seniors earned ACC Performer of the Week Honors - Christensen's second in the last three weeks.
This Saturday's meet against Pittsburgh will be the final home meet for Azar, Christensen and the rest of the senior swimmers.
"It's fun being at home because you look up in the stands and you see your family and your friends and your classmates [that] have come to cheer you on," Christensen said. "It's just really a great experience to be able to swim in this pool and walk out there and really know that it's our house. You know everyone says four years will fly by but you don't really, you can't really understand that until you experience it."
The Virginia women's team will next compete in the women's ACC Championships, scheduled to begin Feb. 17 in Chapel Hill, N.C. The men's team will begin competition Feb. 24, hoping to make history by becoming the first senior class to win three ACC titles.
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