The home team in almost any sport undoubtedly benefits from competing in a familiar environment with an adoring crowd of spectators. The Virginia swimming and diving teams, however, have yet to taste this home advantage, since they have traveled to every one of their meets during the season's first three months. Tomorrow, however, the No. 12 Cavalier men (3-3, 2-1 ACC) and No. 11 Virginia women (6-0, 3-0 ACC) will host a meet for the first time all season when Pittsburgh comes to town.
In a sport which frequently comes down to split-second differences, the home team gains a competitive edge as it experiences the motivational lift provided by the fans.\n"It's always exciting to have it on your own turf," junior Lauren Perdue said. "Hopefully we'll have a lot of supporters, and I hope that we can carry the emotion from this past weekend into racing this weekend."
Pittsburgh brings a men's team (4-3) and women's team (4-5), which appear unimpressive on paper, but both have recently found a winning formula. The men have won three consecutive meets while the women have captured their last two.
During the 2010-11 season, the Cavaliers notched a pair of victories in Pittsburgh, with the women winning by 30 and the men triumphing by 29.
If the Cavalier men are to progress as they inch closer to the ACC Championships in late February, they must show signs of improvement from last week's showing. The Virginia men's squad has won 12 of the last 13 ACC titles, but a loss to conference rival North Carolina in its most recent meet exposed some vulnerabilities.
"Every time we battled back and found the answer, they exerted their will on us," Virginia coach Mark Bernardino said about the Tar Heels. "They found a way to win that key race to break our momentum and establish some of their own, so I'm not pleased with how we performed."
One bright spot for the men was the succession of dominant performances they managed in the distance events against Duke on Friday and North Carolina the following day. After sophomore Parker Camp led a sweep in the 500 freestyle and sophomore Bradley Phillips led another 1-2-3 finish in the 1000 freestyle against the Blue Devils, Jan Daniec - another sophomore - assumed a leading role against the Tar Heels. Daniec bested Phillips twice as the duo contributed a pair of 1-2 finishes in the 500 and 1000 freestyle.
"They have become as reliable as the day is long," Bernardino said. "They're there for the team, they're there for each other, they're consistent, [and] they're very tough mentally. They're able to close races with a lot of steam and a lot of power. I can't say enough about how fortunate we are to have those two guys anchoring our distance group right now."
The Cavalier women are well-poised for a win after toppling both Duke and North Carolina last weekend. The ACC selected Perdue as the women's performer of the week Tuesday, for the seventh time in her career and first time this season, recognizing her vital role in the victory against the Tar Heels. The four-time defending conference champions and winners of eight ACC crowns since 1998 enter the match-up against Pittsburgh with ample confidence.
"I thought our women were very focused mentally," Bernardino said. "Our team chemistry was outstanding; their belief in self was at a very high level."\nSaturday's meet will begin with the diving events at 9 a.m. at the Aquatic and Fitness Center. The swimming events will follow, starting at 11 a.m.
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