Finishing second can be frustrating for athletes, leading to endless what-ifs. Failing to achieve the gold on a repeated basis can either cause a frustrated team to point fingers or motivate a team to push harder.
The University of Virginia women's swimming and diving team chose the latter path. After the Cavaliers finished runners-up the past three years in the ACC championship standings, their seniors led the way to a gold finish in the 2003 ACC Championships. The long-anticipated conclusion to four years of collegiate swimming couldn't have come at a better time or place for the seniors.
"The ACC Championship was quite possibly one of the best and most exciting meets I have ever been involved in," said senior Cara Lane, a three-time 1650 freestyle ACC champion. "To win my fourth year is so sweet. Not only was it sweet victory but it was in the pool of the team that has beaten us the past three years."
That team was three-time defending champion North Carolina, which at the end of the three-day swimming affair on Feb. 22 in Chapel Hill, lost to Virginia, 710-609. The Cavaliers also avenged their earlier 171-129 setback to the Tar Heels on Jan. 25 in Charlottesville.
As in basketball and other more traditional sports, the rivalry between Virginia and Carolina is fierce. No one can attest better than the fourth-year swimmers who have had to swallow their pride each of the past three years, as their silver finish came up just shy of North Carolina's championships.
Previously, the Cavaliers finished second at the 2002 ACC Championships by a margin of 54.5 points to their arch-rival.
"I've been waiting for this day for four long years," senior Lindsey Crane said. "My first year, we were expected to win and we came up short, placing second behind UNC. Then for the next two years I sat on deck and watched as UNC celebrated beating us every year. Now this year we came in determined and ready to take back our title and going into Saturday night's finals, we were in perfect position to do just that. And we did."
Adding to the odds stacked against the Cavaliers was the fact that they came into the meet as an underdog.
Despite finishing the regular season with a 7-1 record and a second place mark, Virginia was only given a No. 4 seed in Chapel Hill. North Carolina was expected to run their title streak to four straight.
"No one else in the ACC thought we could win the title, and we came into the meet with determination and enough heart to prove them all wrong, and win by over 100 points," senior swimmer Courtney Massaro said.
The senior swimmers, along with the rest of the underclassmen, persevered from three disappointing seasons of nearly taking home the title to finally winning their first ACC championship since 1999.
"Our seniors have brought this team from a disjointed group of individuals to a united team that truly cares about one another and loves being a part of it," sophomore Laura Lipskis said. "There is no better way to send them off than with an ACC Championship. They truly deserve it; it is the culmination of their four years of hardwork and dedication to the team"
Read More
For Leah Hayes, 'Just keep swimming' is what Virginia is all about
By Xander Tilock | YesterdayShe shatters records in the pool and is an inspiration to swimming fans and all those with alopecia.
Virginia comes back from a 20-point gap but falls short versus No. 18 Georgia Tech
By Victoria Blankenship | YesterdayVirginia loses another ACC bout in heartbreaking fashion.
How a reinvention turned Andrew Rohde into men’s basketball’s most reliable player
By Thomas Baxter | 2 days agoThe guard has become one of Virginia's primary threats.
