For the 25th time in league history, NC State is ACC Men’s Swimming & Diving champion.
The Wolfpack has won 22 outright championships and held a share of the team title three more times. The championship is the first for NC State since 1992
The Wolfpack finished the meet by winning 10 of the 21 events, including four of the five relays. In total, Wolfpack swimmers combined to win 22 medals.
“These guys worked so hard for this and we saw all this support from our alumni, our families and friends this week,” said NC State coach Braden Holloway. “They were out here since Wednesday knowing we had a chance to bring it back [to Raleigh].
“We knew it would be a tough fight with a lot of great teams here and we battled through a bit of an uphill battle out of the gates. It’s a good group of guys and hats off to our staff for putting it together.”
NC State did its biggest damage in the freestyle, winning all five individual events and the three freestyle relays. With the eight golds, they became the first team to sweep freestyle since Virginia in 2002.
NC State finished on top with 1331 points, ahead of Louisville in second with 1178 and Virginia Tech in third (1123). North Carolina placed fourth (1062), followed by Notre Dame (675), Georgia Tech (663), Florida State (619), Virginia (618), Duke (435), Pitt (369.5), Boston College (179), and Miami (105).
League-newcomer Louisville finishes second
The 2015 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships were the first for the Louisville Cardinals, who joined the league in the 2014-15 academic year.
It didn’t take long for the Cardinal men to announce their arrival to the conference, finishing in second place with 1178 points.
“We’re so honored to be a part of this conference,” said Louisville coach Arthur Albiero. “What a great meet though, so competitive. We’re just really thrilled to be a part of it.
“I just said to my team that it brought the best out of us and we hope to continue to add to the conference. Our goal is to continue to raise the profile of the ACC on the national scene and anything we can do to continue to help that will be our priority.”
Louisville won gold in five events – 100 butterfly, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, 200 breaststroke, and 400 medley relay – and finished with 16 medals, the second most of any team.
Bilis named Most Valuable Swimmer
NC State’s Simonas Bilis was voted as the 2015 ACC Championship Most Valuable Men’s Swimmer by the league’s coaches. A junior from Panevezys, Lithuania, he was nearly perfect on the week in leading the Wolfpack to the conference championship.
Bilis competed in seven events during the meet, winning six golds and one silver en route to becoming the first Wolfpack male swimmer to win the award since Cullen Jones in 2006. He set two individual ACC marks and helped break three relay records in the process.
“Last two years I was really jealous and now finally I can take it,” said Bilis about being named MVP. “I know what it means for my team and I’m happy to have three good events. It’s hard to find words. I’m waiting for this trophy because then the feelings are going to come.”
He became the first ACC swimmer to sweep the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle events since Virginia’s Scot Robinson accomplished the feat in 2010.
Gold Medals
50 Freestyle (19.07)
100 Freestyle (41.94) – ACC Record
200 Freestyle (1:33.62)
200 Freestyle Relay (1:15.62, 18.98) – ACC Records for Relay and 50 Free Leadoff
400 Freestyle Relay (2:48.92, 41.38) – ACC Relay Record
800 Freestyle Relay (6:13.14, 1:32.05) – ACC Relay Record
Silver Medal
400 Medley Relay (3:06.59)
Rewrite the record book
The ACC record book will need major revisions after this meet.
Eight new marks were set, including six by team champion NC State. The Wolfpack relays set new ACC standards in the 200 (1:15.62), 400 (2:48.92), and 800 (6:13.14) freestyle relays. Three student-athletes – Simonas Bilis, Ryan Held, and David Williams – swam on all three squads, while Andreas Schiellerup (200 FR) and Soeren Dahl (400 & 800 FR) made up the fourth spots.
Bilis bettered his own record in the 100 freestyle, winning in 41.94 on Saturday night. He also broke the ACC mark in the 50 freestyle (18.98) on his leadoff leg of the 200 freestyle after coming up just short in the 50 free earlier in the evening on Thursday.
NC State’s Hennessey Stuart, a freshman, posted 1:39.73 in the 200 backstroke during Saturday morning’s prelims to put his name in the record book for the first time. He didn’t wait long to lower that mark, however, finishing in 1:39.37 during the finals to win the gold medal.
Florida State senior Connor Knight closed out his career at the ACC Championship with a new mark (1:41.66) in the 200 butterfly.
Duke’s Peter Kropp touched in 52.17 in the prelims of the 100 breast, besting the meet mark set last year.
8:20 pm | Wolfpack closes it out in style
NC State took home the 400 freestyle relay for the third straight year and set yet another record in the process.
The Wolfpack squad of Ryan Held (42.79), Simonas Bilis (41.38), Soren Dahl (42.69), and David Williams (42.06) led through every transition and combined to finish in 2:48.92, breaking their own league record set last year.
North Carolina (2:52.32) and Georgia Tech (2:52.47) finished in second and third, respectively, and all three teams posted NCAA A cuts.
Knight’s time
NC State’s Christian McCurdy held the league record, was the defending champion in the 200 butterfly, and entered Saturday night as the top qualifier.
Florida State’s Connor Knight decided to crash the party.
Knight, a senior swimming in his final ACC Championship, touched in 1:41.66 to break McCurdy’s league record set last year and win the gold medal. Knight, along with McCurdy (1:42.00) and North Carolina junior Ben Colley (1:42.92) battled back and forth throughout the 200 yards, before Knight edged ahead down the stretch.
“Twenty-one years in the making and just being with a great coach these past two years,” said Knight on the keys to the win. “I couldn’t ask for a better coach to put me in this spot and I’m just excited to go even faster at the NCAAs.”
Both Knight and McCurdy’s times stand as NCAA A cuts.
Cards sweep 200 breaststroke podium
Louisville took two of the podium spots in the 100 breastroke on Friday night.
On Saturday, the Cardinals did one better, sweeping the podium in the 200 breastroke.
Thomas Dahlia (1:53.51) led the trio with an NCAA A cut to win his fifth medal this week and third gold. Addison Bray (1:54.60) and Carlos Claverie (1:54.80) grabbed silver and bronze, respectively.
In addition to the three at the top, freshman Todd Owen finished in seventh to give the Cardinals 110 points in the event, solidifying their position in second in the team race.
“It’s the first time for us in the ACCs so a gold medal here is just awesome for us,” said Dahlia. “This 200 breast is even more special because we just went 1-2-3. We’re family and it’s just great.”
Bilis completes freestyle triple crown
Simonas Bilis, the defending champion in the 100 freestyle, led wire-to-wire and finished in 41.94, breaking his own ACC record in the event that he set last year. The gold medal is his fifth on the week and fourth ACC record.
“I’m mostly happy that I went under 42,” said BIlis. “It’s a great achievement for anyone who swims freestyle.”
Bilis is the first ACC swimmer to sweep the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle events since Virginia’s Scot Robinson accomplished the feat in 2010.
Georgia Tech senior Andrew Kosic also came in under the NCAA A standard in 42.45 to win silver, and NC State’s David Williams was third in 42.77.
The victory is the third straight for NC State to start the night.
Stuart breaks 200 backstroke record – again
For the second time on Saturday, NC State’s Hennessey Stuart broke the ACC record in the 200 backstroke.
During the morning prelims, Stuart posted the fastest qualifying time in 1:39.73, the first ACC swimmer to break the 1:40 mark.
Saturday evening, the freshman topped himself, finishing in 1:39.37 to win comfortably.
“I like going hard in the morning and giving it my all because you never know when you’re going to get the time you want,” said Stuart. “I take every swim for what it is and so to go faster tonight was really big.
“I think being top seed made me a little nervous but I just kept telling myself the finish line was right in front of me.”
Louisville’s Grigory Tarasevich also posted an NCAA A cut by touching in 1:40.86 to earn silver. Teammate Aaron Greene (1:41.38) came in third.
Like the first event of the night, the victory by Stuart broke a long winless streak in the event for NC State, as he was the first Wolfpack swimmer to win the event since 1978 (Dan Harrigan).
Ipsen runs away in the mile
NC State’s Anton Ipsen won the event’s opening event comfortably to get the leading Wolfpack off to a strong start on Saturday night.
Swimming in the fifth and final heat, Ipsen finished the 1650 freestyle in 14:48.52, ahead of Virginia Tech’s Jakes Ores (14:57.58) and Louisville’s Marcelo Acosta (15:03.17).
“It’s a big momentum sender,” said Ipsen. “It was really important to get our guys going because we have a lot of events. Hopefully we can continue to be strong and finish this off.”
A freshman, Ipsen is the first NC State swimmer to win the event since 1985 when Rich Shinnick took home the title.
Final Day Underway
NC State holds a 46 point lead over Virginia Tech entering the last day of the 2015 ACC Men’s Swimming & Diving Championship at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.
Including last week’s platform results, NC State sits in first with 896 points, followed by Virginia Tech (850), North Carolina (821.5), and Louisville (771.5).
Saturday morning’s swimming got off to an exciting start in the 200 backstroke. NC State freshman Hennessey Stuart dropped nearly four seconds over his previous season best (1:43.56) to finish in 1:39.73, an ACC record and an NCAA A cut.
The Wolfpack continued to have success in the freestyle events, this time placing four swimmers in the championship final of the 100 freestyle and seven in the top 24. Georgia Tech senior Andrew Kosic claimed the top qualifying spot in 42.30, followed by NC State junior Simonas Bilis (42.45). Bilis holds the conference (42.19) and meet (42.25) records.
Louisville took center stage in the 200 breaststroke. Led by the top two qualifiers in Thomas Dahlia (1:54.74) and Addison Bray (1:55.29), the Cardinals will make up half of the championship final tonight.
NC State junior Christian McCurdy, the defending champion and league record holder, swam the fastest time of 1:42.51 in the 200 butterfly to close out the morning prelims.
Duke
The final day of the 2015 ACC Men’s Swimming and Diving Championship at Georgia Tech’s Aquatic Center saw the Blue Devils register school records in four more events to conclude the four-day meet in strong fashion. Sophomore Peter Kropp reached the championship final in the 200-yard breaststroke and three Duke rookies shined in the mile to highlight the last day of action in Atlanta.
The squad received outstanding contributions from the trio of freshmen in the mile Saturday afternoon. Matt Johnson kicked off the session by going nearly six seconds under the previous program record in the event at 15:17.88. He broke the Blue Devils’ 1,000 freestyle record in the process (9:16.58) and surpassed the NCAA provisional standard while finishing 13th overall. Alex Peña was also under the previous school record at the 1,000-yard mark (9:18.42) and clocked a mile time of 15:27.63 for an NCAA ‘B’ cut and the third-fastest mark in Duke history, while Marco Hosfeld moved up to seventh on the all-time performance list with a 15:45.55 swim.
Kropp advanced to a championship final for the second consecutive evening, posting the third-fastest time of the morning in the 200 breaststroke. He broke former Blue Devil Hunter Knight’s program record during preliminaries at 1:55.34, and went even faster in the ‘A’ final, touching fourth at 1:55.05 to lower his own record.
Three Blue Devils reached finals in the 200 butterfly, led by sophomore Michael Miller, who won the consolation final with a 1:44.77 showing. That time broke his own school record of 1:45.18, set at last year’s ACC Championship, and represented an NCAA ‘B’ cut. Junior Kenny Ng and sophomore Kaz Takabayashi competed in the bonus final, placing 20th and 21st, respectively. Ng went a career-best 1:46.71 in preliminaries to rank second all-time at Duke and Takabayashi dropped time from his morning performance for a career-best in the final at 1:47.43, good for the fourth-best mark on the program’s all-time top-10.
In the 200 backstroke, sophomore Bradley Cline took third in the bonus final at 1:45.84. He also surpassed the NCAA provisional standard while scoring for Duke in his third individual event of the meet.
Senior Stefan Knight, junior David Armstrong, Miller and sophomore James Peek capped the meet with a strong effort in the 400 freestyle relay, combining for the second-fastest time in program history at 2:56.14 in an eighth-place finish.
At the conclusion of the conference championship, the Blue Devils were ninth out of 12 teams with a total score of 435 points. NC State captured its first team title since 1992 with 1,331 points, while ACC newcomer Louisville was second (1,178.5), Virginia Tech third (1,123), North Carolina fourth (1,062.5) and Notre Dame fifth (675).
Over the course of the four days of action, Duke swimmers broke school records in 11 events and garnered one podium finish as Takabayashi, Kropp, Armstrong and Peek took second in the 200 medley relay. Their time of 1:25.03 solidified the group a trip to next month’s NCAA Championship in Iowa City, Iowa.
Florida State
Great moments are born from great opportunities and Florida State senior Connor Knight stepped up and defined his career by winning the gold medal in the 200 fly with a time of 1:41.66 in one of the biggest swims of his life on Saturday at the ACC Championships.
His time was a personal best that lowered his FSU record and it also clipped the conference and meet records that were set in 2014 by NC State’s Christian McCurdy.
Knight earned his first individual ACC title in his final event in the Garnet and Gold after he took silver in the 100 fly by a narrow margin on Friday.
“It was an awesome way to end the meet,” Knight said. “We have a great staff here at FSU and I trusted them and I couldn’t have done it tonight without them and with the support of my teammates. I was bummed I didn’t win the 100 but I was confident with the work I’ve put in and I’m happy to go out with a gold.”
In prelims, Knight displayed his brilliance underwater off his turns, swimming a smooth 1:42.92 qualifying for the second position for finals just behind the defending champ McCurdy.
Working out of lane six, Knight went out for the early lead, splitting 48.31 at the 100. On the third 50, both McCurdy and Ben Colley of North Carolina made their moves making it a three-man race as the field turned for home.
The race was too close to call heading into the final wall and once again, Knight showed his discipline off the wall kicking close to the 15-meter mark surpassing McCurdy once and for all, taking the crown and the ACC records.
“There’s a guy that deserved what he got,” FSU head coach Frank Bradley said. “He set the standard this week, no doubt. He put in the work and he trusted it at that moment and he really managed that race well. It was fun to watch and NCAA’s are going to great for him.”
With Knight winning the title, the Seminoles continued their streak of winning a crown every year since joining the league championships in 1992.
Also swimming in the A final of the 200 fly with Knight was junior Cole Hensley, who went out in prelims and hung with the leader of his heat, touching in second place for a career best time of 1:44.68. After waiting out the final two heats, Hensley qualified sixth for his first career ACC A final.
Hensley placed eighth with a final time of 1:45.89.
“Cole went for it in prelims,” Bradley said. “That’s what we needed to see. Just, someone go out, take a risk and get rewarded. I was happy for that swim.”
Sophomore Jason Coombs competed in his second championship final of the meet, placing eighth with a final time of 1:57.19 after swimming a mark of 1:56.51 in prelims that qualified him in sixth place.
Prior to finals, freshman Calvin Bryant swam in the fourth heat of the 1650 free and posted a final time of 15:20.10 after he split a 25.76 on the final 50 of the race. He took 16th place overall.
Freshman Connor Kalisz made his ACC final debut by improving on his swim in prelims, finishing in 21st overall in the 200 back with a time of 1:46.48.
Senior Josh Friedel followed in the B final, touching in sixth with a final time of 1:44.69 after qualifying in the morning with a 1:43.75.
“We had some young guys swim today that have some learning to do,” Bradley said. “They’re on that curve but there were some positives to take away from it for them.”
The Seminoles closed out the meet with a sixth place finish in the 400 free relay with the team of Cadell Lyons, Knight, Kevin Rogers and Jason McCormick turning in a time of 2:55.08.
Florida State finished in seventh place with a total of 619 points, just one point ahead of Virginia in eighth.
Louisville
On the final day, University of Louisville men’s swimming and diving team reached the podium six times on the final night, including a sweep in the 200-breast led by Thomas Dahlia’s gold medal performance as UofL finished second in its first ACC Men’s Championship after four days of competition at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta.
In all, Louisville won gold in five events – 100 butterfly, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, 200 breaststroke, and 400 medley relay – and finished with 16 medals, the second most of any team.
For the 25th time in league history, NC State is ACC Men’s Swimming & Diving champion. The Wolfpack has won 22 outright championships and held a share of the team title three more times. The championship is the first for NC State since 1992.
The Wolfpack amassed 1,331 points followed by the Cards’ 1,178.5. Virginia Tech was third with 1,123 followed by North Carolina (1062), Notre Dame (675), Georgia Tech (663.5) , Florida State (619) Virginia (618), Duke (435) Pitt (369.5), Boston College (179) and Miami (105).
“As a staff, we are very proud of the way we competed all weekend,” said UofL head coach Arthur Albiero. “This group of men showed great resilience and that will bode well as we set our sights on our NCAA Championships preparation. We are honored to be part of the ACC, as the competition brought out the best from our team. We will learn and get better.”
In the first event of the evening, Cardinal freshman Marcelo Acosta won bronze in the 1650-freestyle with a 15:03.17. Senior Bryan Draganosky was 8th in 15.09.59 to add points for the Cardinals. NC State’s Anton Ipsen finished the 1650 freestyle in 14:48.52 for the gold just ahead of Virginia Tech’s Jakes Ores’ silver medal time of 14:57.58.
In the 200-backstroke, Grigory Tarasevich won silver with an A-cut time of 1:40.86. Aaron Greene was 3rd with a 1:41.38, and Tesone was 7th in 1:44.48. NC State’s Hennessey Stuart broke the his own ACC record in the 200 backstroke, finishing in 1:39.37 as the first ACC swimmer to break the 1:40 mark and the win.
Louisville took two of the podium spots in the 100 breaststroke on Friday night. On Saturday, the Cardinals did one better, sweeping the podium in the 200 breaststroke. Thomas Dahlia (1:53.51) led the trio with an NCAA A cut to win his fifth medal the week and third gold. Addison Bray (1:54.60) and Carlos Claverie (1:54.80) grabbed silver and bronze, respectively. In addition to the three at the top, freshman Todd Owen finished in seventh to give the Cardinals 110 points in the event, solidifying their position in second in the team race.
In the 100-free, NC State’s Simonas Bilis, the defending champion, led wire-to-wire and finished in 41.94, breaking his own ACC record in the event that he set last year. UofL’s Trevor Carroll touched in 43.79 in the A-final for eighth. UofL’s Matthias Lindenbauer won the B final, going 43.50. Rudy Edelen was 12th in 43.99 and teammate Aaron Young was 14th in 44.30.
Josh Quallen put up a 1:45.26 in the A-final of the 200-fly for eighth. Florida State’s Connor Knight touched in 1:41.66 for the win.
In the final event of the Championships, UofL’s 400-free relay touched fourth when Matthias Lindenbauer (43.46), Thomas Dahlia (43.03), Rudy Edelen (43.84) and Trevor Carroll (43.48) combined for a time of 2:53.81. The Wolfpack squad of Ryan Held (42.79), Simonas Bilis (41.38), Soren Dahl (42.69), and David Williams (42.06) led through every transition and combined to finish in 2:48.92, breaking their own league record set last year.
NC State’s Simonas Bilis was voted as the 2015 ACC Championship Most Valuable Men’s Swimmer by the league’s coaches. A junior from Panevezys, Lithuania, competed in seven events during the meet, winning six golds and one silver en route to becoming the first Wolfpack male swimmer to win the award since Cullen Jones in 2006. He set two individual ACC marks and helped break three relay records in the process.He became the first ACC swimmer to sweep the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle events since Virginia’s Scot Robinson accomplished the feat in 2010.
“We are so happy to be part of the ACC and add to the level of competition here. Our guys really stepped up all weekend. Our philosophy for our program is to be ready for ACCs and NCAAs. We came ready to fight and qualify our guys and get ready for NCAAs. We want to be at our very best there,” said Albiero.
North Carolina
The University of North Carolina men’s swimming and diving team placed fourth in the 2015 ACC Championships which concluded Saturday at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Center. The final night of activity saw the Tar Heels set their fifth school record of the meet in relay events, all of which also achieved NCAA automatic qualifying times for next month’s championships.
The Tar Heels’ 400-yard freestyle relay of Sam Lewis, Nic Graesser, Logan Heck and Ben Colley placed second in the event with a time of 2:52.32, an NCAA “A” qualifying time. Lewis led off in 43.72, his career best at 100 yards and a time which makes him the fourth fastest Tar Heel in history at that distance. Graesser split 42.98, Heck 43.00 and Colley 42.62. The unit broke the previous school record which was 2:52.62 set by Steve Cebertowicz, Evan Reed, Brock Park and Tommy Wyher in 2012.
During the course of the ACC Championships, UNC set school records in the 200 and 400 medley and 200 and 400 free relays and tied the University mark in the 800 free relay.
“My staff and I are extremely proud of this year’s ACC Championship team,” said UNC head coach Rich DeSelm. “Their energy and enthusiasm throughout the competition was stellar. The number of personal best times, new all-time Top 10 rankings, school records and NCAA qualifying times are a testament to their hard work and determination. While we didn’t get everything we wanted out of the meet, it was a great effort by this team and I know the staff joins me in thanking the seniors from this group for their leadership and contributions.”
NC State emerged as the team champion with 1,331 points to earn its first title in 23 years. Louisville was second with 1,178.5 points while defending champion Virginia Tech was third with 1,123 points and North Carolina was fourth with 1,062.5 points. There was significant distance between the top four teams and the rest of the conference. Notre Dame was fifth with 675 and the rest of the field was as follows: Georgia Tech 663.5, Florida State 619, Virginia 618, Duke 435, Pitt 369.5, Boston College 179 and Miami 105.
UNC’s Ben Colley also stood on the medal stand Saturday night as he took third place in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:42.92. He holds the school record in the event at 1:42.19. Two other Tar Heels scored in the event – both with career best times. Tyler Hill was 18th in 1:46.91, making him the 10th fastest UNC swimmer in history in the event, and Mitch DeForest was 19th in 1:47.39.
Junior Kurt Wohlrab placed sixth in the 200-yard breaststroke in a career best time of 1:55.94. He has now moved into second place all-time in Carolina history in the event behind only school record holder Alex Gianino (1:55.69). David Speese placed 12th in the event and fellow senior Brian Bollerman was 14th. In the prelims, Bollerman went a career best 1:56.93 and he is now fifth on the all-time UNC depth chart.
Freshman Henry Campbell placed seventh in the 1650-yard freestyle in a career best time of 15:07.49. The Manassas, Va., first-year swimmer moved into ninth place in Carolina history in the event. In the 100-yard freestyle, junior Logan Heck placed 11th in 43.73 and sophomore Lucas Popp was 15th. Popp’s time of 43.85 in the preliminaries now rank him fifth in the event behind Cebertowicz, Heck, Reed and Lewis.
In the 200-yard backstroke, senior co-captain Patrick Myers placed eighth and junior Nic Graesser was ninth. Graesser won the “B’ final of the event in a career best time of 1:43.32 to move into fourth place all-time at Carolina behind Myers, Wyher and Brad Dillon.
UNC also had a great performance on the 10-meter platform in the diving competition. Sophomore Jack Nyquist led the way for Carolina in ninth place with 302.70 points while Ryan Fox was 13th (283.75), Ozzie Moyer 14th (282.00) and Sean Burston 22nd (228.95). All four divers scored in each of their three events at the Championships.
Carolina will have “last chance” meet qualifications Sunday at the University of Georgia and next weekend at Georgia Tech. All five relays have qualified and many individuals are already in outstanding shape for bids as well. The NCAA Championships are March 26-28 at Iowa City, Iowa. Divers must qualify through the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in Athens, Ga., March 9-11.
N.C. State
After four days of several broken records and gold medals earned, the NC State men's swimming team clinched its 25th Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship title Saturday evening inside the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.
Its title marks the first conference victory for the program since 1992.
With 1,331 points accumulated over the four days of competition, the Wolfpack defeated the second-place squad Louisville (1,178.5) by more than 150 points. Virginia Tech rounded out the top three of the overall standings with 1,123.
To top off the Pack’s unstoppable performance at the 2015 championship, junior Simonas Bilis was named the conference’s Most Valuable Swimmer of the meet.
Wolfpack Relays
The team of Bilis, Ryan Held, Soren Dahl and David Williams ended the 2015 conference championship with a win in the 400 freestyle relay, swimming a time of 2:48.92 to earn a school, ACC meet and conference record.
The squad’s performance also notched another NCAA qualifying mark for the program as well as the fastest time in the country.
Freestyle Watch
Distance freestyle specialist Anton Ipsen crushed the competition in the 1,650 free, shaving 13 seconds off his seed time to claim his second gold medal of the championship. He swam a time of 14:48.52 to win by more than nine seconds, break his own school record and hold the sixth-fastest time in the country.
Bilis continued his dominance in the freestyle sprint events, claiming the title in the 100 freestyle to earn his third gold medal of the championship. He swam a time of 41.94 to earn an NCAA ‘A’ cut as well as an ACC meet and conference record.
His mark gives him the third-fastest time in the country and a school record.
Back It Up
Hennessey Stuart won the 200 backstroke, touching in 1:39.37 to set a conference and ACC meet record as well as a school record for the second time on Saturday. His performance earned him an NCAA ‘A’ standard time as well as the second-fastest time in the country.
He initially broke all three records in the preliminary session of the event with a time of 1:39.73.
Fly Into The Sky
Christian McCurdy took second in the 200 butterfly, touching in 1:42.00 to earn the Wolfpack a NCAA ‘A’ standard mark.
Up Next
The men will return with hardware to Raleigh, N.C., to prepare for the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championship on March 26-28 in Iowa City, Iowa.
The women will return to action March 19-21 when it travels to Greensboro, N.C., for the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship.
Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame men's swim team improved from their sixth place finish of 2014 at the ACC Conference Championships, claiming fifth place in 2015 with 675 points. The Irish broke three school records, with multiple swimmers earning NCAA B cuts and several individuals setting new personal best times.
"Coming in fifth was perhaps the best we could place as a team," Irish head coach Matt Tallman said. "Throughout the weekend our guys were able to race really well at night. They moved up in key spots where they needed to in order to get big points, and when it came down to crunch time with Georgia Tech, I was glad to see them step up like that."
Saturday morning, the Irish competed in the preliminaries of the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast and 200 fly events. In the early afternoon, the 1650 free event was swum, with the finals and the 400 free relay concluding the meet.
In the 200 back, Robert Whitacre had the top time for the Irish in the morning (1:44.45), followed by sophomore Tom Anderson (1:44.71) and junior Bogac Ayhan (1:44.75). In the evening, Whitacre broke the school record and swam a new personal best, 1:43.87, finishing in 10th. Anderson placed 11th (1:44.11), with Ayhan finishing 13th (1:44.57). Ayhan's time also stands as a personal best in the event.
"This morning I didn't swim the race as well as I wanted to; I took the first 100 a bit too fast," Whitacre explained. "In talking with my coaches, tonight I just tried to swim the race a little bit smarter, take it a little slower in the first 50. I swam it the way I wanted to, I wasn't thinking about the record at all, I just tried to focus on getting the points for the team which we needed to come in fifth today."
In the 100 free, Justin Plaschka again was the sole freestylist for the Irish. His 44.18 prelim time earned him a spot in the evening's B final, where he won the heat, 44.03.
In the 200 breast, seniors Cameron Miller (1:57.79), Zachary Stephens (1:58.19) and Patrick Olson (2:00.45) all advanced into the evening finals, with junior Andrew Jensen finishing just shy of a qualifying time (2:01.69). In the C final, Stephens came in 17th (1:57.31) and Olson placed 23rd (2:01.28). Miller, swimming in the B final, earned a time of 1:57.21, good for 11th place.
In the 200 fly, Kevin Bradley notched a new personal best time of 1:46.29 and advance to the B final, while senior Jonathan Williamson earned a swim in the A final with his 1:44.53 cut. He went on to place fifth (1:43.57) and earn an invitation to the NCAA Championships next March, while Bradley placed 13th and earned a B-cut time of 1:47.01.
In the 1650 free, pool record-holder John Nappi bested fellow classmate Kevin Hughes' school record time by .08 of a second, finishing in 11th (15:14.62). Freshman Benjamin Jany earned a B cut with his 15th-place, 15:19.78 time, and Bradley swam a personal best with his 15:32.05 time. Trent Jackson (15:40.09), Joseph Petrone (15:44.56) and Matthew DeBlasio (15:52.07) also swam the mile for the Irish, with DeBlasio's time standing as a personal best.
"I really wanted to break the record to end my collegiate career; I'm glad I was able to do that," Nappi stated. "I went a bit slower than I was hoping, but at the end of the meet, I can't complain; it's been a good four years at Notre Dame, and this was a good way to end it."
In the 400 free relay, the Irish lineup of Plaschka, Stephens, Jackson and Fujan won their heat with a time of 2:56.03, finishing in seventh overall and claiming 46 team points.
When asked if he could name a team MVP for the week, Tallman stated, "Honestly, I don't think I can. If you go by the numbers, Kevin Bradley had the highest number of best times; but there were some guys on more relays than others; there's guys not rested for the meet. This truly was a total team effort throughout the whole week."
With the conference championships now over, several swimmers will participate in a long course qualifier Sunday, before the team heads back to South Bend. The qualifier, taking place at 11 a.m. ET, stands as a chance to earn a shot at the summer U.S. Olympic Trials. "For some guys, next year starts tomorrow; for others, we have some things to talk about for next week, and finalize our plans for NCAAs in March," says Tallman.
Pittsburgh
A night after putting seven swimmers into finals swims, Pitt ended the ACC Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships on a high note by bringing back eight more swimmers on Saturday night to wrap up a four-day stay at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta.
Three of Pitt’s eight swimmers that competed in the final session recorded lifetime bests throughout the day, while the remaining five swimmers all posted season best performances in their last individual swims of the weekend.
On the night, the Panthers had a pair of B finalists in addition to six that swam in the C finals. Pitt’s B finalists were senior Luke Nosbisch (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) in the 200-yd breaststroke and junior Martin Vogel (Johannesburg, South Africa/Cambridge International Distance College) in the 200-yd butterfly.
Vogel was one of three Pitt swimmers who made the finals in the 200 fly, all of whom produced season best results multiple times. Entering the B Final with the eighth fastest time (1:46.47), Vogel swam even faster in the event, finishing the race in 1:46.40, which placed him fourth (12th overall). C Final competitors, seniors Jon Lierley (Mount Pleasant, S.C./Waldo) and Sean Rhinehart (Rockville, Md./George Washington) also topped their own times in the finals as well. After swimming 1:48.43 in the morning, Lierley posted a season-best time of 1:48.15 for seventh place (23rd overall), while Rhinehart lowered his lifetime best twice on the day to 1:48.61, which was eighth (24th).
Three more Panthers returned to swim finals in the 200 breast. In addition to Nosbisch, junior Connor O’Prey (Ridley Park, Pa./Haverford) and sophomore Gabe Larson (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) were in the C Final. Nosbisch swam a season-best 1:58.02 in the morning and followed that up by clocking in at 1:58.72 in the B Final to take seventh (15th overall). Both O’Prey and Larson bettered their prelim times and posted lifetime bests in the finals. O’Prey touched the wall second (18th) in 1:59.03, while Larson was fourth (20th) with a time of 1:59.62. During the morning session, Larson’s qualifying time of 1:59.89 was both a personal record at the time by 1.5 seconds and the first time he completed the race in under two minutes.
Sophomore Zach Lierley (Mount Pleasant, S.C./Waldo) and senior Joey Notarianni (Lakewood, Colo./Mullen) both swam season bests in the 200 back prelims, tying in their heat with identical times of 1:45.60. Those performances were the 17th fastest swims of the morning heats and qualified the duo for the C Final. For Lierley, it was a career best showing as well. Both were a touch slower in the finals as Lierley took second (18th overall) in 1:45.81 while Notarianni was sixth (22nd overall) in 1:46.82.
Notarianni also earned points for Pitt with his 23rd place showing in the 1650 free with a personal-record 15:30.18. It was a huge lifetime best for Notarianni, who dropped his previous best time by nearly 23 seconds.
Pitt’s 400 free relay team to end the night only featured one of its regulars, junior Sean Heiden (West Lawn, Pa./Wilson), as the other three were under-the-weather for a good portion of the weekend. Despite missing three of its usual swimmers, the Panthers still registered a time of 2:59.47, which was a fraction off its season best.
Added into Pitt’s final score for the day and the weekend on Saturday was sophomore Dominic Giordano’s (Wexford, Pa./Florida State) first place finish in platform diving and sophomore Tony Galante’s (Cary, N.C./Athens Drive) 11th place finish in the event. The duo combined to give the Panthers 48 points with their dives.
Seventh-ranked NC State won the ACC Championships with 1,331 points. Newcomer and 10th-ranked Louisville was close behind in second with 1,178.5. Virginia Tech was third with1,123 points and No. 15 North Carolina was fourth with 1,062.5. Nearly 400 points separated fourth from fifth. The Panthers completed their run with 369.5 points for 10th and finished right behind ninth-place Duke (435).
Now the Pitt men and women await word on which individuals have qualified for the NCAA Championships, if any. The Pitt divers will competed in the Zone A Meet from March 9-11.
Virginia
The No. 25 Virginia men’s swimming and diving team finished eighth at the ACC Championships Saturday (Feb. 28) at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.
The Cavaliers finished with 618 points, behind champion NC State (1,331), Louisville (1,178.5), Virginia Tech (1,123), North Carolina (1,062.5), Notre Dame (675), Georgia Tech (663.5) and Florida State (619). Duke was ninth with 435 points, followed by Pitt (369.5), Boston College (179) and Miami (105).
“It is disappointing to finish the meet the way we did,” UVa head coach Augie Busch said. “There were plenty of bright spots this weekend from our very young team, but to end it like we did this morning and tonight is a tough pill to swallow. We will remember this feeling and use it as motivation moving forward with these young men. I am very thankful for the support that our parents and fans gave us this week. Rest assured, we will work extremely hard to advance this program at both the conference and national levels.”
In the 1,650 free timed finals, freshman Brendan Casey (Santa Monica, Calif.) finished fifth in a time of 15:05.09, while junior Rodney Fentress (Virginia Beach, Va.) and freshman Omer Tara (Istanbul, Turkey) placed 19th (15:21.54) and 24th (15:32.00), respectively.
Sophomore Austin Quinn (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) touched sixth in the 200 back in 1:44.03. Freshman Henrik Pohlmann (Beavercreek, Ohio) won the bonus final (17th overall) in a time of 1:45.19, while senior Charlie Putnam (McLean, Va.) placed 23rd overall in 1:47.54.
The 400 free relay of sophomore Matt Lockman (Charlottesville, Va.), freshman Nicholas Magana (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Quinn and sophomore Adam Whitener (Saline, Mich.) placed ninth in 2:57.05.
In the 200 breast consolation final, junior Yannick Kaeser (Mumpf, Switzerland) came from behind to win and finish ninth overall in a time of 1:55.84. Fellow junior Eric Holden (Orange, Conn.) placed 20th overall in 1:59.74.
Sophomore Zach Bunner (Marietta, Ga.) finished 15th overall in the 200 fly in 1:48.19, while fellow sophomore John Denning (Chesapeake, Va.) was 22nd in 1:48.04.
In the 100 free, Magana placed 18th overall in 44.15, which ranks eighth on UVa’s all-time top-10 list, while Lockman was 23rd in 44.67. Lockman’s prelim time of 44.18 ranks right behind Magana on UVa’s all-time list.
The meet was part of the Commonwealth Clash between Virginia and Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech earned a point in the competition with its win this weekend, Virginia holds a 7.5-5.5 lead overall.
The Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams at University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line. Fans are also encouraged to support their team through a fan-based point. The school that accumulates 11.5 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy. Visit www.TheCommonwealthClash.com for more information and updated standings.
Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech men’s swimming & diving team finished third in the 2015 ACC Men’s Championships Saturday night at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center after earning 13 top-five finishes and six! medals and setting six school records.
“I’m very proud of our men and I’m very proud of our seniors leading us through a great week,” head coach Ned Skinner said. “It was a hard-fought weekend with NC State, Louisville and UNC all in the hunt. We were certainly proud to have a podium finish, and hopefully we can build off this heading into NCAAs. We have a lot of guys on the rise as we move forward in the future.”
For the second day in a row, Tech started off the evening with a medal when Jake Ores won the silver medal in the 1650 free with a school-record time of 14:57.58. It was his second career medal in this event (bronze, 2014) and his second top-five finish this week.
Only a few spots behind Ores in the 1650 free, Michal Szuba finished sixth with a time of 15:06.74. To round out a great event for the H2Okies, Chris Grimmett-Norris took 21st after a time of 15:26.31 in the afternoon heat.
Robert Owen barely missed the podium in the 200 back, taking fourth-place after a school-record time of 1:41.45. The fourth-place finish sealed a great week for Owen who took home a gold medal in the 400 IM and set two school records in his second ACC Championship meet.
Collin Higgins took fourth in the 200 back B-final for a 12th-place overall finish with a time of 1:44.20. Zach Switzer finished 16th overall with a time of 1:46.16 in the same event.
Owen Burns continued the streak of top-five finishes when he took fifth in the 100 free while setting a new school record at 42.82. It was the senior’s second school record and third top-six finish this week.
“I can’t say enough about Owen Burns and what he means to our problem as a leader and a captain,” Skinner commented.
Also in the 100 free, Lucas Bureau earned 19th with a time of 44.03, and C.J. Fiala earned 20th with a time of 44.36.
In the last individual event of the championships, Morgan Latimer scored fourth-place with a time of 1:43.16. With the fourth-place finish, Latimer closes out an ACC career that includes two individual silver medals, two relay silver medals and two relay bronze medals, as well as the school record in the 200 fly, which he set at last year’s championships.
Swimming in the 200 fly B-final, Chris Grimmet-Norris earned 16th with a time of 1:48.67
In the final relay of the championships, Burns, Bureau and the Fiala brothers finished fifth, setting a new school record at 2:54.13.
Tech finished with a final team score of 1123 ahead of fourth-place UNC who had 1062.5. NC State won the league championship, scoring 1331, and Louisville finished second with 1178.5.
With the H2Okies third-place finish, Tech was the only program in the conference to finish with both the women’s and the men’s teams in the top three. The men’s squad also becomes the only team to have finished in the top three each of the least four years.
On March 9-11, Tech’s divers will return to the pool to compete in the NCAA Zone A diving championships in Buffalo, New York. On March 19-21, Tech will compete in the NCAA Women’s Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, and on March 26-28, Tech will compete in the NCAA Men’s Championships in Iowa City, Iowa.
