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UVA Takes Four Titles, Two American Records at ACC Swim & Dive Championships

The Virginia women broke two more American records on the second night of competition at the ACC Swimming & Diving Championships

Matt Newton

The ACC

The Virginia women's swim & dive team stepped things up a notch on day two at the 2023 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships as the Cavaliers claimed four ACC titles and broke two more American records on Wednesday night in Greensboro. 

In the 200-yard relay, Virginia's team of Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Lexi Cuomo, and Alex Walsh finished first in 1:23.87, nearly two seconds ahead of the field and the first sub-1:24 ever recorded in the event. That performance broke the NCAA, US Open, and American record in the event, a record which UVA originally set at the ACC Championships in 2022. 

UVA had three swimmers qualify for the finals in the women's 500-yard freestyle and all three of those swimmers finished in the top four. In a rare outcome for such a race of this length, there was actually a tie for first place as Virginia senior Ella Nelson and Georgia Tech freshman Deniz Ertan both touched the wall at precisely the same time, 4:38.04, so Nelson and Ertan shared the ACC title in the 500 free. Behind them were Maddie Donohoe (4:39.53) in third and Claire Tuggle (4:40.41) in fourth. 

Virginia also placed two on the podium in the women's 200-yard individual medley. Kate Douglass dominated the event, taking first by nearly four seconds with a time of 1:50.15, just seven one-hundredths of a second off the NCAA record held by UVA teammate Alex Walsh, who swam a 1:50.08 in the event at the 2022 NCAA Championships. Duke's Sally Foley claimed second and UVA's Abby Harter was third. 

Another American record fell in the women's 50-yard freestyle thanks to yet another speedy swim by a Cavalier. Gretchen Walsh shaved one one-hundredth of a second off of the 20.84 previous record held by Virginia's Kate Douglass, finishing in 20.83 to break the NCAA, US Open, and American record and win the ACC title. 

Jenn Bell recorded a third-place finish in the women's 1m diving final with a score of 301.40. 

Those results gave Virginia 551 points, thrusting the Cavaliers into the lead on the team leaderboards, leading second-place Louisville by 77.5 points. 

ACC Women's Swim & Dive Championships Standings (after day two):

  1. Virginia - 551
  2. Louisville - 473.5
  3. NC State - 427
  4. North Carolina - 386
  5. Virginia Tech - 274
  6. Duke - 257
  7. Notre Dame - 216
  8. Florida State - 213
  9. Miami - 211
  10. Pittsburgh - 163.5
  11. Georgia Tech - 158
  12. Boston College - 100

The Virginia men are currently in third place in the team standings after day two with 317 points. UVA came in as the defending ACC champs in the 200-yard freestyle relay, but the Cavaliers were missing Matt King and Connor Boyle, who helped them claim that title in 2022. Virginia's team of Matt Brownstead, Jack Aikins, Tim Connery, and August Lamb finished second in the event in 1:15.89, trailing only NC State, who took the title in 1:15.10. 

Noah Nichols placed fifth in the men's 200-yard individual medley, finishing in 1:43.45, while Tim Connery was seventh. Matt Brownstead and August Lamb finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the 50-yard freestyle. 

ACC Men's Swim & Dive Championships Standings (after day two):

  1. NC State - 585
  2. Louisville - 332.5
  3. Virginia - 317
  4. Virginia Tech - 308.5
  5. Notre Dame - 286
  6. Florida State - 263.5
  7. North Carolina - 216
  8. Pittsburgh - 209.5
  9. Georgia Tech - 187
  10. Duke - 133
  11. Miami - 74
  12. Boston College - 64

The third day of competition at the 2023 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships on Thursday will feature the 400-yard individual medley, the 100-yard butterfly, the 200-yard freestyle, and men's 3-meter diving. 

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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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