No. 1 UVA Women's Swim & Dive Takes Down No. 11 Florida in Opening Meet

The Cavaliers unveiled their banner celebrating the 2022 national title and opened the season with a victory over the Gators

Shortly after unveiling the banner celebrating the 2022 NCAA National Championship, the No. 1-ranked Virginia women's swimming & diving team officially began their quest for a third-consecutive national title with a season-opening victory over No. 11 Florida on Saturday at the UVA Aquatic & Fitness Center in Charlottesville.

The UVA women's swim & dive team won 11 of a possible 16 events and defeated Florida 180-115. In the other half of the dual meet, the Virginia men's swim & dive team, ranked No. 9 in the country, won four events and fell to No. 3 Florida 189-111. 

Women's Swim & Dive: No. 1 Virginia 180, No. 11 Florida 115

The Cavaliers started the meet off with a bang as they swept the podium in the 200-yard medley relay. Carly Novelline, Zoe Skirboll, Alex Walsh, and Georgia transfer Maxine Parker took first place with a time of 1:36.34, followed by Kate Douglass, Jaycee Yegher, Gretchen Walsh, and Reilly Tiltmann in second at 1:36.37, and Izzy Bradley, Anna Keating, Lexi Cuomo, and Kate Morris in third at 1:39.89, just one one-hundredth of a second ahead of the top-finishing Florida team. 

Four different Cavaliers took first place in each of the two individual events they swam. Kate Douglass won the 100-yard breaststroke and the 100-yard freestyle, breaking Gretchen Walsh's AFC pool record in the 100 free. Walsh paid Douglass back in the 100-yard butterfly, breaking Douglass' pool record in the process. Gretchen Walsh also won the 50-yard freestyle. Her older sister Alex Walsh won two events, taking first in the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard breaststroke, while Reilly Tiltmann swept the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke events. 

Abby Harter won the 200-yard butterfly and freshman Claire Tuggle won an event in her collegiate debut, taking first in the 500-yard freestyle. 

UVA opted to exhibition its relay teams for the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, but Gretchen Walsh, Kate Douglass, Maxine Parker, and Alex Walsh turned in an incredible time of 3:11.34, besting the NCAA A cut time by more than three seconds and setting an AFC pool record. 

Men's Swim & Dive: No. 9 Virginia 111, No. 3 Florida 189

Virginia had initially finished 1-3 in the 200-yard medley relay, but UVA's top relay team was subsequently disqualified, so the Cavaliers had to settle for a 2-3 finish in the relay. 

Noah Nichols started off his junior campaign strong by winning both of the breaststroke events in 52.23 (100) and 1:55.00 (200). 

Fellow junior Matt King took first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 42.68. He also finished second in the 50-yard freestyle. 

Finally, sophomore Jack Aikins won the 200-yard backstroke in 1:46.06, while senior Sean Conway was third in that event in 1:46.84. 

Virginia will return to action in a critical dual meet showdown at Texas on Friday, November 4th in Austin. Texas is currently ranked No. 2 in men's swimming and No. 3 in women's swimming. 

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