The call-and-answer chant of "'Hoos house? Our house!" was deafening. The poolside chorus of triumphant Virginia swimmers roared through chants of "U-V-A." The Good Ol' Song was never sung so jubilantly.
The Virginia men's swimming and diving team was not a very welcome host this past weekend. The men successfully defended their ACC title streak and sent the rest of the conference home longing for another chance to curb Virginia's growing dominance in the sport.
Yet, you'd have thought by the volume and intensity of their cheers Saturday night that the Cavaliers had won their first-ever conference title. Instead, it was Virginia's school-record sixth straight ACC championship. But number six seemed to be just as sweet as the first -- not that any current swimmer was around to see the first victory in Virginia's current run.
That's what is so remarkable about this Virginia men's swim team: their sense of tradition and history. The Cavaliers all own T-shirts that simply say "1987" on the front -- the year they first won the ACC title. It's always a team-first attitude with Virginia.
"Over the past three days, we showed what it meant to be a team," ACC Most Valuable Swimmer Fran Crippen said after the meet. "Anytime we were on the block and in the water, we weren't swimming for ourselves -- we were swimming for our team."
The program also maintains a strong alumni base in which past swimmers continue to support the development and success of the program long after their days in the pool have ended. The most visible impact they make is their attendance at every meet, wearing orange and cheering loudly for the current Cavaliers. Their presence was especially felt this year since Virginia was the host school.
"It's definitely much more of a thrill to win it at home," said junior Michael Raab, who recently won his third straight ACC title in the 200 butterfly. "The last two years were at Maryland and UNC. When we won, basically the stands cleared out other than our parents. This time everyone's sticking around, and it's loud anytime we win."
In his final career meet at the AFC, senior Ian Prichard won his first individual title in two years and expressed a sense of both gratitude and awe at the fan turnout.
"To be here, to be on deck and to hear all the people in the stands -- I've put so much of my time and energy and my soul into this pool," he said. "It's great to be able to finish [my career] here."
The alumni's more enduring impact, however, will be far less obvious than a troupe of raucous, orange-clad fans. Instead, the alumni have pooled their resources to endow three more swimming scholarships for the program. With this new addition, Virginia will finally be a fully-funded program and be able to offer the maximum allotment of scholarships allowable under NCAA rules.
In the mid-80s when the men were gearing up to make their first ACC title run, coach Mark Bernardino estimated that the program was only 50 or 60 percent funded. Now, the Cavaliers have already won six titles in a row and will finally hit 100 percent in funding next year.
Athletic Director Craig Littlepage outlined a 10-year plan for the University's athletic department that includes such goals as full funding of scholarships, 70 conference titles and 12 national championships. In addition to the six ACC titles, the men's swim team currently is ranked eighth in the country and continues to ascend the national rankings each year. Certainly Virginia swimming is doing its best to live up to its end of Littlepage's vision.
"That's six in a row, and that's an important milestone for our program," Bernardino said of the weekend victory. "It's an important milestone for our University, too. There's a commitment to excellence here. It permeates throughout the athletic department."
The potential for this up-and-coming program is limitless, and the team's hunger remains insatiable despite its recent success. Don't think for a second that Virginia is satisfied with its school record.
"The [ACC swimming] record is 14 by N.C. State," Raab said. "Six is pretty small compared to that, and that's what we're shooting for. We're going to try and break that record."
The Cavaliers are not even halfway there, but if their 311.5-point victory this past weekend is any indication, the rest of the ACC is a long way from catching up anytime soon.
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