ACC Champ Nick Albiero: “There was a lot of hype coming in” (Video)

2019 ACC MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS

• When: Wednesday, February 27th to Saturday, March 2nd
• Where: Greensboro Aquatics Center, Greensboro, NC
• Champion: NC State Wolfpack
• Live Results: here
• Championship Central

Two-time ACC 200 fly champion Nick Albiero erased his own one-year-old meet record as he won gold for the second year in a row in the final individual event of the 2019 ACC Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday in Greensboro. Albiero had a very impressive meet all around, also finishing 2nd in the 100 backstroke in a career-best time of 44.88, and 4th in the 100 fly in 45.37. All of Albiero’s times are NCAA ‘A’ cuts.

Reported by Robert Gibbs.

200 FLY – FINALS

• Meet Record – Nick Albiero, Louisville, 1:41.08 – 2018
• ACC Record – Andreas Vazaois, NC State, 1:38.60 – 2018
• Estimated NCAA Invite Time – 1:42.37

1. Nick Albiero (Louisville) – 1:40.70
2. Andreas Vazaois (NC State) – 1:41.03
3. Antani Ivanov (Virginia Tech) – 1:41.28

VT’s Antani Ivanov was out first with a 22.63, followed closely by Virginia senior Zach Fong. You could see Fong wanted to get after it, and he split 25.40 on the 2nd leg to put himself into the lead. He hung on through the third 50, but faded a bit down the stretch and ultimately finished 4th in 1:41.39.

Defending champion Nick Albiero split his race almost perfectly; he sat just behind Ivanov and Fong after the first 50, and then split 25.81/26.12/26.07 over the remainder of the finish to touch first in 1:40.70, breaking his own meet record.

2nd place went to NC State’s Andreas Vazaois, who hung back for the first home, but stormed home to finish in 1:41.03. Ivanov ended up 3rd in 1:41.28.

Albiero’s victory and teammate Zach Harting‘s 5th place finish (1:42.10), coupled with the points from Daniel Sos‘s 17th-place finish, now put the Cardinals 13.5 points ahead of UVA in the race for 2nd. That should pretty well secure a 2nd-place finish for the Cardinals, barring some sort of relay disaster.

100 FLY

• Meet Record – Ryan Held, NC State, 44.79 – 2017
• ACC Record – Ryan Held, NC State, 44.79 – 2017
• Estimated NCAA Invite Time – 45.86

1. Kanoa Kaeloaloha (Florida State) – 44.93
2. Coleman Stewart (NC State) – 45.09
3. Noah Henlsey (NC State) – 45.33

When we spoke with FSU head coach Neal Studd last night, he suggested that Kanoa Kaleoaloha had a shot at breaking the 45-second mark in this event today, and sure enough, the Seminole did just that tonight, winning in a time of 44.93 that moves him ahead of Maxime Rooney for the #1 time in the country this season.

In the post-race interview, Kaeloaloha said that he had no clue where he was in relation to the rest of the field, but that he knew he hurt a lot so that “must be good.” Kaleoaloha was out in 20.89, putting him 2nd behind Virginia’s Bryce Keblish at that point, and closed in 24.04, the fastest in the field.

Top-seeded Coleman Stewart was near the front of the pack the whole way, but couldn’t quite catch Kaeloaloha, and ended up settling for 2nd, in 45.09. Teammate Noah Hensley knocked 0.44s off his time from this morning to take 3rd in 45.33.

Louisville’s Nick Albiero punched his NCAA ticket by taking 4th in 45.37, just behind Henlsey. Keblish settled for 5th with a 45.51; that shaves 0.02s off the UVA school record, which he tied this morning. That record had belonged to Keblish’s teammate Zach Fong, who was right behind him tonight at 45.70, followed by NC State’s James Bretchser (45.88) and Pitt’s Blaise Vera (46.29).

NC State’s Nyls Korstanje took the B-final in 45.62, which should help solidify his NCAA invite, although his 19.29 in the 50 free may be enough to get him, regardless.

100 BACK

• Meet Record – Coleman Stewart, NC State, 44.44 – 2019
• ACC Record – Coleman Stewart, NC State, 44.44 – 2019
• Estimated NCAA Invite Time – 46.08

1. Coleman Stewart (NC State) – 44.44
2. Nick Albiero (Louisville) – 44.88
3. Joe Clark (Virginia) – 45.22

Stewart was out in 21.33 to his feet, almost four-tenths faster than this morning, but he couldn’t bring it home quite as fast, and ended up touching in the exact same time as he did this morning, 44.44. Albiero, also swimming his 2nd event of the night, stayed close the whole way, and touched in 44.88. Joe Clark of UVA was 3rd in 45.22. Albiero and Clark are now 4th and 5th in the country, pending results from other meets tonight.

Final Team Scores:

1. North Carolina State University 1396.5
2. Louisville, University of 1135.5
3. Virginia, University of 1108
4. VA Tech 820.5
5. Florida State University 819
6. Notre Dame, University of 687
7. Duke University 624
8. Georgia Institute of Technology 550
9. Pittsburgh, University of 508
10. North Carolina, University of, 388.5
11. University of Miami (Florida) 161
12. Boston College