Tar Heels continue hunt for seventh straight title.

February 25, 1999

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - North Carolina's chances to win a seventh straight Atlantic Coast Conference men's swimming and diving championship took a blow Thursday during the first night of the 1999 ACC Men's Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Maryland's Campus Recreation Center Natatorium.

Virginia emerged in the top spot at the conclusion of the night, and North Carolina, North Carolina State and Florida State battled all night for the next two places. Five of six titles in individual and relay events were defended successfully from the 1998 Championships.

Virginia, seeking its first ACC title since 1990, took the lead after the first day of competition. The Cavaliers scored 202 points and are three points ahead of second-place Florida State, which is seeking its first ACC crown. North Carolina is in third place with 183.5 points, 18.5 points behind Virginia and 15.5 points behind FSU. The Tar Heels barely edged N.C. State in the standings. The Wolfpack stands in fourth place with 180.5 points. The rest of the field includes Clemson with 120 points, Maryland with 88, Georgia Tech with 75 and Duke with 44.

The Tar Heels never led at any point during the night's activities, standing in third place after five of the six events were completed. UNC briefly held onto second place after the fourth event but then fell behind FSU after the next two events. Virginia took the lead after the second event of the meet and did not relinquish the lead the remainder of the evening.

North Carolina's efforts were actually doomed during the morning session when only 11 of UNC's 19 individual entries were able to qualify for Thursday night's championship or consolation finals. UNC must improve the percentage of its swimmers qualifying for night-time sessions on Friday and Saturday if it is to have any hope of rallying to win its 10th championship in the last 12 years. For the sixth consecutive year, Florida State captured the 200-yard freestyle relay as Julio Santos, Kevin Flanagan, Matt McVittie and Brenden Dedekind led all teams with a time of 1:20.24 . Clemson was not far behind in 1:20.79, followed by North Carolina in third at 1:20.86 and N.C. State in fourth at 1:21.28. Florida State set the ACC record at the 1998 NCAA Championships with a time of 1:18.75.

Virginia's Austin Ramirez captured his third consecutive ACC title with a win in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:21.33, an NCAA provisional qualifying time. Ramirez has five ACC crowns in his career, having swept both the 500 and 1650 yard freestyle events at the ACC meet the past two seasons. With first, third and fifth place finishes Virginia took over the lead with 80 points to NC State's 77 and North Carolina's 62. Tar Heel freshman Justin Rossi of Truckee, Calif. took second place in the event with a career best time of 4:25.83. Carolina sophomore Brad Kline was sixth.

Doak Finch of Virginia successfully defended his title in the 200-yard individual medley with an NCAA provisional time of 1:48.74. Finch was named the Most Outstanding Swimmer at last year's ACC meet. He now owns five ACC career titles. The win also increased the Virginia lead over NC State, 134 to 102. North Carolina stayed in third with 97. UNC senior Tom Schmelzer finished third with freshman Chris Helin fifth and sophomore David Slawinski 12th.

Brendon Dedekind won the 50 yard freestyle with an NCAA-qualifying time of 19.69 to become only the 12th swimmer in ACC history to win an ACC title in the same event for four consecutive years. Dedekind, also a member of the ACC champion 200-yard freestyle team, recorded his ninth career ACC victory. The win put Florida State into third place ahead of N.C. State with 122 points over the Wolfpack's 115.5. North Carolina moved into second place with 136.50, and Virginia kept the top spot with 141 points. Carolina senior Ted Brisson finished fifth, freshman Kevin Erndl sixth, senior Chris Jennings 10th and senior Tucker Shade 11th.

The first non-repeat champion of the night was Andy Johnson who took the one-meter diving competition with 547.30 points for N.C. State. With two solid performances in the top eight, Florida State edged North Carolina for second with 159 to Virginia's 168. UNC junior Christian Zuburg was sixth and junior Kevin Mangum 15th.

In the last event of the night, Florida State's 400-yard medley relay set an ACC record with a winning time of 3:12.80. The team of Stephen Parry, Brett Petersen, Keam Ang and Brendon Dedekind also automatically qualified for NCAA competition. Virginia's second place finish gave the Cavaliers a three-point lead over Florida State (202-199) to conclude the first night of competition. The Tar Heel relay finished third, one-tenth of a second behind Virginia. Defending champion North Carolina was third with 183.50, North Carolina State in fourth with 180.50. Clemson (120), Maryland (88), Georgia Tech (75) and Duke (44) rounded out the competition. Virginia is shooting for its third ACC men's title since 1990. Florida State has never won an ACC title. The three-day meet continues through Saturday.

1999 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championships
At Campus Recreation Center Natatorium, College Park, Md.
Results for Thursday, February 25, 1999

1. FLORIDA STATE     40
2. CLEMSON           34
3. NORTH CAROLINA    32
4. NC STATE          30
5. MARYLAND          28
6. VIRGINIA          26
7. GEORGIA TECH      24
8. DUKE              22 

 1. VIRGINIA         80
 2. NC STATE         77
 3. NORTH CAROLINA   62
 4. FLORIDA STATE    45
 5. CLEMSON          40
 6. MARYLAND         39
 7. GEORGIA TECH     26
 8. DUKE             22

Consolation Finalists- 9. David Laitala (GT) 1:50.18& 10. Tim Haley (NC St.) 1:51.52 11. Chris Mousetis (UVA) 1:51.99 12. David Slawinski (UNC)1:52.29 13. Jason Ward (UMD) 1:53.05 14. Brad Bowser (NC St.) 1:53.65 15. Carl Nylander (GT) 1:54.19 16. Chad Onken (FSU) 1:54.87

1. Virginia         134
2. NC State         102
3. North Carolina    97
4. Florida State     59
5. Clemson           52
6. Maryland          43
7. Georgia Tech      37
8. Duke              22 

Event 4: 50-Yard Freestyle
Championship Finalists- 1. Brendon Dedekind (FSU) 19.69@ 2. Julio Santos (FSU) 19.93 3. Alex Ioanvici (CLEM) 20.03& 4. Kevin Flanagan (FSU) 20.22& 5. Ted Brisson (UNC) 20.31& 6. Greg Solt (NC St.) 20.50 6. Kevin Erndl (UNC) 20.50 8. Tim Collis (CLEM) 20.66

1. VIRGINIA        141
2. NORTH CAROLINA  136.5
3. FLORIDA STATE   122
4. NC STATE        115.5
5. CLEMSON         84
6. MARYLAND        43
7. GEORGIA TECH    37
8. DUKE            22 

1. VIRGINIA 168 2. FLORIDA STATE 159 3. NORTH CAROLINA 151.50 4. NC STATE 150.50 5. CLEMSON 94 6. MARYLAND 60 7. GEORGIA TECH 51 8. DUKE 22

Event 6: 400-Yard Medley Relay
Timed Finals-- 1. Florida State (Stephen Parry, Brett Petersen, Keam Ang, Brendon Dedekind) 3:12.80@!# 2.Virginia (Shamek Pietucha, Ed Moses, Doak Finch, Mike Renshaw) 3:15.09& 3. NORTH CAROLINA (Ted Brisson, Chris Hellin, Tucker Shade, Tom Schmelzer) 3:15.19& 4. North Carolina State (Braden Holloway, Jarod Proto, Walter Magnusson, Matthew Brado) 3:17.87& 5. Maryland (Drew Childs, Jason Ward, Aaron Peterson, Matt Childs) 3:18.20& 6. Clemson (Tim Collis, Sean Wallace, Matt Stone, Alex Ioanovici) 3:22.09 7. Georgia Tech (David Laitalia, Theral Mackey, James Nozar, Jay Cerceo) 3:22.93 8. Duke (Chris Fleizach, Mark Rotblat, Jack Newhouse, Clint McHugh) 3:26.40

1. VIRGINIA           202
2. FLORIDA STATE      199
3. NORTH CAROLINA     183.50
4. NC STATE           180.50
5. CLEMSON            120
6. MARYLAND           88
7. GEORGIA TECH       75
8. DUKE               44