UVA Women's Swim Sets Another American Record at the ACC Championships

The Cavaliers crushed the U.S. record in the 200-yard medley relay by over a second

It was another record-breaking evening for the Virginia swimming & diving program on Thursday at the ACC Swimming & Diving Championships in Atlanta. After both the UVA men's and women's 200-yard freestyle relay teams broke American records on Wednesday night, the UVA 200-yard medley relay team set another U.S. record on Thursday. 

Virginia's team of Gretchen Walsh, Alexis Wenger, Lexi Cuomo, and Kate Douglass smashed the record with a finish of 1:31.81 to win the ACC title. Walsh became the first woman to ever swim the 50 backstroke in less than 23 seconds, turning in a leadoff leg of 22.82. Wenger swam the breaststroke in 25.77, Cuomo swam the butterfly in 22.68, and Douglass anchored the relay with a freestyle 20.54. UVA beat the previous record of 1:32.93 by over a second. 

The night was far from over for the Cavalier women after breaking the U.S. record in the first event. 

Virginia took the top two spots on the podium in the women's 400-yard individual medley. Ella Nelson defended her ACC title in the event and broke her own meet record in the process, finishing in 4:02.11. Freshman Emma Weyant was right behind her in second place with a time of 4:04.90. 

For the third year in a row, Kate Douglass won the ACC title in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing in 49.86, nearly a full second ahead of the next swimmer, Kylee Alons from NC State. Douglass has now won four ACC titles at the 2022 ACC Championships so far. 

Alex Walsh captured her fourth ACC title of the week with a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle. Walsh finished in 1:42.28, nearly two seconds ahead of Duke's Sarah Foley. Walsh and Foley also went 1-2 in the 200-yard individual medley on Wednesday. 

Virginia remains atop the women's standings at the ACC Championships, holding a lead of 100.5 points over NC State. Here are the current standings through day three: 

1. Virginia – 790.5
2. NC State – 690
3. Louisville – 547.5
4. Duke – 425
5. North Carolina – 365
6. Virginia Tech – 356
7. Notre Dame – 340
8. Miami (FL) – 273
9. Florida State – 268
10. Georgia Tech – 211
11. Pitt – 175
12. Boston College – 104

UVA is currently fourth in the men's standings at the ACC Championships: 

1. NC State – 843.5
2. Louisville – 634.5
3. Virginia Tech – 561
4. Virginia – 487
5. Georgia Tech – 382.5
6. Florida State – 344
7. North Carolina – 332
8. Notre Dame – 212
9. Pittsburgh – 202
10. Duke – 187
11. Boston College – 115.5
12. Miami (FL) – 57

Competition continues on Friday with the 100-yard backstroke, 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard butterfly, and 400-yard medley relay events as well as men's platform diving. Prelims start at 10am and the finals begin at 6pm. You can watch the 2022 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships live on ACC Network Extra. 

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