The reigning ACC champion Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are looking to harness some of their individual talent for another dominant season in conference and national competition.
Last year, the men and women captured ACC titles. The women crushed second-place finisher North Carolina by 228 points to take Virginia’s sixth ACC women’s championship and then went on to place 20th in the NCAA Championships. The men also took first by defeating North Carolina by a 273-point margin. This marked the men’s 11th ACC championship, and the ninth title in 10 years for the Virginia men, who finished 15th in the NCAA Championships.
This year the teams will not only rely on returning veterans from last year’s team but also feature a number of swimmers who are recent international competitors. These swimmers bring a unique variety of experiences to Virginia.
Highly touted freshman Erika Stewart will get her first collegiate swimming experience this weekend. Stewart swam for Colombia in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, finishing 32nd overall at 2:18.54 in the 200 Individual Medley. This time was a personal record for Stewart by more than a second.
“I’m really appreciative that I’m able to experience such a high-level meet with the best athletes in the world,” Stewart said. “I still have a lot of work to do even though I swam at the Olympics because I am starting from the bottom and working my way to the top.”
Stewart joins a very dominant group of female swimmers in the Individual Medley. This race is arguably one of the toughest races for a swimmer and demands a very talented and competitive individual who can swim each of the four strokes: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. Last year in the ACC Championships, Virginia took the top four spots in the 200 Individual Medley finals. Stewart will look to help continue Virginia’s power in this particular race.
Another competitor who will bring back a great deal of experience to Virginia is senior Ryan Hurley, who returns for his final season after taking last year off to compete for the U.S. National Team and to train for the Olympic trials. Even though he just missed qualifying for the U.S. at Olympic trials, he made it to the finals in the 200-meter breast as he finished seventh overall with a time of 2:13.90. He will also lead the Virginia men as one of the captains this year.
Sophomore Scot Robison has already begun an impressive season, having been selected to the 2009 World University Games Team to compete in the 100 and 200 free as well as the 400 and 800 free relay teams.
“It really means a lot to me to be chosen for the World University Games,” Robison said. “One of my goals ever since I stepped foot on campus was to make an international team to represent U.Va. and the United States.”
Robison made the roster by competing in the 2008 USA Swimming U.S. Open Championships in Minneapolis, Minn, this past summer. He finished third in both the 100-meter free and the 200-meter free, placing him as a top swimmer to be chosen for the team. He is one of 26 of the country’s top swimmers named to compete for the United States in Belgrade, Serbia next July.
A plethora of talent and experience combined with hard work and dedication are the attributes used to describe the swimmers and divers this season for Virginia. They will look to repeat a top performance in both the ACC and the NCAA. The goal will be difficult to reach, but Virginia has the potential to accomplish such achievements.
“We would love to repeat as a conference champion,” head coach Mark Bernardino said. “But it is one of the hardest things to do. Everybody wants to win, but you can’t become a champion by accident. Becoming a champion takes careful planning, close attention to detail, dedication, hard work and team chemistry. We will swim our best and hopefully be mentally, emotionally and physically ready to compete.”
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