The Virginia men's and women's swimming and diving teams will need to pack their parkas along with their speed and strength as they head to Pittsburgh this weekend. Snow is in the forecast for Saturday, when the Cavaliers will take on the Panthers at 11 a.m.
Virginia will enter the pool fresh off a successful weekend of ACC competition at the home. The No. 9 men's team defeated No. 20 North Carolina on Saturday and Clemson on Sunday. The No. 12 women's squad fell to the No. 11 Tar Heels Saturday before knocking off the Tigers on Sunday.
Coach Frank Bernandino said he was pleased with his teams' performances over the weekend, attributing fast times to rigorous training the teams participated in the week before the two dual meets and all season long. He also acknowledged that the focus will be different as his teams prepare to face Pittsburgh.
Last week, "we took a businesslike approach," Bernandino said. "We had to be fast. We had to be focused. We had to be intense."
This week, the coach had different plans for his athletes.
"We will need some speed work to recover those hundreths of seconds that we need to win close races," Bernandino said.
Pittsburgh is riding a hot streak of their own coming into the matchup with Virginia. The No. 19 men's team has won their last five straight meets, culminating in a victory over Oakland Jan. 25. The Panther women have won four of their last five meets, also defeating Oakland to even their record at 5-5.
Pittsburgh's men are led by freshman diver Dennis Nemtsanov, who won both the one meter and three meter events in the meet against Oakland with scores of 341.10 and 384 points, respectively.
Virginia has their own freshman sensation in the form of swimmer Fran Crippen. Crippen was named ACC Performer of the Week this week for the third time this season. He won four events in the Cavalier's two matches last weekend, including the 1000 yard freestyle, where his time of 8:55.69 broke the ACC, school, and pool records. Crippen's record-setting swim of last week is nearly 30 seconds faster than the personal best of junior Eric Limkermann, the Panthers' team record-holder in the event.
Crippen was proud of his success, but remains focused on the challenges that lie ahead for him and his teammates.
"It was a huge meet for us," Crippen said of Saturday's victory. "It was really intense the whole meet. It's hard to keep that kind of intensity up, but the good things that were happening [Sunday] are a great sign for the rest of the season."
The rest of the season looks bright not only for Crippen, who already has qualified for the 2003 NCAA Championships in the 50 free and 1650 free, but for both of the Virginia swimming and diving teams.
"We are ready to be fast. We are positioned to swim well down the homestretch," Bernandino said.
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