There were a lot of challenges that came
along with the coaching change. Some
team members (men and women) showed
hesitancy and some considered leaving the
program.
"I thought about transferring," Smith ad-
mitted. "There were a lot of mixed emo-
tions going in. I had never really heard of
Augie before, and the uncertainty of who
our coach was going to be was pretty hard.
"But I thought I owed it to the coaches
to give them a chance and I thought they
deserved a fair chance. I and the girls in
my class went into it with a really, really
open mind and I think that it couldn't have
worked out better."
Bartholomew was recruited by Ber-
nardino and said there was definitely some
uncertainty as to what the change would
bring.
"Mark had a very different coaching phi-
losophy, just a different philosophy on life
than I feel our coaching staff has," she said.
"I went home between my first and second
year, and there was a little bit of appre-
hension knowing I was coming into a new
coaching staff that would have new goals
and styles."
Virginia sent 12 swimmers — including fourth-year Hanne Borgersen — to the NCAA
Championships, which tied it with Georgia and California for the second most nationally
(Tennessee, Texas A&M and USC tied for the most with 13).
PHOTO COURTESY UVA
