June 21, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - University of Virginia graduate Dan DeMarco (Great Neck, N.Y./Great Neck South) has been named to 2006 USA Swimming Open Water National Team. DeMarco is one of eight swimmers who will represent the United States in the 2006 Open Water World Championships in Naples, Italy, Aug. 29 - Sept. 3.

DeMarco, who graduated from UVa in 2003, will swim the 10K in the Open Water World Championships in Italy. DeMarco finished fourth in the 10K at the 2006 USA Swimming Open Water National Championships, which were held June 2-6 in Fort Myers Beach, Fla. He posted a time of 1 hour, 50 minutes, 17.00 seconds, just four seconds off the winning time.

DeMarco has been competing in open water races since 2002. He won the 2002 5K Open Water National Championship in For Lauderdale, Fla., in his first open water race. DeMarco won the 10K Open Water National Championship in 2003 and the 5K and 10K Open Water National titles in 2004. Also in 2003, DeMarco competed in the 5K and 10K at the FINA Open Water World Championships in Barcelona, Spain.

Rising Virginia fourth-year John Millen (Lilburn, Ga./Parkview) competed in the Open Water National Championships along with DeMarco and finished 20th in the 10K with a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 4.00 seconds. He was 13th in the 5K event with a time of 56 minutes, 47.99 seconds. Earlier this spring, Millen participated in an open water swim camp for elite distance swimmers.

In addition to the Open Water World Championships, USA Swimming will send competitors to the Pan Pacific Championships in Victoria, British, Columbia Aug. 17-21, and the FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, Mar. 25 - Apr. 1). These three international competitions will be the first opportunity for U.S. Open Water National Teams to compete with an Olympic Games as the focus. The men's and women's 10K open water races were added in October 2005 to the 2008 Olympic program in Beijing.

DeMarco was a three-time All-American in the 1650 freestyle at UVa. He captured honorable mention All-America accolades in 2001, 2002 and 2003. His top finish at the NCAA Championships was a ninth-place performance in the mile in 2003.