University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Back in the Pool at UVA Dual-Meet
January 08, 2010 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Jan. 8, 2010
Drew Rutherford
UTsports.com
The No. 11 Tennessee men's swimming and diving team returns to regular-season action in a dual-meet at ninth-ranked Virginia Saturday at noon.
"We should see a tremendous competition," UT head coach John Trembley said. "Virginia always competes extremely well in their home pool."
The Vols head into the meet carrying the momentum of a strong fall season. Tennessee is 4-0 in dual-meets with wins at LSU, at Louisville and at home against Kentucky and South Carolina. The Big Orange also had a thrilling last-minute victory in the Tennessee Invitational, outlasting Alabama, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.
"We are headed into hostile waters," Trembley said. "They are ranked above us, they have great athletes and they are well coached. We have our work cut out for us."
Virginia enters this first meet of the New Year with a 3-1 record. The Cavs opened the season with a loss to Florida and then rebounded with three straight wins over Virginia Tech, Kentucky and Penn State, as well as a win in the UVA Invitational beating out West Chester, Washington and Lee and American University.
"We schedule Tennessee because they are historically one of the top-eight teams in the country, year-in and year-out," Virginia head coach Mark Bernadino said. "They are a formidable foe and always come ready to swim and compete hard."
The two schools have met annually since 1999 and the series has developed into a friendly rivalry. The Vols boast a 9-3 all-time record against Virginia dating to 1985, including a 3-2 mark in Charlottesville. Tennessee is currently on a four-meet winning streak in the series, including the win in last season's contest, 172-128, in Knoxville.
Live results can be found at VirginiaSports.com.
