2015 ACC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Day 4 (the final day) of the Women’s ACC Championships in Atlanta is in the books. Here’s a look at 4 noteworthy events that took place this evening:
1. Virginia Wins for the Eighth Year Straight
After being slightly down to UNC after Day 3’s finals, UVA came storming back tonight in a big way. Thanks to having four of the top eight finishes in the mile, wins in both the 200 backstroke and 200 breaststroke, and a 2nd place 400 freestyle relay (behind NC State), Virginia was able to rack up enough points to finish 55 points ahead of the runner-up, UNC. UNC fought the fight until the end, however, using their depth in almost every event of the meet and holding a lead for the entire second day. The mile was a major turning point, since UNC did not have any athletes in the top eight. This year’s ACC Championships was a thrilling meet to watch from start to finish.
2. MVP – Tanja Kylliainen
This year’s MVP is ACC-newcomer Tanja Kylliainen of Louisville. Kylliainen won all three of her events (200 IM, 400 IM, 200 butterfly) and was a member of one second-place relay (400 medley relay). The senior led Louisville to their first ever showing in the ACC – 4th place. Louisville was able to hold off 5th place NC State thanks to Kylliainen’s win in the 200 fly and Kelsi Worrell‘s win in the 100 freestyle tonight coupled with Andrea Cottrell‘s third place finish in the 200 breaststroke and Erica Belcher and Ashley Leclair going 9-10 in the 200 backstroke. Louisville has only made the ACC competition stronger – a welcome benefit for all the other teams.
3. Smashing Records
Tonight, like every other night of the 2015 ACC Championships, saw multiple records fall. In the mile, Leah Smith of UVA posted a new pool record time of 15:52.00. In the 200 backstroke, Courtney Bartholomew of UVA set a new ACC meet, ACC conference, and pool records. Worrell’s 100 freestyle achieved new ACC meet and ACC conference records in a time of 47.71. Laura Simon‘s 200 breaststroke was a new Georgia Tech pool record (2:07.48), while Kylliainen’s 200 butterfly set both ACC meet and ACC conference records. At the end of the session, NC State’s Zevnik, Bonnema, Nevalainen, and Labonge smashed the Georgia Tech pool record.
4. Triple Winners
Two swimmers won all three of their individual events at this years 2015 ACC Championships. The first was the meet MVP, Louisville’s Kylliainen. She won the 200 IM (1:55.72), 400 IM (4:04.21), and 200 butterfly (1:53.19), racking up a serious number of points for Louisville and breaking records along the way. The other triple winner was UVA’s Leah Smith. Smith won the 500 freestyle (4:35.67), the 200 freestyle (1:43.88), and the 1650 freestyle (15:52.00), contributing to her team’s overall win of the meet.
Final Team Scores
1. UVA 1308.0
2. UNC 1255.0
3. VT 1018.0
4. LOU 918.0
5. NCSU 874.0
6. ND 644.0
7. FSU 577.0
8. PITT 501.0
9. MIA 490.0
10. DUKE 478.0
11. GT 203.0
12. BC 125.0
13. CLEM 36.0
In my opinion….
Leah Smith is ready to bother Brittany MacLean in the 500 free
Courtney Bartholomew is ready to break Natalie Coughlin’s 100 back American and NCAA record and also ready to bother a little, only a little, the Cal girls in the 200 back.
Kelsi Worrell is ready to break Natalie Coughlin’s 100 fly American and NCAA record.
Of course everything is on paper and we know that NCAA’s is a tough meet mentally and physically. But in terms of potential everything I mentioned may happen.
Re: #2…Louisville finished 3rd in the 400FR.