Cavaliers Now

Virginia in First Place After Day One at NCAA Women's Swim Championships

The Cavaliers won the 200-yard medley relay and finished second in the 800-yard freestyle relay on Wednesday night

Matt Newton

The Virginia women's swimming and diving team began its national title defense on Wednesday night at the 2022 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The Cavaliers delivered a pair of strong relay performances and lead the team standings after the first night. 

In the first event of the night, the 200-yard medley relay, UVA's team of Gretchen Walsh, Alexis Wenger, Lexi Cuomo, and Kate Douglass finished first in a meet-record time of 1:32.16, winning the NCAA title in the event and earning 40 points for Virginia in the team standings. ACC rival NC State finished in second place. 

READ MORE: Virginia Women's Swim & Dive Wins Third Straight ACC Championship

Walsh swam the backstroke in 22.81, trailing NC State's Katharine Berkoff by just .05 seconds. Wenger went second with a 26.08 mark in the breaststroke before Lexi Cuomo put Virginia in first place with a time of 22.72 in the butterfly. Douglass brought it home for the Cavaliers in the anchor freestyle leg, finishing in 20.55, nearly a half-second faster than the rest of the field. 

In the second and final event of the opening night, Virginia notched a second-place finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay. Stanford was the overwhelming favorite to win the event and did just that, grabbing the title with a time of 6:48.30. UVA's team of Reilly Tiltmann, Alex Walsh, Ella Nelson, and Emma Weyant finished second in the 800 free relay with a time of 6:53.47 and earned 34 points for the Cavaliers. 

With a total of 74 points through the first two events, Virginia currently holds a 16-point advantage over second-place Texas in the standings after day one. 

Current NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships Standings

1. Virginia - 74 points

2. Texas - 58 points

3. California - 56 points

4. Stanford - 54 points

5. Louisville - 46 points

6. NC State - 44 points

7. Alabama - 38 points

7. Ohio State - 38 points

9. Georgia - 34 points

9. Tennessee - 34 points

The second day of the 2022 NCAA women's swimming and diving championships will feature the 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle, 1-meter diving, and 200-yard freestyle relay events. The prelims take place at 10am and the finals will begin at 6pm. 

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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