Congratulations to the Virginia women's swimmers, who claimed their fifth consecutive ACC Championship, the tenth in program history. In total, Virginia won 10 events and owned 22 podium spots throughout the meet. The Cavaliers earned a whopping 848 points, with North Carolina coming in second (615 points) and Florida State third (460 points).

There were many highlights of the meet, one of which includes a thriller in the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, which came down to the wire on a final Maryland push, before the relay team of Lauren Perdue, Meredith Cavalier, Kelly Flynn, and Emily Lloyd pulled out with a win by just a tenths of a second. The gold medal gave Virginia wins in four of the five relays at the championship.

Perdue also came away with individual accolades, as she became just the third swimmer in ACC history to three-peat in the 100-yard freestyle.

Virginia finished the season with a perfect 8-0 dual meet record, including a 4-0 record against conference opponents.

The women's NCAA Championships begin on March 15 at Auburn. The men will compete next week in the ACC Championships, also in Blacksburg. Action for the men begins this Wednesday, February 22.

Virginia took the gold in each of the following events, all of which are NCAA ‘B' times:

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Record:

Men: ACC Champions, 8th in NCAA Championships

Women: ACC Champions, 13th in NCAA Championships

MVP: Matt McLean, Lauren Perdue

Yes, I realize that having two MVPs takes away from the superlative that is the word "most." But what're you gonna do? So it was published, so it shall be. Both of these talented swimmers earned ACC Swimmer of the Year honors. It was McLean's second time picking up the award in his career, not to mention his Freshman of the Year honors in 2008. Oh, and don't forget the little piece of hardware he brought home, winning the NCAA championship in the 500 freestyle. It was the first Swimmer of the Year honors for Perdue, who's just a sophomore, but she also picked up Freshman of the Year honors last year. She ended up finishing second in the NCAA championship 200 freestyle.

Overview: The expectations of Virginia swimming are simple: win the ACC title, contend for the NCAA title. The men have won the title in 12 of the past 13 years, while the women just picked up their program's ninth. For both programs, it was the fourth consecutive ACC title (the first time the women have completed this feat). Think about that. If you were a senior on this team, you don't know anything other than winning the conference title. If those aren't expectations, I don't know what are. Head coach Mark Bernardino was named ACC Coach of the Year for the... you guessed it. Fourth consecutive season.

Season Highlight(s): What wasn't a highlight here? Alright, I'll pick one each.

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The 10th ranked Virginia men's swimming team led the field after each of the four days of the 2011 ACC Championships, winning its fourth consecutive title and 12th in the past 13 years. Senior Matt McLean was named the ACC Swimmer of the Meet, the third consecutive time he has earned this title.

It was the first time since 1996 that one school swept both the ACC men's and women's swimming titles in four consecutive years.

"This was a team win," head coach Mark Bernardino said. "It is not about individuals. It is about men stepping up and swimming for one another and caring for one another and sharing a very special bond. We had former Virginia swimming athletes from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s here tonight. Five different decades of Virginia swimmers were here tonight. That's part of what we promote and what we believe in. When an athlete swims for their team, with their heart, ultimately they will be better as individuals. I think that was personified by our performance over the last four days."

A total of eight Cavaliers picked up championship honors, including four each for Scot Robison and Matt McLean, and three for Peter Geissinger.

Virginia's 2011 ACC Champions
Scot Robison (4) - 800 freestyle relay, 200 freestyle, 400 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay
Matt McLean - (4) 800 freestyle relay, 500 freestyle, 1650 freestyle, 400 freestyle relay
Peter Geissinger (3) - 100 butterfly, 400 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay
Tom Barrett (1) - 400 freestyle relay
Taylor Grey (1) - 400 medley relay
David Karasek (1) - 800 freestyle relay
Matt Murray (1) - 400 medley relay
Taylor Smith (1) - 800 freestyle relay

For a full list of results and NCAA times, visit VirginiaSports.com.

The Virginia women's swimming team won its fourth straight Atlantic Coast Conference championship title on Saturday after trailing North Carolina by 37 points heading into the final session. Sophomore Lauren Perdue was named the meet's Most Valuable Swimmer for the second straight year by winning two events, setting ACC championship and conference records in the process.

The graduating senior class at Virginia has won an ACC title every year they were here.

"This class has been motivated to be the best they can be, every day, for four years," Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. "They are as close as sisters - their bond is unbelievable. I knew they would never refuse to give in; they have such a strong belief in one another."

The Cavaliers finished the meet with 776 points, followed by North Carolina in second with 734 and Florida State in third with 417. Maryland (397) and Virginia Tech (358) each moved up a spot to finish fourth and fifth, respectively. Miami placed sixth with 349, while Duke was seventh with 262.5 and NC State was eighth with 159.5. Georgia Tech (ninth, 152), Clemson (10th, 151) and Boston College (11th, 60) rounded out the field.

The win is big for the team's emotions as well. All of Virginia's swimmers bore an "FC" on their faces to honor the late Fran Crippen, former Cavalier and brother of current senior Claire Crippen.

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The University has dedicated a bench in the lobby of the Aquatic & Fitness Center to honor Fran Crippen, who passed away in October while representing the United States in the 10K World Cup open water race in the United Arab Emirates. Crippen, a native of Conshohocken, Pa., was an 11-time All-American and two-time ACC swimmer of the year (2003, 2004).

While at Virginia, he had also been named the ACC's freshman of the year award in 2003 and was the most valuable swimmer of the 2004 ACC Championships.

The inscription on the bench reads: "In loving memory of Fran Crippen (College 2006), beloved teammate and two-time team captain, who had a heart as big as the world and a smile to match."

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Virginia junior Peter Geissinger won three individual titles and has been selected as the Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Performer of the Week. His teammate, senior Liz Shaw, registered four NCAA ‘B' qualifying times en route to being honored as the league's Women's Performer of the Week.

Geissinger took the top spot in the 100 butterfly, posting a time of 48.79 and helping the No. 14 Cavaliers rally from an 84-66 deficit against conference rival and ninth-ranked North Carolina. His victory was part of a six-event win streak that gave Virginia the lead and eventually the dual meet, 162-138. The Darien, Conn., native also finished first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.44. He swam on the 400 freestyle and 200 medley relays, both of which recorded NCAA ‘B' cuts. Geissinger followed that performance Sunday by registering a top time of 1:39.57 in the 200 freestyle as Virginia topped Duke, 155-132. He was also part of the victorious 200 medley relay squad.

Shaw claimed three individual titles as ninth-ranked Virginia defeated No. 11 North Carolina, 161.5-138.5. With the Cavaliers trailing by three points heading into the final two events, Shaw led a 1-2-3 Cavalier finish in the 200 IM, her third individual win on the day. The Richmond, Va., native clocked an NCAA ‘B' time of 2:00.64 to collect first-place honors. She also won the 100 and 200 butterfly events registering ‘B' cuts of 54.24 and 1:57.47 respectively. In Sunday's 156-132 victory against Duke, Shaw took first place in the 200 freestyle, posting a ‘B' time of 1:49.12. She also swam the butterfly leg on the winning 200 medley relay.

Over the ten weeks this season that the ACC has been announcing performers of the week, the Virginia men have claimed the honor six times, while the Virginia women have earned it five.

For the fourth time this season (out of only nine weeks), Virginia has swept the ACC Swimming & Diving Performers of the Week honors. Seniors Matt McLean and Lauren Perdue each earned these honors for the fourth time (three of which were done so together).

McLean claimed two individual titles, both the 200 and 500 freestyle events, while he also took third in the 100 freestyle as the Cavaliers faced No. 15 Tennessee in dual meet action. His first-place time of 1:37.07 in the 200 free met the NCAA ‘B' standard. The Sterling, Va., native posted times of 4:28.60 in the 500 and 45.09 in the 100. McLean also led off the 400 free relay, guiding the squad to a second-place finish with a time of 1:31.53.

Perdue registered three 'B' qualifying times, taking first place in each event as the Virginia women traveled to No. 12 Tennessee. Her winning times of 22.70 in the 50 freestyle, 49.51 in the 100 freestyle and 1:46.91 in the 200 freestyle were each NCAA ‘B' cuts. The Greenville, N.C., native also led off the Cavaliers' 400 free relay. The squad finished with a ‘B' time of 3:22.18, good for second place.

Despite these stellar performances, both teams fell to Tennessee. The Cavalier men fall to 4-1 while the women drop down to 2-2.

The women are ranked No. 9 in the country, and the men are ranked No. 10. Both squads lead the ACC, and will open up ACC competition on January 22 at home against North Carolina. The Tar Heel men are ranked No. 12 in the country and the women are ranked No. 11.