February 26, 2015
Tech in second after day 2 at the ACC Championships
Brandon Fiala wins gold in the 200 IM
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Virginia Tech

CHAMPIONSHIP PAGE | SCHEDULE OF EVENTS | LIVE RESULTS

ATLANTA - Propelled by a gold medal from sophomore Brandon Fiala and five top-five finishes in only four events on Thursday, the Virginia Tech men’s swimming and diving team is in second place at the ACC Championships at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center after the second day of competition.

The H2Okies are in second place with a score of 459, trailing NC State by 36. Behind Tech, UNC has 453 points.

“Brandon Fiala winning the title in the 200 IM was a great moment for our men’s team,” head coach Ned Skinner said. “It means a lot, knowing that he was disappointed in his evening swims last year, and it was great to see him put that seasoned work behind him. I’m also very proud of Chris Grimmett-Norris because he sparked our team this morning and tonight, as our first swim in both. You rely on the snowball effect on a meet like this. We’ll have to have our best tomorrow morning to give ourselves a chance, and I know these guys will be ready.”

In the first race of the evening - the 500 free - Tech earned two top-five finishes when Michal Szuba took fourth with a time of 4:18.35 - only 0.2 seconds off of the school record - and Jake Ores finished fifth with a time of 4:20.32. Freshman Chris Grimmett-Norris took 13th in the event, touching the wall after 4:23.95.

Brandon Fiala won Tech’s first gold medal of the championships in the 200 IM after swimming a time of 1:43.97. Only a few spots behind him, Owen Burns took sixth with a time of 1:45.13. In the morning prelims, both Brandon Fiala and Burns broke the 200 IM school record, but it was Brandon Fiala’s time that set the new school record at 1:43.73. In the same event, after taking fifth in the B-final, Lucas Bureau finished 14th overall.

Brandon’s older brother, C.J. Fiala, took sixth in the 50 free with a new personal-best time of 19.59.

Thursday’s team scores had no diving scores factored into them, but 3-meter team scores will be added at the conclusion of Friday’s competition and platform team scores will be added at the conclusion of Saturday’s competition. That will give Tech 80 diving points on Friday and 99 points Saturday.

Friday’s action will begin at 10 a.m. with the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast and 100 back prelims. Finals will begin at 6 p.m. and can be watched live on ESPN3. A full schedule of events can be found here and live results can be found here.

There is no charge for admission to the 2015 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships. Parking is available for $10 for a single day or for $36 for a four-day pass. Details on parking can be found here.

Please visit the official championship website for all championship information including a full event schedule and live results.

For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter

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