Hokies claim Commonwealth Clash for first time

Tech wins annual competition with UVA sponsored by Virginia529

May 15, 2017

BLACKSBURG – By virtue of the men’s and women’s track and field teams’ sweep of the ACC Championships over the weekend, Virginia Tech has claimed the 2016-17 Commonwealth Clash. The annual event, presented by Virginia529, pits the Hokies against the University of Virginia within the 22 varsity sports in which the schools compete against each other.

The season series ended tied at 11, but the Hokies won the tiebreaker after winning four of the Atlantic Coast Conference team championships in sports in which both schools compete. Tech claimed the titles in both men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, men’s indoor track and field, and wrestling. Virginia won ACC titles in men’s tennis, field hockey and rowing. The Hokies do not compete in the latter two sports.

The margin this year wound up being by a hundredth of a second. The Tech men’s track and field team trailed UVA going into the final event of the ACC Championships – the 4x400-meter relay – but the Hokies defeated Pittsburgh by a hundredth of a second to come in third in the event. If Tech had finished fourth, it wouldn’t have accumulated enough points to win the team title and thus the Commonwealth Clash.

This is the third year of the Commonwealth Clash, presented by Virginia529. UVA won both of the first two titles – 15-7 in 2014-15 and 14-7 in 2015-16.

The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry throughout the state. The competition allows additional exposure for football and basketball and brings increased attention to the Olympic sport competitions, encouraging attendance and generating support for these programs. The series works to promote good sportsmanship and build a sense of anticipation and excitement toward the culmination when the winning school is presented with the trophy.

For more information on The Commonwealth Clash, please visit:

www.thecommonwealthclash.com

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