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Virginia Breaks NCAA Record in 800 Free Relay at ACC Championships

Matt Newton

Virginia Athletics

How do you go about taking down a relay record that had stood for eight years? Well, as it turns out, putting four Olympians on one relay team does the trick.

In 2017, Stanford set the NCAA record in the 800-yard freestyle relay with Olympic medalists Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel, and Lia Neal as well as 12-time NCAA national champion Ella Eastin combining to record a time of 6:45.91.

Of the five relays that are contested at collegiate championship meets, the 800 free relay has been Virginia's "weakest" throughout this dynasty, though the Cavaliers have still won this event at the ACC Championships every year since 2007. UVA has rarely put its best quartet of swimmers on this relay team.

That changed on Tuesday night, when Todd DeSorbo opted to put Gretchen Walsh, Alex Walsh, Aimee Canny, and Claire Curzan, who have each competed in the Olympic Games and have a combined six Olympic medals between them, together on the 800 freestyle relay. That stacked Virginia team proceeded to smash the old Stanford record by nearly two seconds with a lightning-fast time of 6:44.13, as the Cavaliers opened the 2025 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships with a bang on Tuesday night at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

Gretchen Walsh swam the leadoff leg and split 1:39.35, a new ACC record and the second-fastest 200-yard freestyle time in history, trailing only Missy Franklin, who swam a 1:39.10 at the 2015 NCAA Championships. Alex Walsh went second in 1:41.87, then Aimee Canny third at 1:42.03, and then former Stanford transfer Claire Curzan made her ACCs debut with the Hoos by anchoring with a time of 1:40.89. UVA's four legs of the relay were the four-fastest splits of the entire field in this race. Virginia finished more than seven seconds ahead of second-place Stanford.

It's a minor technicality, but because Virginia's relay team featured one non-American in South Africa's Aimee Canny, that 2017 Stanford relay still stands as the American record in the event. Still, Virginia now holds all five NCAA relay records simultaneously, becoming the first program to accomplish that feat since Stanford in 2019.

And by the way, Virginia now holds the ACC women's swimming records in every single event.

There were two women's relay events on Tuesday night at the ACC Swimming & Diving Championships. Because the Cavaliers went all in on breaking the record in the 800 free relay, which was the second relay of the night, they fielded a 'B Team' of sorts for the first relay, the 200-yard medley relay. Virginia's team of Tess Howley, Emma Weber, Carly Novelline, and Anna Moesch turned in a time of 1:31.53, which is still under the NCAA 'A' cut line, but not fast enough to make the podium at this event, as Stanford won its debut race at the ACC Championships with a time of 1:34.05, followed by Cal (1:34.34) and Louisville (1:34.55).

After the first day of competition, the team standings look a bit startling, with North Carolina leading the women's standings, but that's due to UNC diver Aranza Vazquez winning her third ACC title in 1-meter diving. Virginia's Lizzy Kaye took fourth-place. UVA is currently second in the team standings with 153 points, while the Tar Heels lead with 187 points and Stanford sits in third with 138 points.

2025 ACC Women's Swimming & Diving Championships Standings After Day 1

  1. North Carolina – 187
  2. Virginia – 153
  3. Stanford – 138
  4. Miami (FL) – 129
  5. Florida State – 125
  6. Louisville – 123
  7. California – 115
  8. Pittsburgh – 110
  9. NC State – 102
  10. Notre Dame – 91
  11. Virginia Tech – 80
  12. Southern Methodist – 71
  13. Duke – 64
  14. Boston College – 52
  15. Georgia Tech – 30

As for the men, Virginia placed seventh in the 200 medley relay and sixth in the 800 free relay, though David King delivered a highlight moment by breaking the UVA record with his time of 1:31.92 to lead off the 800 free relay.

Overall, the Virginia men are currently 10th in the team standings with 94 points.

2025 ACC Men's Swimming & Diving Championships Standings After Day 1

  1. Cal – 172
  2. Stanford – 153
  3. North Carolina – 139
  4. Louisville – 138
  5. Florida State – 131
  6. Pitt – 124
  7. Georgia Tech – 116
  8. NC State – 108
  9. Southern Methodist – 106
  10. Virginia – 94
  11. Duke – 73
  12. Boston College – 58
  13. Virginia Tech – 49
  14. Miami (FL) – 24
  15. Notre Dame – 5

The 2025 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships will continue on Wednesday with the 200 free relay, 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, and men's 1-meter. Prelims begin at 9:30am and the finals will start at 5:30pm. All of the events are streamed on ACC Network Extra.

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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.