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ATLANTA, Ga. - The Virginia Tech men’s swimming and diving team finished 19th and posted the second-highest finish in program history at the 2016 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships.

During the meet, Brandon Fiala became the first Virginia Tech men’s swimmer to earn All-American honors three times in a meet and in a career. On Saturday night, Fiala finished fifth in the 200 breast with a time of 1:53.45. It marked the third straight day he earned All-American honors after he tied the highest finish by a male swimmer at Virginia Tech with a tie for fourth place in the 100 breast on Friday. Fiala also finished eighth in the 200 IM on Thursday night.

Robert Owen earned Honorable Mention All-American status twice this week after swimming a 1:41.34 in the 200 back. It was the second time this week he earned the Honorable Mention All-American status and for the fourth time in his career overall as he also finished 14th overall in the 400 IM with a time of 3:43.10 on Friday night. Owen was an Honorable Mention All-American in both of those events last year.

“It was a great weekend for the Hokies. Everyone contributed to our top 20 finish. It was an overall great experience for our men. Brandon Fiala put forward the best NCAA meet any swimmer of ours has ever had and Robert Owen was a real fighter. Lucas Bureau and Logan Stevens conclude outstanding careers that include a 2014 ACC Championship,” said head coach Ned Skinner.

Tech finished with 44.5 points overall. The other top men’s program finishes are 18th in 2012, T-20th in 2013 as well as 20th in 2014. The team scored 55 points in 2012 when they finished 18th. Fiala’s swim on Saturday earned 14 team points while Owen’s earned two points.

In the prelims, Norbert Szabo finished 18th overall and was the second alternate for the consolation finals as he swam a 1:43.37 in the 200 fly. Lucas Bureau swam a 43.47 in the 100 free to finish in 31st. In diving, all four Hokies in Atlanta competed in the platform event. Mauro Castro-Silva finished the highest in 30th while Eduardo Castro-Silva finished 33rd, Ben Schiesl 41st and Logan Stevens 43rd.

The Hokies entered the NCAA Championships ranked No. 24 by the CSCAA and had an undefeated dual meet record this year of 11-0. Tech spent a majority of the season ranked in the top 30, peaking at No. 18.

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