The Virginia men's and women's swimming teams defended their pool successfully in the final home dual meet of the 2001-2002 season yesterday, toppling the visiting Pittsburgh Panthers.
In a test of two nationally ranked teams, the No. 12 Cavalier men (7-2) faced off against the No. 17 Panthers (7-1) by steadily increasing their lead to the final score of 135-103. The Cavs handed Pittsburgh its first loss of the season.
Meanwhile, the No. 12 Virginia women (9-0) kept their perfect dual meet record alive as they easily handled the unranked Pittsburgh women (3-7), finishing the meet 137-104.
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Both the Cavalier men and women posted victories in eight of 13 events. With the victories imminent, Virginia coach Mark Bernardino exhibitioned his swimmers in the men's final event and the two final women's events, out of courtesy to the visitors.
For the men, yesterday's victory serves as redemption after a close loss to No. 8 South Carolina on Jan. 26.
"After our loss to USC, this win is a big deal for us," sophomore Luke Anderson said. "We expected to win but it's still important."
With seven individuals winning events, the men set the meet's pace beginning with a first-place finish in the competition's opening event, the 400-meter medley relay. Sophomores Luke Wagner and Anderson and juniors Jon Baird and Brian Best led the field with a time of 3 minutes, 19.62 seconds.
In addition to swimming the final leg of the medley, Anderson notched a first place finish in the 50 free with a time of 20.39 seconds and finished second in the 100 free at 44.68 seconds, just four-hundredths of a second off of the lead time.
Among the field, the Cavaliers also received important contributions from sophomores Wagner and Ian Prichard and junior Dan DeMarco.
Wagner, in addition to swimming the first leg of the winning medley relay, led the field in the 200 back with a time of 1:47.08, good enough for NCAA "B" qualifying time.
Prichard secured the top spot in the 500 free at 4:31.13 and touched in second in the 1000 free at 9:16.11 while DeMarco pulled away from the competition in the event to finish with a winning time of 9:12.06.
Finally, two Cavalier freshmen set personal records and registered NCAA "B" qualifying times. Bo Greenwood won the 200 individual medley in 1:50.02 while Michael Raab led the field in the 200 butterfly in 1:46.81.
Bernardino still cites relay exchanges and the need for faster results from certain individuals as areas for improvement, but overall is pleased with his team's efforts.
"We've done a good job addressing the things we've talked about," Bernardino said. "Things like competing, having better team chemistry and team work. And in terms of training - miles swum, weights lifted - we're ahead of where we thought we'd be."
With only one dual meet at Maryland remaining before the ACC Tournament, Anderson said the men believe their season is coming together.
"I think we're in a great position to win the ACC Championships again," Anderson said.
The women emerged victorious in eight of nine individual events with three Cavalier women notching two victories apiece.
Junior Cara Lane, the ACC women's swimmer of the week, took the 200 free in 1:51.29 and the 100 butterfly in 56:49.
Junior Mirjana Bosevska, winning the 200 IM in 2:03.70, grabbed the women's only NCAA "B" qualifying time. She also won the 100 backstroke with a time of 59.28 seconds.
Finally, freshman Carrie Ellis won the 50 free in 24.11 seconds and 100 free in 51.82.
"Even if we're not going up against the toughest competition, we're all working together as a team," senior captain Meghan Roesch said. "We're going right into the ACC tournament where we want to be."
The Cavalier women appear to be in a good position as the regular season nears completion.
"Even though the competition wasn't tough, we're gaining confidence with each win," Bernardino said. "Many of the girls are continuing to see improvements in their times and we're getting great practice in relays that will be critical down the line."
Both teams viewed their victories as deserved gifts for their graduating seniors.
"They've all made such positive contributions to the team," Bernardino said. "They're an incredibly good group of kids. They've meant a lot to our program and to the university"
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