If you're one of the top high school distance swimmers in the country and you're deciding where to spend your college years, one of the first stops on your tour of college campuses will likely be the University of Virginia.
Under the leadership of head coach Mark Bernardino and assistant coach Bill Smyth, Virginia has developed one of the premier groups of distance freestyle swimmers in the country. The distance events are composed of the 500-yard, 1,000-yard and 1-mile freestyle events. This year, both distance groups on the 11th ranked men's team and the 17th ranked women's team have yet to lose a race when their top swimmers were competing.
On the men's side, the group of athletes is led by returning senior captain Ian Prichard and sophomore Fran Crippen, both whom are all-American swimmers. For Prichard, it's the mindset of distance swimming that appeals to him.
"It's not that distance swimmers work harder," Prichard said. "It's just that they have a different mentality -- a mentality that the tougher and harder you train, the better you are and the better you are going to be."
Smyth, who has been coaching the distance group for the past seven years, swam on the men's distance team during his undergraduate years at the University. Smyth said the keys to success are simple -- a positive attitude and hark work.
"I don't think there is any team in the country that has a better attitude and has a better work ethic," Smyth said of the Cavaliers.
The success of the distance group is not the only thing that attracts potential recruits to Virginia. Coach Bernardino said one of the unique things about their distance program is the type of preparation distance athletes experience at Virginia.
"Without exception, when they come here they improve," he said."That's the proof in the pudding. Because of the philosophy for training, they're going to get better."
The impact of the distance team goes beyond just winning races and scoring points in meets. The amount of effort each distance swimmer puts in daily and the mental mindset each must possess filters down to the rest of the team.
"We've always recruited and always stressed distance as a critical component of our team," Bernardino said. "I feel that sprinters win meets for you, but the team gets its character, its courage, its work ethic and its sense of pride from its distance group."
It's not just the men's distance group that has been achieving exceptional success this season. The women's distance group is one of the top in the country, as well. Even as a senior captain, Amy Baly still has practices where she amazes herself.
"There are workouts that you look at and you're like there's no way that I could possibly get through that," Baly said. "And then you do it, and it is rewarding in the sense that you do stuff that you don't even know you are capable of doing."
The future of the women's and men's teams also looks bright. Promising freshmen John Millen, Stefan Hirniak, Kimberly Kelly and Rory Schmidt are already continuing Virginia's tradition of dominance in distance events. Kelly was responsible for half of Virginia's victories on Sunday versus North Carolina, and Schmidt won the 1,000-yard freestyle at Duke on Saturday.
Schmidt seems to have been influenced by some of her accomplished older distance teammates.
"We have such a great connection," she said. "I just feel empowered standing up there on the blocks. I know I can accomplish great things."
At North Carolina this past weekend, for example, Virginia placed first in all four distance events and also took second place in three of those races against the No. 15 women's team and No. 22 men's squad.
"I think we're one of the top three distance teams in the nation and have been for the last five years," Bernardino said. "In the ACC, I think we're the dominant distance program. I don't think that can be questioned at all."
With the consistent dominance of the Virginia program, the eight, and soon-to-be 11, other ACC schools will have a tough time earning points in distance events when racing against the accomplished group of Virginia athletes.
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