Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech H2Okie men’s swimming and diving team will send two representatives to compete at the NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas on March 25-28. Tech junior Mikey McDonald will take part in the 1- and 3- meter events, along with the platform dive, while freshman Charlie Higgins will swim in the 100 and 200 back events for the H2Okies.
McDonald, a native of Annandale, Va., will compete for the second time in as many seasons at the NCAA Championships. Last season, the junior posted an 11th-place finish in the 1-meter, an 18th-place showing in the 3-meter and had the 15th-best mark in the platform dive. McDonald, who last year was an honorable mention All-American, solidified a position in the 2009 NCAA Championships after claiming fifth place in the 1-and 3-meter dive at the NCAA Zone B qualifier in Knoxville, Tenn., on March 13-15.
Meanwhile, Higgins, a Weddington, N.C. native, looks to make waves in the back events for Tech. The freshman had an impressive showing in the 100 back at the ACC Championships in College Park, Md. Higgins claimed second place in the event, along with garnering an NCAA “A” cut time in the competition, after touching in with a time of 46.54 in the preliminary race, while registering a time of 46.55 in the finals. At the conference finals, Higgins also claimed an NCAA “B” cut in the 200 back with a time of 1:43.85 and totaled 26 individual points.
Action at the NCAA Championship starts on Thursday, March 25. Follow the action live at http://www.aggieathletics.com/ncaa2009/swimming/men/.