The Virginia men's swim team heads to Chapel Hill, N.C. today seeking its 13th ACC Championship title since 1978, the year coach Mark Bernardino first took the reins at Virginia.\nHeading into today's events, however, the Cavaliers trail Florida State by 135 points after the Seminoles got off to a quick start in the men's diving events held last week.
"That's a massive edge," Bernardino said. "That's a massive amount of points to overcome."
Nevertheless, the Cavaliers enter the swimming events having taken a firm lock on the conference standings this season, compiling a 4-0 record against ACC squads and going 9-1 overall.\nThe Cavaliers are led by senior John Azar and juniors Matt McLean and Scot Robison. The three are no strangers to stepping up in the clutch, as they have all won individual\nACC Championships and have all been named All-Americans. McLean won the 200 freestyle against Pittsburgh Jan. 30, the team's most recent meet, and Robison is the ACC and Virginia record-holder in the 100-meter freestyle and has been a steady contributor to the 200 medley relay team throughout the season. Azar, who also has performed well on relay teams, placed first in the 100 freestyle against Pittsburgh and will look to reclaim the ACC title in the 200 individual medley, which he won in 2008.
"There's always a lot of pressure going into ACCs, but I think we definitely thrive on it, and that's what makes us faster," Azar said.
The team has prepared for the championships through a combination of speed work and recovery-swimming, Bernardino said, in addition to honing technique and allowing time for rest - or tapering - before the meet.
"During the dual-meet season, we just plow through," he said. "We just train and train and we don't worry about resting down for any meet or tapering for any meet. Now we're really concerned that [the swimmers'] muscles get adequate amounts of rest."
The Cavaliers will look to match the result of the women's team, which blew by the field last week to take home its third consecutive ACC Championship crown. Earning this result, Bernardino said, will require a continuation of what the team has done all year.
"If you did the work those four months, the hay is in the barn and you should be ready to go," Bernardino said. "I don't think there's any magic in the training of the last two weeks. I think the magic is in the training for the entire season"
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