For two teams with similar expectations, the Virginia men's and women's swimming and diving teams are veering in distinctly separate directions. While the No. 18 women swam past No. 14 Penn State and Indiana when the three teams met earlier this month, the No. 21 men continued their slow start to the season as they defeated Penn State but lost to No. 14 Indiana. This weekend, both squads will participate in the Georgia Invitational with the chance to demonstrate the dominant performances which have characterized the Virginia program during recent seasons.
The men's team (1-2) failed to record a single first-place finish on the opening day of the two-day meet against the Nittany Lions and the Hoosiers before sophomores Brad Phillips and Taylor Grey delivered one win apiece on the final day. Phillips touched first in the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 9:09.89. Sophomore Jan Daniec helped pace his roommate Phillips en route to finishing second. Grey captured the 200 breaststroke in 2:02.49.
"We're making strides, and we have the tools," Phillips said. "We're taking steps toward the end goal to compete for championships, but we have a lot of work to do."
The Cavalier women (3-1), meanwhile, won 10 events, thanks in large part to the duo of sophomore Rachel Naurath and junior Lauren Perdue. Naurath took the top spot in three freestyle events - the 200, 500 and 1,000 - as well as the 200 butterfly. Naurath achieved the NCAA 'B' cut in each of her triumphs except for the 200 freestyle. Her most dominant showing came in the 1,000 freestyle, in which her winning time of 9:49.50 beat the next closest competitor by 10 seconds.
"I'm happy with how I swam," Naurath said. "We really stepped up as a team. We're right where we want to be."
Perdue missed the first two meets of the season as she battled injury but returned in grand fashion as she claimed victory in the 50 and 100 freestyle races to give Virginia a sweep of all individual freestyle events. Her times of 22.75 and 49.80 seconds also met the 'B' standard.
The third Cavalier to earn a victory on the women's side was sophomore Charlotte Clarke in the 100 backstroke. The remaining triumphs came by way of relays, all of which made the 'B' time. After capping the opening day with a win in the 400 medley relay, the Cavaliers picked up where they left off by taking top honors in the 200 medley to kick start the second day. The 400 freestyle relay added another victory later in the final day.
"There's nothing more exciting than being on a relay," Naurath said. "Swimming for your teammates gives you that extra bit of energy."
On the flip side, the men's relays left University Park empty-handed, placing second in the 400 freestyle and third in the others. Despite the setback, the men have not lost confidence that they can rebound this weekend at the Georgia Invitational.
The Georgia Invitational will feature a challenging field which includes both men's and women's powerhouses such as California, Auburn and host Georgia. In 2010, the Virginia men placed fourth out of five teams, while the women fared better with a third-place finish against six other schools. The Georgia and California women are currently ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, and Georgia recently matched a school record with its 76th consecutive home win.
"This will be just about the finest competition we could possibly face," Virginia coach Mark Bernardino said.
The multi-team invitational will also mark Virginia's first opportunity to familiarize itself with the three-day championship-style format in which swimmers must go through preliminary rounds to advance to a final heat.
"This is a good chance, especially for the first and second years to get used to going hard in the prelims and then finding a way to swim even faster in the finals," Bernardino said. "You can't save your energy in the prelims like in high school because the competition is too strong."
Although Bernardino has not eased up much on his swimmers in training recently, he has placed a focus on speed work this week in preparation for the team's biggest competition of the fall semester.
"We're pumped for this race," Naurath said. "It should be a preview of what's to come. This is a good point in time to get a read on where we stand"
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