University of Virginia Library

Bernardino, Rollins Star In Meet
As Swimmers Easily Take First

By BILL BERNO

"Our goal was 500 points,"
said Cavalier swimming coach
Ron Good after his tankers had
captured the State swim meet
with a record 482 points.

But Mr. Good must have
been satisfied with his squad's
performance. The Cavaliers
proved themselves the class of
the three-day meet, grabbing a
big lead Thursday and building
it into a 186-point victory
margin.

William & Mary finished
second with 296 points,
Washington & Lee was third
with 262, VMI had 250, VPI
scored 193, VCU was sixth
with 160, ODU tallied 154,
Richmond finished with 84,
and Randolph-Macon was a
solid ninth with only ten
points.

As expected, Mark
Bernardino won three events
and swam on a victorious relay.
His performance gained him
the Outstanding Swimmer
award for the second
consecutive year.

Bernardino won the 1650
freestyle, the 500 freestyle,
and the 200 butterfly in
addition to swimming a leg on
the 800 freestyle relay. His
times in the 1650 and 500
freestyles were new state
records.

If there was a pool record
board in U-Hall natatorium, it
would have taken a beating, as
ten new times were posted
during the 18-event meet. Only
four state records survived the
battle.

One of the few surprises of
the meet was the excellent
showing of Richard Brown.
VMI's star sprinter won three
events and left no doubt that
he is the state's fastest
swimmer. Brown won the 50
free in 21.9 and the 100 free in
48.1. He also captured the 100
butterfly in 52.3.

Washington & Lee's Bill
Cogar easily won both diving
events. He won the three-meter
diving with 371 points, a new
state record. The Cavs' Gibby
Gibson finished a surprising
second in the three-meter
event.

Gerry Rollins won both
backstroke events for the
Cavaliers, setting two state
records. Rollins was also a
member of the record-setting
medley relay team.

Scott Balderston and Lance
Brockmeier were consistent
placers in the freestyle events,
and Jeff "Marlin" McKeever
placed well in both butterfly
and freestyle races.

Typical of the Cavalier
dominance was the 1650
freestyle. Bernardino won in
record time, Brockmeier
finished second and Mark
Creighton completed the sweep
with a third place finish.

In each event, consolation
and championship finals were
held, with points given for
twelve places. Individual events
were scored
16-13-11-10-9-8-7-5-4-3-2-1,
and points were doubled for
relays.

Bernardino failed in his
attempt to qualify for the
NCAA Championships, missing
the 1650 cutoff time by over
20 seconds. But he'll get
another chance at the ACC
meet, and Mr. Good says,
"We're in a perfect position to
peak for the
ACC's" Climaxing the
season for the tankers, the
ACC Championship meet will
be held at the U-Hall
natatorium March 1,2, and 3.
The Cavaliers will be launching
an attempt to finish third in
the league. Virginia has never
placed higher than fifth.