Though the Virginia men's and women's swimming and diving teams race at the same regular season meets, share the same coaches and divvy up the pool to hold practices at the same time, their similarities end when championship season arrives. While the No. 11 women's squad ventured to Blacksburg last week to nab its fifth consecutive ACC title, the No. 15 Virginia men stayed home waiting for their moment in the spotlight, which comes tomorrow.
"It's fun to watch the women's finals that they show on the ACC Network," senior David Karasek said. "It gets us all excited, and [we] want to jump in as well."
With most of the coaching staff at the women's meet, the men train with former Virginia swimmers and volunteer coaches for four days. Because they had already reached the taper portion of their training, Karasek said the absence of coach Mark Bernardino was not a cause for concern.
The women certainly did their part in starting the Virginia swimming and diving program off strong. The Cavaliers won four-of-five relay events contested during the four-day meet, as well as six individual races.
"It's very important to win the first relays," junior Lauren Perdue said. "It really boosts the team and gives them a lot of confidence. It lets the other teams know we're here."
Redshirt freshman Megan
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