2023 ACC SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, February 14 to Saturday, February 18, 2023
- Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina
- Defending Champions:
- Women: Virginia (3x)
- Men: NC State (results)
- Full Event Schedule
- Championship Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Streaming
The Virginia women dominated their way to their fourth-straight and 19th overall ACC title this week, winning 9 out of 13 individually contested events and sweeping all five relays. They scored 1536 points, which makes them the first women’s team in ACC championships history to break the 1500-point barrier. Previously, the highest point total ever from ACCs was the 1492.5 points scored by UVA in 2020.
Impressively enough, UVA scored the most points ever even with a major disqualification, as Ella Nelson was DQed in the 200 breast ‘A’ final when her time would have finished second and earned UVA an extra 28 points.
Virginia swam the fastest times ever in six different events. They reset their NCAA and US Open records in the 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 200 free relay, and 400 free relay, while Gretchen Walsh and Kate Douglass set NCAA, American, and US Open records in the 50 free and 100 fly respectivley. In addition, on the 400 medley relay, Douglass clocked a 48.25 100 fly split which was the fastest relay split ever in the event.
Scoring wise, Douglass and Alex Walsh led the way with 96 individual points by virtue of their three individual titles, while Gretchen Walsh was the third-highest scorer for the team with 88 points from her one title and two second-place finishers. Nelson would have scored 90 points if it weren’t for her 200 breast DQ, but she still earned 62 points by virtue of her wins in the 500 free and 400 IM.
In addition, Douglass was named the meet’s most valuable swimmer.
UVA Event Wins:
- 200 Medley Relay: Gretchen Walsh, Alex Walsh, Lexi Cuomo, Kate Douglass — 1:31.73 (NCAA, US Open, American Record)
- 800 Free Relay: Reilly Tiltmann, Aimee Canny, Claire Tuggle, Ella Nelson — 6:55.15
- 200 Free Relay: Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Lexi Cuomo, Alex Walsh — 1:23.87 (NCAA, US Open, American Record)
- 500 Free: Ella Nelson — 4:38.04 (tie for first)
- 200 IM: Kate Douglass — 1:50.15
- 50 Free: Gretchen Walsh — 20.83 (NCAA, US Open, American Record)
- 400 IM: Ella Nelson — 3:59.33
- 100 Fly: Kate Douglass — 48.84 (NCAA, US Open, American Record)
- 200 Free: Alex Walsh — 1:41.63
- 100 Breast: Alex Walsh — 57.64
- 400 Medley Relay: Gretchen Walsh, Alex Walsh, Kate Douglass, Aimee Canny — 3:21.80 (NCAA and US Open record)
- 100 Free: Kate Douglass — 45.86
- 200 Breast: Alex Walsh — 2:03.68
- 400 Free Relay: Gretchen Walsh, Kate Douglass, Lexi Cuomo, Alex Walsh — 3:06.83
Virginia’s top stars weren’t the only ones that shined at this meet, as every single swimmer and diver for this team scored points to help contribute to their win.
Top Individual Scorers:
- Kate Douglass/Alex Walsh — 96
- Gretchen Walsh – 88
- Reilly Tiltmann — 79
- Aimee Canny — 71
- Maddie Donohoe — 69
- Abby Harter — 68
- Ella Bathurst/Claire Tuggle — 64
- Lexi Cuomo — 63
- Ella Nelson — 62
- Jennifer Bell — 53
- Maxine Parker — 52
- Emma Weber — 51
- Carly Novelline — 46
- Sophia Wilson — 42
- Elizabeth Kaye — 42
- Anna Keating — 40
- Sophia Knapp — 37
- Zoe Skirboll — 29
- Charlotte Bowen —4
UVA isn’t finished yet—they still have to defend their NCAA title next month. After ACCs, the Cavaliers (who were still favorites to win prior to conferences) should be heavily favored to win their third-straight NCAA Championship, while the performances of Douglass and the Walsh sisters could be ones that will be etched into swimming’s history books forever.
Final Team Scores:
- Virginia — 1536
- NC State — 1272
- Louisville — 1077.5
- UNC — 813
- Duke — 718.5
- Virginia Tech — 654
- Florida State — 586
- Notre Dame — 539
- Georgia Tech — 388
- Miami — 332
- Pitt — 315
- Boston College — 179
Remarkable!
Kate graduating will leave a huge void, but one that will keep the dream trio alive….Leah Hayes.
Leah isn’t there until after Alex graduates too.
21 scorers in a championship meet is incredible! Well done!
I didn’t really look too deep into it in the midst of the meet because I was caught up in the results of UVA’s stars, but it wasn’t a great meet for UVA’s depth. Historically they’ve seen really strong results from their next tier of performers but this meet was a little tough when looking at best times.
A lot of swimmers had invite times before ACCs so didn’t get the typical taper. Wouldn’t read anything into it until after NCAAs.
That’s awesome then, and I’ll be excited to see a peak UVA team. I feel like my expectations have been spoiled historically by how fast the whole is always going.
Correction: Lizzy Kaye was top 16 in all three diving events.
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Recruit big talent -get big results. Simple.
Soooo awesome!! Can’t wait for NCAAs! ✌🏼