When Virginia's Ethan McCoy dove into the pool for the anchor leg of the 400-yard medley relay at this weekend's ACC Men's Swim and Dive Championships, few expected the senior freestyle sprinter to be in position to dethrone a dangerous Seminole relay squad.
In the team standings at the time, Florida State still enjoyed a significant advantage, and the final event of the second-to-last day of competition was not one in which Virginia was expected to make up much ground.
Yet, after three impressive splits from juniors Vanja Rogulj and Stefan Hirniak and sophomore Bryan Stahl, McCoy found himself making the final turn of the race with a slight edge over Florida State's Alex Kennan. As he emerged from the turn for the final 25-yard sprint, a raucous Cavalier contingent carried the senior to the wall for a thrilling victory amidst the deep, resonating chants of "U-V-A! U-V-A!" that echoed throughout the Natatorium Recreation Center at the University of Maryland in College Park. A controversial Seminole disqualification for an early start, which was later appealed and overturned, only served to heighten the drama of the race.
The Virginia men's squad, previously winners of seven consecutive ACC men's titles, entered the swimming portion of the meet on Thursday down 60 points from diving. The team fought all day Thursday and Friday to cut into the Florida State lead and began to feel the momentum after the gutsy 400-yard Medley Relay win pulled the team within six points of the lead.
"It was an enormous swing in the meet," Coach Mark Bernardino said of the race. "I felt like we were going to carry the momentum, enthusiasm and energy. We hadn't been in this position [trailing at ACCs] in a long time. Since 1999, there hadn't been a day at this meet where we didn't have the lead."
On Saturday morning, the team began right where it left off the previous evening, collecting crucial team points from junior John Millen's victory in the 1650-yard freestyle, a Rogulj-led 1-2-3 finish in the 200-yard breaststroke, and strong showings in the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard butterfly. Despite a Seminole victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay
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