Two members of the men’s swimming & diving team at the University of Virginia will transfer.
Sophomores Chris Webb and Nicholas Alexiou have both left the program, they confirmed on Sunday. They both will be seeking to transfer to other schools that they think will be a better fit for them.
Both swimmers are middle-to-distance freestylers; at last year’s ACC Championship, Webb scored 29 individual points, including a 5th-place finish in the 1650 yard freestyle.
Alexiou had an even bigger impact, scoring 30 points individually including a 3rd-place finish in the 200 free. He also led-off the ACC Champion 800 free relay, and anchored Virginia’s 400 free relay. He went on to qualify for the NCAA Championships, placing 37th in the 500 free, 27th in the 1650 free, and earning Honorable Mention All-American honors on Virginia’s 13th-place 800 free relay.
Webb and Alexiou were among the eight student-athletes suspended for Virginia’s season-opening meet against Navy for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Nobody that we spoke with gave any indication that his decision to leave was specifically related to that.
A request for comment from the Virginia coaching staff on Sunday went unreturned as of posting.
Augie Busch is in his first year as the head coach of the Virginia men’s and women’s programs.
Ouch . UVA has bigger problems than whatever this was all about . The head of the ( formerly prestigious ) McIntyre School of Business has just been arrested on child pornography & distribution charges. Evidence looks to have multiple downloads & forwards ( over 200) of violent sex crimes against girls as young as 8 .
Shame UVA shame.
I also swam for UVA in the late 80’s (including the 87 team). I concur with UVAMom, and I see 3 areas that need our support and encouragement:
1) First and foremost, the Swimmers: I can’t imagine any UVA alum (swimming or not) who doesn’t want to see them swim their best and represent our University with honor.
2) Mark Bernardino, the person (first) and coach (second): He made a tremendous difference on many lives, and if you are an alum who he positively touched, call him and tell him so. I have.
3) Augie and the new coaching staff: Augie and his staff are trying to make the swimmers the best they can be. I can’t imagine… Read more »
Too right! Waynesvillians got down home real standards of decency .
I echo 1987 100%. Unless the rest of you were a part of the building process of the UVA Swimming and Diving program, you have no idea what Mark Bernardino is all about. Yes, over the years Dino and the many assistant coaches who worked with him built a very respectable swimming and diving program, but being a member of that program was about so much more than swimming. It was about LIFE and how to do it the best you can. I wouldn’t trade my experiences with Dino for anything in the world.
I wish the current swimmers and coaches nothing but the best of luck as they move forward but I will never look at the Athletic… Read more »
He he. I never said anything to you . I am just going to sit on my porch in Waynesville & watch out for escaped UVA athletes. They can be a bit too passionate & self righteous. I have my lacrosse stick as Defense!
Lots of Rage JG. Lot’s of rage.
Wow, Big Picture! Wow! Sounds like the people on the thread with the inside scoop are right, turmoil within the team. Inside scoop–yes Hansen will be out at U of A. Too bad, the position is a year too late for these UVa swimmers.
What if:
– Hansen out at AZ, does not come back.
– Augie and staff contacted by AZ.
Or Doc Counsilman becomes reanimated and becomes zombie coach. Just think of all of the teams that will line up to hire him. You might lose a couple of swimmers at lunch time, but man think of the motivation to not be the last one in the water for practice.
I would put the odds of this happening above most of the crap that has been thrown out there in this comment section.
Big Picture, you seem to have some insight. What do you mean ” the consequences were not doled out equally?” If true, that isn’t fair.
It is true. I can’t tell you more than that because it could put a bull’s eye on others on the team.
Don’t expect anything dramatic. Simple story of an assistant creating a tense environment relative to the tolerance of administrators in this day and age of liability, not necessarily with just the athlete but also other athletic department personnel. When your boss says you have to make a personnel change you either respect the decision and check your ego at the door or you don’t. Not surprising if you have a long tenure that you view it as meddling, blind to objective observations of others, and your ego interferes in the solution. Nothing criminal but perhaps a culture change was best. Celebrate the past and move forward with a bright new philosophy and commitment.