The dual meet portion of the men's and women's swimming and diving teams' schedules have come and gone, but the Cavaliers' season is just beginning to reach its peak.
The Cavaliers are anticipating the ACC Championship meets later this month - meets at which the men and women have performed extremely well in recent years. Both the men's and women's squads have won three consecutive conference titles dating back to the 2008 season.
"The legacy that the fourth-years have started here is really incredible, and I'm just honored to keep that going," freshman Rachel Naurath said. "If we win this year, they will have never lost an ACC championship."
One final step remains, however, before the Cavaliers begin their quest for their fourth ACC title in as many years. This weekend, Virginia will travel to College Park, Md. to compete in the Maryland Invitational. The Virginia coaching staff plans to use this weekend's performances to determine the remaining spots on the conference championship travel team, as well as to determine how the athletes respond to high-pressure situations.
"We want to make sure everybody has a chance to perform in a prelims-and-finals championship-style meet," coach Mark Bernardino said. "Some of these athletes are going to be our future down the road. It's very important to their future development, very important to their future contributions to the team and to the program, and it's an opportunity for us to hopefully see them shine in a two-day meet where they'll be swimming their best events."
The Maryland Invitational marks the final outing of the season for several younger swimmers, and Bernardino believes that this particular meet will push them to a new of level of performance before the offseason.
"Some athletes really, really make major improvements at this time of the year," Bernardino said. "So in my perfect coaching world I would bring them to ACCs and allow them to experience those improvements, but because of the reduced travel squad, we can't do it."
The format of the Maryland Invitational allows for an even more individually-intensive racing experience for the older and younger members of the team alike. The athletes will be competing as individuals this weekend, racing against both members of other schools and against members of their own teams.
"The team score of this meet is of absolutely zero importance," Bernardino said. "It's an opportunity for kids to perform and to race. It's all about individuals at this meet, not about the team. They're all supporting one another, and they're all really looking forward to showing the coaches how good they and their teammates are."
Regardless of its performance at the Maryland Invitational, the women's team has already begun its taper process in preparation for the team's departure for the ACC Championships next week.\nIn swimming, tapering involves an emphasis on recovery and speed work to maximize each athlete's race pace.
The men's ACC championship meet does not begin until Feb. 23, which provides the squad with a 17-day window for altered training.
"We're going to have to take their volume up a little bit and then bring them down," Bernardino said. "We'll have a little bit more time to work with them"
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