Cavaliers begin ACC Championships Wednesday

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Posted on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, 5:07 pm

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia men's and women's divingThe Virginia men’s swimming team will open competition at the ACC Championships on Wednesday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro. The Cavaliers enter the meet in fifth place with 116 points, after the men’s diving team concluded its conference championship last week.

Finals on Wednesday will begin at 4 p.m. Preliminary races will begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while finals on those days will begin at 6 p.m.

How to Follow

Fans can watch the finals for Thursday, Friday and Saturday on ACCNX, through the ESPN app. Links to the stream and to live results are available at VirginiaSports.com.

Entering the Conference Championships 

  • The Cavaliers open the ACC Championships on Wednesday with 116 points thanks to the UVA men’s diving team. Virginia is in fifth place in the team standings.
  • Virginia had three divers compete at the men’s championship.
  • Senior Bryce Shelton advanced to the finals on the 3m board where he finished eighth. He also aided the Cavaliers with a ninth-place finish on the 1m board.
  • Sophomore Walker Creedon advanced to the finals on the platform. He recorded a season-best score of 347.10 in the event to place fifth overall.
  • Sophomore Jake Greenberg finished 11th on both the 1m and 3m board at the conference championship.

Hoos Leading Off 

  • Junior Cooper Wozencraft, senior Ted Schubert and sophomore Casey Storch lead the Cavaliers, ranking inside the top five in the ACC in three events.
  • Wozencraft ranks fourth in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:42.31, fifth in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 46.53 and fifth in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 46.33. His time in the 100-yard backstroke also ranks fourth in UVA history.
  • Schubert holds the conference’s third-best time this season in the 200-yard individual medley at 1:45.83. He ranks third in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 3:45.48 and fifth in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:43.01.
  • Storch holds the ACC-leading time in the 400-yard individual medley at 3:44.43, while ranking third in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:56.08 and fourth in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:46.28.
  • Junior Keefer Barnum paces the Cavaliers in the breaststroke events holding the conference’s second-best time in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 52.50 and 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:55.16.
  • Freshman Jack Walker holds the second-fastest time in the 500-yard freestyle from the Tennessee Invitational. Walker swam a time of 4:15.27 which ranks sixth in UVA history.
  • Senior Joe Clark holds the ACC’s third-best time in this season in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 46.01.
  • Sophomore Justin Grender swam a time of 1:42.79 in the 200-yard backstroke to record the ACC’s fifth-best time this season in the event.

The Build into Conference

  • During the 2019-20 season, the Cavaliers went 3-3 in dual meets. The team recorded wins against Wisconsin, Auburn and North Carolina.
  • The 400-yard free relay team of senior Ryan Baker, Clark, Wozencraft and junior Sam Schilling set a school record, swimming a time of 2:50.83.
  • Barnum  set a career mark in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 52.50 that ranks second in UVA history.
  • The Cavaliers enter the meet ranked 15th in the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America’s latest poll.

Looking Back 

  • Virginia will look to build off of last year’s performance at the ACC Championships.
  • The Cavaliers finished third in the team standing for the second year in a row.
  • The back-to-back third-place finishes were the best ACC performance for the Cavaliers since the team won the title in 2013.
  • Clark and Barnum helped lead UVA at last year’s championships, earning podium finishes and All-ACC honors.

Commonwealth Clash

  • There is a point at stake this week in the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash.
  • The Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams at the 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. The school that accumulates 11 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy. Visit www.TheCommonwealthClash.com for more information.
  • Virginia currently leads this year’s challenge, 6-3.5.