To establish a dynasty, please call 5-5-5. The Virginia women’s swimming and diving team swept 5 events on day 5 of the ACC Championships to complete the program’s 5th straight conference title this past weekend. The Hoos did it record-setting fashion too, accumulating 1,637.5 points as the first women’s program to crack the 1,600-point barrier at the meet.
That point total actually outpaced any team’s winning score in ACC history. The NC State men’s team reached 1,615 last year in its title win. The Cavalier women easily outpaced the field as Louisville (2nd, 1,145) and NC State (3rd, 1,106) trailed by a significant margin, while no other team hit the 1K plateau. In fact, if you add together the scores from North Carolina (4th, 786.5) and Duke (5th, 786.5), that still wouldn’t have been enough to dethrone the Wahoos.
Virginia has won 20 total ACC Championships in women’s swimming and diving.
“Honestly, it could not have gone a whole lot better for us,” UVA coach Todd DeSorbo said via Virginia Athletics social media. “Both teams performed at a really high level. We had high hopes for that and they certainly came through and matched our hopes. Just really excited about all the hard work they put in and happy for them that it’s paid off to this point in the season.
“Honestly, no, I didn’t expect this great of a meet. It couldn’t have gone better honestly,” Cavalier Gretchen Walsh said via Virginia Athletics social media. “Winning the fifth title in a row was like a dream come true and we also scored over 1,600 points, which I don’t think anyone has ever done before, at least on the women’s side, and that was an awesome barrier to break for our team.”
Walsh played a big role in the dominance. She won 7 gold medals during the meet (she now 16 in her career) and set 4 NCAA records as part of that performance. She set new marks in the 100 freestyle (45.16), the 50 free style (20.57), the 100 fly (48.25), and the 200 free relay (1:23.63). That doesn’t even count her sub-20 50 free relay leg that had social media buzzing and caused a stir at the meet itself.
Unsurprisingly, Walsh earned the ACC Championships’ Most Valuable Swimmer award. She will head to the NCAA Championships in Athens, Georgia, next month with her name a part 8 different NCAA records. In addition to the 100 free, 500 free, 100 fly, and 200 free relay mentioned above, she also has/shares the top marks in the 100 back, the 400 free relay, the 200 medley relay, and the 400 medley relay.
The rise has been building over the course of her Cavalier career and this week in particular, but she mentioned in an interview that she didn’t even taper for the ACC Championships so there could be more in store.
“Personally, the four records, absolutely mind-blowing,” Walsh said “I’m really proud of myself, but I know that there’s more in the tank and I’m ready to get back and starting training again for NCAAs. Hopefully, break some more, go faster, I don’t know, we’ll see. I’m excited.”
“I don’t think it could have been scripted any better,” DeSorbo said. “She has some pretty big goals and some of them she hasn’t even attained yet so hopefully there’s more in store for her. She’s had a great year all around, all the way until this point. She’s practicing at a really high level, doing things that she’s never really done, and she works hard every single day, every minute of every day. So it’s just great to see her continue to be successful and perform at a high level in big competitions like this.”
Walsh certainly wasn’t alone in extending the title reign, though.
Sister Alex Walsh picked up her 26th career gold medal at the ACC Championships, taking over the top spot of all time from former teammate Kate Douglass (25). The haul this week included a win in the 200 breaststroke where the Hoos went 1-2-3 with Walsh (2:02.24, meet record), Ella Nelson (2:04.29), and Anna Keating (2:07.97). Walsh also won the 200 IM and the 200 fly as part of her individual accomplishments.
Other event winners during the ACC Championships for Virginia included Aimee Canny (200 free), Cavan Gormsen (1,650 Free, 500 Free), Nelson (400 IM), Jasmine Nocentini (100 Breast), and Reilly Tiltmann (200 Back). UVA dominated the relay races too with wins in the 200 Medley Relay, 800 Free Relay, 200 Free Relay, 400 Medley Relay, and 400 Free Relay.
On the men’s side, Virginia finished fifth with 768.5 points, while NC State won the title with 1,499.5 points. Noah Nichols won the 100 breaststroke.
The Cavaliers now turn their attention to preparation for the NCAA Championships. The women’s meet is March 20-23, while the men’s meet is March 27-30.
“We always kind of use the ACC Championships as a stepping stone toward the NCAA Championships in a month so really excited and happy for the team and how well they did and really looking forward to the next month,” DeSorbo said.
