Having already knocked off defending conference champion? North Carolina during the dual-meet season, the No. 10 Virginia women's swim and dive team heads to the ACC Championship meet determined to claim the 2008 crown for itself.
The Cavaliers travel to Atlanta? with high expectations for themselves, and while their goal is attainable, they will face several opponents with a legitimate shot at returning home as conference champions. Virginia coach Mark Bernardino expects stiff competition from Virginia Tech, Florida State and North Carolina.
"This meet is a clean slate; everything is 0-0 now -- so beating UNC during the regular season was nice, but does not factor in here," Bernardino said. "There are four teams that are going to be in contention to win the meet, and we are anticipating a four-team battle."
With so many schools vying for the title, Bernardino stressed the importance of Virginia's swimmers focusing on themselves rather than on their opponents. For the Cavaliers to be successful, he believes the women must swim the races for which they have trained while expecting and anticipating a close team race amongst the top four.
Also key to the Cavaliers' chances are their performances in events where the team is considered thin. In those races, Virginia will try to minimize scoring damage by having the one or two athletes swimming those events score among the final eight. Meanwhile, in the group of events where Virginia has a lot of depth and talent, the Cavaliers will aim to have three, if not four, athletes make the final eight and try to score big points with top finishes.
After winning consecutive conference titles in 2003 and 2004, the Virginia women have had a three-year dry spell. For seniors Amber Bialas, Stephanie Glover, Jess Lewis and Julie McLaughlin, this is their last chance to earn a championship ring.
"This is our last chance, and of my four years I am the most confident as I have been for the team and individually, which is really exciting," Glover said. "I feel like we are all just ready to go there and do it
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