2021 ACC Women’s Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2021 ACC WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS

• When: Wednesday, February 17th – Saturday, February 20th | Prelims: 11:00 am | Finals: 7:00 pm (EST) (Except Wednesday’s timed finals, which begin at 5:15 EST)
• Where: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, NC
• Defending Champion: University of Virginia (x1) (results)
• Format: 25 Yards/Short Course Yards (SCY)
• Championship Central: Here
• Championship Manual
• Psych Sheets (uncut)
• Live Results
• Complete Results

Day 4 Finals Heat Sheet

The 2021 ACC Women’s Championships will come to a close at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, where the UVA women are on their way to defending their 2020 ACC team title. Earlier in the day, men’s diving wrapped up with the platform event final. Tonight, the timed finals of the 1650 free, the finals of the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, and 200 fly, and the 400 free relay timed finals will be contested.

UVA senior Paige Madden will aim for her 3rd ACC title this meet in the 1650 free timed finals. Madden previously swept the 200/500 free events here in Greensboro. NC State’s Katharine Berkoff will also aim to sweep the backstroke events with her top seed in the 200 back.

Then, UVA sprinter Kate Douglass will take her aim at a 2nd ACC title in the 100 free, where both Comerford ACC records could be in peril. NC State’s Kylee Alons, Thursday’s 50 free champion, will also contest in the final.

Top 200 breast seeds NC State’s Sophie Hansson and UVA’s Ella Nelson are only separated by a half second, and will swim in the middle lanes of tonight’s A-final. UVA freshman Abby Harter also leads the women’s 200 fly, just in front of Louisville swimmers Alena Kraus and Abby Hay.

WOMEN’S TEAM SCORES — AFTER DAY 3

1. UVA, 1047
2. NC State, 879
3. Louisville, 683.50
4. Virginia Tech, 578
5. Notre Dame, 509
6. Duke, 502
7. UNC, 399.50
8. Georgia Tech, 391
9. Florida State, 380
10. Miami, 329
11. Pittsburgh, 277
12. Boston College, 147

Men’s Platform Diving Finals

• ACC Record: 548.90, Nick McCrory (DUKE), 2011
• ACC Meet Record: 523.90, Nick McCrory (DUKE), 2010
• 2020 Champion: David Dinsmore (MIA), 510.35

1. Zach Cooper (MIA)- 421.50
2. Max Flory (MIA)- 416.05
3. Brodie Scapens (MIA)- 380.70

A trio of Miami divers also qualified for the platform final, led by #6 prelims seed Brodie Scapens (333.65 pts). In the final, Miami would finish 1-2-3. Senior Zach Cooper won the ACC title with 421.50, a handful of points ahead of sophomore teammate Max Flory (416.05 pts).

Looking at the men’s ACC team scores after diving, UNC leads the way with 214 diving points, followed by Miami (207), Virginia Tech (142), Louisville (120), Florida State (110), Georgia Tech (85), Duke (72), NC State (62), Pittsburgh (40), and Notre Dame (34). The UVA men did not score any diving points this past weekend.

Women’s 1650 Free Timed Finals

• ACC Record: 15:25.30, Leah Smith (UVA), 2016
• ACC Meet Record: 15:25.30, Leah Smith (UVA), 2016
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 15:52.41
• 2020 Champion: Paige Madden (UVA), 15:50.38

1. Paige Madden (UVA)- 15:45.45
2. Liberty Williams (LOU)- 16:06.56
3. Maddie Donohoe (UVA)- 16:10.32

Defending another ACC title this weekend was UVA senior Paige Madden, clocking in the top time in the NCAA by 2 seconds with a 15:45.45. In the last heat, UVA sophomore Maddie Donohoe placed second at 16:10.32. Overall, Donohoe placed 3rd.

Finishing in second place overall out of heat one was Louisville freshman Liberty Williams, touching in at 16:10.32, shaving 6 seconds off her lifetime best. Placing third in the final heat and fourth overall was Virginia Tech freshman Chase Travis, clocking in at 16:14.41.

Women’s 200 Back Finals

• ACC Record: 1:49.09, Alexia Zevnik (NCS), 2017
• ACC Meet Record: 1:49.61, Alexia Zevnik (NCS), 2017
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:50.50
• 2020 Champion: Emma Muzzy (NCS), 1:50.79

1. Emma Muzzy (NCS)- 1:50.12
2. Katharine Berkoff (NCS)- 1:51.06
3. Alex Walsh (UVA)- 1:51.12

At the 150-mark, four swimmers were even with each other. Then, NC State junior Emma Muzzy exploded off the last wall to defend her 2020 title and earn her 3rd-consecutive 200 back title. Muzzy’s winning time of 1:50.12 now ranks 3rd in the NCAA. Placing second was 100 back champion Katharine Berkoff (1:51.06), also of NC State. Berkoff lead the morning heats with a 1:50.82. Wolfpack senior Kate Moore, who opted out of the 1650 free, placed 7th at 1:54.50.

Rounding out the top 3 was UVA’s Alex Walsh, clocking in at 1:51.12. Walsh led a quartet of freshman swimmers in this top heat. Virginia Tech freshman Emma Atkinson placed 4th at 1:51.64, ahead of fellow rookies UVA’s Reilly Tiltmann (1:52.53) and Louisville’s Tatiana Salcutan (1:54.04).

Winning the B-final was another freshman, Virginia Tech’s Caroline Bentz (1:53.86). Crushing the C-final by 4 seconds was yet another freshman, Duke’s Emily Lenihan (1:55.48).

Women’s 100 Free Finals

• ACC Record: 46.20, Mallory Comerford (LOU), 2018
• ACC Meet Record: 46.67, Mallory Comerford (LOU), 2019
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 47.18
• 2020 Champion: Morgan Hill (UVA), 47.47

1. Kate Douglass (UVA)- 46.83
2. Kylee Alons (NCS)- 47.73
3. Sarah Shackelford (VT)- 48.42

Picking up her second ACC title this weekend was UVA sophomore Kate Douglass, clocking in a lifetime best of 46.83. While just shaving 0.03s off her previous best, Douglass is now the #13 performer all-time in this event, just one one-hundredth ahead of Olympian Natalie Coughlin. Douglass came home in a 50 split of 24.54, nearly a half second fastest than anyone in the field.

Earning another podium finish was runner-up NC State’s Kylee Alons, clocking in a sub-48 effort of 47.73. Alons now moves up to the top 5 times in the NCAA this season.

Sealing a third-place finish for Virginia Tech was sophomore Sarah Shackelford (48.42), knocking UVA’s Lexi Cuomo (48.52) off the podium by a tenth. VT teammate Abby Larson took 5th at 48.72 while another UVA swimmer, Kyla Valls, placed 7th at 49.37.

UNC junior Grace Countie competed in her 3rd A-final this meet, placing 6th at 48.87.

A pair of Florida State swimmers won both of the consolation finals. Sophomore Tania Quaglieri won the B-final out of lane one at 49.16 while senior Emma Terebo won the C-final in a 49.43.

Women’s 200 Breast Finals

• ACC Record: 2:03.93, Kate Douglass (UVA), 2020
• ACC Meet Record: 2:04.34, Emma Reaney (ND), 2014
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 2:06.84
• 2020 Champion: Sophie Hansson (NCS), 2:05.59

1. Sophie Hansson (NCS)- 2:04.87
2. Andrea Podmaníková (NCS)- 2:05.86
3. Ella Nelson (UVA)- 2:05.91

The NC State Wolfpack finished 1-2 in the 200 breast A-final, led by now 3-time event champion Sophie Hansson, clocking in a lifetime best of 2:04.87. This now marks Hansson’s third year in a row sweeping the breaststroke events at ACCs. Hansson is now the 11th-fastest performer in event history and is No. 2 in the NCAA this season.

Her teammate, junior Andrea Podmaníková, clocked in a time of 2:05.86, touching out UVA’s Ella Nelson (2:05.91) by 0.05s to finish second. UVA freshman Anna Keating placed 4th in a time of 2:07.52, touching 0.04s ahead of NC State’s Abby Arens (2:07.56).

NC State sophomore Heather MacCausland won the B-final in a time of 2:10.56.

Women’s 200 Fly Finals

• ACC Record: 1:50.61, Kelsi Worrell (LOU), 2016
• ACC Meet Record: 1:52.81, Grace Oglesby (LOU), 2019
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:53.20
• 2020 Champion: Grace Oglebsy (LOU), 1:53.70

1. Jessica Nava (UVA)- 1:54.49
2. Abby Harter (UVA)- 1:54.93
3. Tristen Ulett (LOU)- 1:55.67

The UVA women scored another 1-2 finish, now in the 200 fly final. Surprising herself with a win was UVA junior Jessica Nava, touching in at 1:54.49. Nava’s season best of 1:54.36 came from this past December, which ranks No. 9 in the NCAA. Freshman teammate and prelims leader Abby Harter came in second with another sub-1:55 performance of 1:54.93.

Out of lane 8, Louisville freshman Tristen Ulett was in title contention at the 150-mark. The rookie would hold on to place 3rd at 1:55.38, shaving three-tenths off her lifetime best. Ulett now ranks #35 in 17-18 age group history. Sophomore teammate Abby Hay finished in 4th with a time of 1:55.67 while junior teammate Alena Kraus placed 6th in 1:55.89.

Another Louisville freshman, Gabi Albiero, crushed the B-final with a time of 1:55.24.

Women’s 400 Free Relay Finals

• ACC Record: 3:09.45, UVA, 2018
• ACC Meet Record: 3:09.45, UVA, 2018
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:14.61
• 2020 Champion: UVA, 3:14.61

1. UVA- 3:10.14
2. NC State- 3:14.63
3. Louisville- 3:15.26

Kate Douglass swam her third 46.8 100 free this meet, leading off the UVA relay with a 46.88. It was lights out for the Cavaliers after that, as Lexi Cuomo (48.12), Paige Madden (47.90), and Alex Walsh (47.22) propelled UVA to another relay win at 3:10.14. Earlier at the SEC Championships, Alabama won the 400 free relay with a time of 3:10.28, which momentarily led the NCAA. The UVA women now lead the NCAA with their winning time.

The UVA women are now 5-for-5 on all relays. The last time the Cavaliers accomplished that feat was back in 2009 and again in 2010. In 2005, the Maryland women’s swim team had also swept all 5 relays at that year’s championships.

Placing second was the NC State Wolfpack, with Julia Poole (48.84), Heather MacCausland (48.59), Sirena Rowe (48.83), and Abby Arens (48.37) clocking in at 3:14.63. Notably, top sprinters Alons and Berkoff were not entered in this relay.

Out of the second heat, the Louisville Cardinals clocked in the third overall time at 3:15.26, composed of Gabi Albiero (48.68), Tristen Ulett (49.12), Christiana Renegauer (48.79), and Alena Kraus (48.67).

The UVA Cavaliers have successfully defended their 2020 ACC team title, securing their 17th program title with 1,486 points. The NC State Wolfpack took second place with 1,317 points while the Louisville Cardinals took third at 1,006.50 points. The Virginia Tech Hokies placed 4th with 832 points, improving massively from their 8th-place team finish in 2020.

Final Team Scores

1. UVA, 1486
2. NC State, 1317
3. Louisville, 1,006.50
4. Virginia Tech, 832
5. Notre Dame, 716
6. Duke, 647
7. Florida State, 551
8. UNC, 516.50
9. Georgia Tech, 498
10. Miami, 375
11. Pittsburgh, 360
12. Boston College, 177

2021 ACC Meet MVPs

• ACC Men’s Diver: Anton Down-Jenkins (UNC)
• ACC Women’s Diver: Aranza Vazquez (UNC)
• ACC Women’s Swimmer: Paige Madden (UVA)