2023 ACC Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2023 ACC SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Friday Evening Heat Sheets

We’re off for another exciting night of racing at the 2023 ACC Championships, where the 200 fly, 100 back, 100 breast, and 400 medley relay will be contested.

Headlining the women’s 100 back is top seed Katharine Berkoff, who is the fastest in history in this event. She’s going to be swimming likely her first rested 100 back of the season and looks to beat her season-best of 50.53 from prelims and extend her ACCs win streak in the 100 back to four. NC State swimmers will also be in the middle lanes for the men’s 100 back, with Giovanni Izzo and defending champ Kacper Stokowski being the top two seeds.

The women’s 200 fly will be the battle of the Abby’s, as Louisville’s Abby Hay, NC State’s Abby Arens, and UVA’s Abby Harter are the top three seeds. Another NC State duo will lead the men’s 200 fly, with teammates Noah Bowers (1:41.36) and Aiden Hayes (1:41.77) having posted the fastest two times of the morning by over a second.

UVA swimmers headline the 100 breast, as Alex Walsh is the top seed on the women’s side and Noah Nichols is the top seed on the men’s side. Nichols tied Evgenii Somov‘s ACC conference record time of 51.03 in prelims, and has a shot of taking sole possession of the record tonight.

Closing off the night will be the 400 medley relays, where a fresh Gretchen Walsh and Kate Douglass could put the women’s relay on record watch once more. On the men’s side, NC State should be favored to take the win and extend their lead even more over the rest of the field.

Speaking of team battles, the NC State women are seeded to overtake the Louisville women for second tonight, while a tight race for second between the Virginia Tech, Louisville, Notre Dame, and Virginia men’s teams is heating up.

WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY

  • NCAA Record: 1:49.51, Ella Eastin (STAN) – 2018 Pac-12 Championships
  • ACC Record: 1:50.61, Kelsi Worrell (LOU) – 2016 NCAA Championships
  • ACC Championship Record: 1:52.81, Grace Oglesby (LOU) – 2019
  • NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:52.86
  • 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 1:56.14

Top 8:

  1. Abby Arens, NC State — 1:52.91
  2. Abby Hay, Louisville — 1:53.51
  3. Abby Harter, UVA — 1:54.51
  4. Grace Sheble, NC State — 1:55.59
  5. Martina Peroni, Duke — 1:55.64
  6. Tristen Ulett, Louisville — 1:55.69
  7. Edith Jernstedt, FSU — 1:55.78
  8. Ellie Vannote, UNC — 1:57.26

The Abbys did not dissapoint in the 200 fly final, as Abby Arens, Abby Hay, and Abby Harter repeated their positions from prelims and took the top three spots in the final.

Arens led from start to finish, touching the wall in a time of 1:52.91 to successfully defend her ACC title and come within 0.1 seconds off the ACC meet record. She dropped over a second from her best time of 1:54.11, which she clocked to win this event last year.

For a portion of the race, it seemed like Harter was going to overtake Arens, as they were separated by 0.1 seconds at the 100 mark and 0.13 seconds at the 150 mark. However, Arens outsplit the rest of the field with a 29.24 final 50 to increase her gap over the field on the final lap, while Hay dropped a 29.43 final 50 to pass Harter (who closed in 30.51) for second.

Hay also swam a big personal best of 1:53.51 t in this race, beating out the 1:54.43 she swam at last year’s meet.

Arens, who swims for NC State, successfully snapped UVA’s win streak for swimming races on the women’s side. NC State had a really strong showing in this race, with Grace Sheble finishing fourth as wel..

MEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY

  • NCAA Record: 1:37.35, Jack Conger (TEX) – 2017 NCAA Championships
  • ACC Record: 1:37.92, Nick Albiero (LOU) – 2022 ACC Championships
  • ACC Championship Record: 1:37.92, Nick Albiero (LOU) – 2022
  • NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:40.20
  • 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 1:42.42

Top 8:

  1. Aiden Hayes, NC State — 1:40.21
  2. Noah Bowers, NC State — 1:41.14
  3. Josh Fong, UVA — 1:42.45
  4. Luke Miller, NC State — 1:42.47
  5. Landon Gentry, Virginia Tech — 1:42.70
  6. Patrick Hussey, UNC — 1:43.20
  7. Adam Mahler, Pitt — 1:43.38
  8. Gustavo Saldo, Louisville — 1:44.35

NC State was dominant in the men’s 200 fly, taking three out of the top four spots. In front was Aiden Hayes, who won by nearly a second with a time of 1:40.21. He took 0.18 seconds off the 1:40.39 he swam to take third at last year’s ACC Championships.

Hayes had control for most of the race, though he was challenged by Louisville’s Gustavo Saldo early on. Saldo lead Hayes by 0.17 seconds at the 100-yard mark, though he faded hard on the back half of his race and went from first at the 100 to last at the finish.

Coming in second was NC State’s Noah Bowers, who took 0.22 seconds off his personal best of 1:41.36 set in prelims this morning. Rounding out the podium was UVA senior Josh Fong, who earned his first-ever top-three finish at ACCs in this race.

WOMEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE

  • NCAA Record: 48.74, Katharine Berkoff (NCSU) – 2021 NCAA Championships
  • ACC Record: 48.74, Katharine Berkoff (NCSU) – 2021 NCAA Championships
  • ACC Championship Record: 49.41, Katharine Berkoff (NCSU) – 2022
  • NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 50.89
  • 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 52.46

Top 8:

  1. Katharine Berkoff, NC State — 49.45
  2. Reilly Tiltmann, UVA — 51.20
  3. Kennedy Noble, NC State — 51.59
  4. Carly Novelline, UVA — 51.89
  5. Grace Countie, UNC — 52.03
  6. Emma Muzzy, NC State — 52.10
  7. Kylee Alons, NC State — 52.26
  8. Sophie Lindner, UNC — 52.49

Katharine Berkoff clinched her fourth 100 back title in four years tonight, finishing first by nearly two seconds. She swam a season-best time of 49.45, which is just 0.04 seconds off her ACC championships record from last year and makes her the first woman to go under the 50 second barrier this season.

Finishing in second was UVA’s Reilly Tiltmann, who went 51.20. She was 0.3 seconds off her season-best time of 50.90 set at the Cavalier Invite. Kennedy Noble clocked a 51.59 for third, while Carly Novelline came in fourth with a 51.89 to get under the 52-second barrier for the first time this season.

Notably, the bottom four swimmers in this race all added time from their prelims swims.

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE

  • NCAA Record: 43.35, Luca Urlando (UGA) – 2022 NCAA Championships
  • ACC Record: 43.98, Coleman Stewart (NCS) – 2019 NCAA Championships
  • ACC Championship Record: 44.04, Coleman Stewart (2020)
  • NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 44.79
  • 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 45.87

Top 8:

  1. Kacper Stokowski, NC State — 44.47
  2. Matt Brownstead, UVA — 45.35
  3. Giovanni Izzo, NC State — 45.46
  4. Berke Saka, Georgia Tech — 45.70
  5. Max Edwards, UVA — 45.73
  6. Mason Herbet, FSU — 45.93
  7. Tommy Janton, Notre Dame — 45.97
  8. Dalton Lowe, Louisville — 46.12

Kacper Stokowski made it known once more that he’s the king of the ACC in the 100 back, picking up his third-straight conference title in the event. His time of 44.47 beats out season-best of 44.79, and overtakes Adam Chaney’s 44.64 to become the fastest time in the nation.

Though Stowkowski led from start to finish, other athletes had big swims in this event as well. UVA’s Matt Brownstead was fourth at the halfway mark, but passed Giovanni Izzo and Berke Saka on his final 50 to take second. He swam a huge best time of 45.35, beating out his previous PB of 45.83 from 2022 ACCS. Meanwhile, Izzo was just 0.05 seconds off his prelims time to finish third.

There were fireworks in the ‘B’ final t00, as Pitt’s Krzysztof Radziszewski dropped from his best time of 46.29 to go 45.49 and win his heat. Prior to this season, his best time in this event was a 47.49, which shows just how much he’s improved in a year. In addition, ‘B’ final runner-up Jack Aikins also swam sub-46 for the first time, clocking a 45.68.

WOMEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE

  • NCAA Record: 55.73, Lilly King (IU) – 2019 NCAA Championships
  • ACC Record: 56.72, Sophie Hansson (NCS) – 2022 ACC Championships
  • ACC Championship Record:56.72, Sophie Hansson (NCS) – 2022
  • NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 58.10
  • 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 59.87

Top 8:

  1. Alex Walsh, UVA — 57.64
  2. Heather MacCausland, NC State — 58.22
  3. Emma Weber, UVA — 58.61
  4. Andrea Podmanikova, NC State — 58.69
  5. Tara Vovk, Miami — 58.98
  6. Kaelyn Gridley, Duke — 59.64
  7. Skyler Smith, UNC — 59.71
  8. Aubree Brouwer, NC State — 1:00.04

For a portion of the race, it seemed like Heather MacCausland was going to keep the 100 breast ACC title within NC State after Sophie Hansson’s four-year win streak from 2019 to 2022. MacCausland was first at the 25 and 50, going out in 27.13 at the halfway mark and being 0.2 seconds ahead of Alex Walsh. However, Walsh pulled through in the back half, outsplitting MacCausland 30.31 to 31.06 to take the win.

Walsh swam a 57.64, which takes 0.3 seconds off her best time of 57.94 set at midseason invites. MacCausland was just 0.06 seconds off her own best time of 58.16 from invite this year.

Emma Weber had a big swim to finish third, as she clocked a 58.61 to get under the 59-second barrier for the first time and beat her personal best of 59.03 from high school. Overall, there were four women in the field under 59.

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE

  • NCAA Record: 49.69, Ian Finnerty (IU) – 2018 NCAA Championships
  • ACC Record: 51.03, Evgenii Somov (LOU) – 2021 ACC Championships/Noah Nichols (UVA) — 2023 ACC Championships
  • ACC Championship Record: 51.03, Evgenii Somov (LOU) – 2021/Noah Nichols (UVA) — 2023
  • NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 51.40
  • 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 52.20

Top 8:

  1. Noah Nichols, UVA — 50.82
  2. Denis Petrashov, Louisville — 51.26
  3. Mason Hunter, NC State/Carles Coll Marti, Virginia Tech — 51.57
  4. Flynn Crisci, Pitt — 51.87
  5. Cooper Van Der Laan, Pitt — 51.93
  6. Ethan Maloney, Virginia — 52.29
  7. AJ Pouch, Virginia Tech — 52.60

UVA made it a 100 breast title sweep tonight, as Noah Nichols won the men’s race in ACC record-setting fashion. He touched the wall in a time of 50.82, breaking the conference record time of 51.03 that he set in prelims and shared with Evgenii Somov.

After not improving all of last season, Nichols has been on a tear this season. His time tonight was his first swim under the 51-second barrier, and over a second faster than his 2021-22 season-best time of 52.00. Just from today alone, he also improved over three-tenths from his best time of 51.34 coming into ACCs.

Nichols wasn’t leading for a lot of this race—it was extremley close early on. Carles Coll Marti had turned in first at the 100-meter mark, while Nichols and Flynn Crisci were tied for second behind him. However, Nichols inched ahead of the field on the third 25 and further widened his gap on the last 25. He closed in 26.86 on his last 50.

Denis Petrashov of Louisville also came from behind to take second, swimming a 51.26. He swam a big personal best, beating the 51.92 he swam at NCAAs last year. Mason Hunter and Coll Marti both clocked a 51.57 to tie for third. Hunter improved upon his prelims PB of 51.76, which bodes well for NC State’s medley relay—which has historically been weak on breast.

WOMEN’S PLATFORM DIVING — FINALS

  • ACC Record: Brittany Viola, Miami — 367.20 (2008)
  • ACC Championships Record: Katrina Young, Florida State — 364.70 (2014)

Top 8:

  1. Aranza Vazquez, UNC — 337.05
  2. Else Prassterink, Louisville — 333.20
  3. Josie Zillig, Duke — 298.90
  4. Anna Bradescu, Georgia Tech — 295.50
  5. Emily Rakestraw, Duke — 266.30
  6. Grace Courtney, Notre Dame — 258.75
  7. Emily Grund, UNC — 243.60
  8. Isabel Gregersen, Florida State — 216.25

UNC’s Aranza Vazquez took home her second diving title of this meet by winning the one-meter, while Louisville’s Else Prassterink and Duke’s Josie Zillig finished second and third respectively behind her.

WOMEN’S 400 MEDLEY RELAY

  • NCAA Record: 3:22.34, Virginia — 2022 NCAA Championships/2022 ACC Championships
  • ACC Record: 3:22.34, Virginia — 2022 NCAA Championships/2022 ACC Championships
  • ACC Championship Record: 3:22.34, Virginia — 2022 ACC Championships
  • NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:31.38

Top 8:

  1. Virginia — 3:21.80
  2. NC State —3:26.28
  3. Duke — 3:31.35
  4. UNC — 3:32.26
  5. Florida State — 3:34.02
  6. Virginia Tech — 3:34.35
  7. Notre Dame — 3;34.71
  8. Pitt — 3:36.54

Surprise surprise, the Virginia women just broke another NCAA and US Open record. This time, it was Gretchen Walsh (49.25), Alex Walsh (57.45), Kate Douglass (48.25), and Aimee Canny (46.85) that combined for a time of 3:21.80, taking 0.42 seconds off Virginia’s previous record of 3:22.84.

G. Walsh’s 100 back leadoff time was notably faster than the 49.45 that Berkoff swam to win the ACC title earlier tonight. In addition, Douglass’s 48.25 butterfly split is also the fastest 100 fly relay split in history, nearly a second quicker than Maggie MacNeil’s 49.10 that had previously been the fastest. In addition, newcomer Canny getting under the 47 second barrier in free bodes well for her individual race.

NC State’s Berkoff (49.73), MacCausland (58.27), Kylee Alons (50.63), and Abby Arens (47.65) went a 3:26.28 to finish second, while Duke’s Emma Shuppert (52.36), Kaelyn Gridley (59.02), Aleyna Ozkan (51.57), and Sally Foley (48.40) went a 3:31.35 for third.

Notably, Louisville’s relay was DQed because Gabi Albeiro had a -0.16 reaction time. However, they had a time of 3:27.78 that would have finished third. Notably, Albiero split 49.86 on fly while Christiana Regenauer split 46.53 on free—the fastest free split in the field.

MEN’S 400 MEDLEY RELAY

  • NCAA Record: 2:59.22, Texas — 2017 NCAA Championships
  • ACC Record: 3:01.52, Louisville — 2021 NCAA Championships
  • ACC Championships Record: 3:01.88, NC State — 2022
  • NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:04.96

Top 8:

  1. NC State — 3:01.10
  2. Virginia — 3:03.29
  3. Louisville — 3:03.37
  4. Virginia Tech — 3:03.40
  5. Pitt — 3:06.70
  6. UNC — 3:07.82
  7. Notre Dame — 3:07.82
  8. Florida State — 3:08.08

The quartet of Kacper Stokowski (44.67), Mason Hunter (50.86), Nyls Korstanje (44.33), and Luke Miller (41.24) dominated the rest of the field in this relay, combining for a time of 3:01.10 to break the ACC record.

Second through fourth place were only separated by 0.11 seconds in this race. UVA’s Jack Aikins (45.82), Noah Nichols (51.01), Tim Connery (45.11), and Matt Brownstead (41.35) finished second, Louisville’s Charlie Crush (46.73), Denis Petrashov (50.43), Dalton Lowe (44.63), and Abdelraham Elaraby (41.52) placed third, while Virginia Tech’s Youssef Ramadan (44.59), AJ Pouch (51.87), Mario Molla Yanes (45.28), and Luis Dominguez Calonge (41.66) finished fourth.

Ramadan’s 100 back leadoff is a massive best time, beating out the 45.48 he swam at this year’s Virginia Tech invite.

Team Scores After Day Three:

Women:

  1. UVA — 1128
  2. NC State — 942
  3. Louisville — 822.5
  4. UNC — 687
  5. Duke — 574
  6. Virginia Tech — 468
  7. Florida State — 461
  8. Notre Dame — 408
  9. Georgia Tech — 308
  10. Miami — 299
  11. Pitt — 249.5
  12. Boston College — 137

Men:

  1. NC State — 1163
  2. Louisville — 727.5
  3. Virginia Tech — 688
  4. Virginia — 659
  5. Notre Dame — 585.5
  6. Florida State — 474
  7. UNC — 459
  8. Pitt — 438.5
  9. Georgia Tech — 33.5
  10. Duke — 228
  11. Miami — 150
  12. Boston College — 123

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bob
1 year ago

find a new hobby – maybe worth noting that the UVA women have been breaking records with and without trans women in competition!

Bobby's upset
Reply to  bob
1 year ago

Awww did the post upset you,Bobby

Awsi Dooger
1 year ago

I need every reaction time from this meet. The commentators have shelved it in favor of other remarkable content.

jeff
Reply to  Awsi Dooger
1 year ago

they’re in the live results page, it’s ridiculous that Douglass had a reaction time almost a quarter of a second slower and still outsplit Alons (which is a very good butterflyer in her own right) by almost 2.5 seconds

Awsi Dooger
1 year ago

Douglass is setting herself up for criticism from down under. Some of these times are so ridiculous there is no way she can match the long course equivalent, leading to the usual suspects showing up with, “I told you blah blah blah short course.”

SCCOACH
1 year ago

I’m sitting here chuckling at all the AVD comments. You all are feeling the pain I felt having her announce all the pac 12 swim meets the last few years. It’s basically the same commentary over and over regardless of who is swimming. Undulate, get your booty up, look at this, look at that…. Also, she makes herself sound like she was extremely frightening to race against when she was a swimmer.

LBSWIM
Reply to  SCCOACH
1 year ago

What killed me was her saying “Berkoff Blast” instead of “Berkoff BlastOFF”. She not only doesn’t remember what it was called, but also how it was a play on his last name.

jeff
1 year ago

Canny went almost a second faster today than Tiltmann in the 4×100 free NCAA record, and Douglass had a pretty “slow” leadoff of 46.62 too. That record is gonna be obliterated tomorrow, like it’s legit not out of the question to break it by a second and a half

Last edited 1 year ago by jeff
K Chilly
1 year ago

Denis Petrashov going 50.43 is absurd! I’m over here with my jaw on the floor watching Mason Hunter bust out a sub 51 swim while even more magic was happening in lane 2. ACC breastroke is still not quite the level of other conferences but it’s getting there!

Vaswammer
1 year ago

So of the five times Douglass has been in the water at ACCs, four NCAA records have fallen, and one was missed by seven-hundredths of a second? And Gretchen Walsh has technically set five records, one of them lasting less than a half-hour?

Wow.

Just wow.

Last edited 1 year ago by Vaswammer
Silent Observer
Reply to  Vaswammer
1 year ago

makes you wonder what kind of damage the two of them could do at an ISL meet…. if it ever comes back and if either of them is still competing as an elite when it does.

hooya
Reply to  Vaswammer
1 year ago

What record did Walsh set that lasted less than half a hour?

Vaswammer
Reply to  hooya
1 year ago

50 back flat start to open the 200 medley relay. MacNeil took it down a few minutes later.

Vaswammer
Reply to  Vaswammer
1 year ago

And, for the SwimSwam staff, did Berkoff’s 100 back ACC Championships record of 49.41 go down when G. Walsh led off the medley relay in 49.25?

Austinpoolboy
1 year ago

Love the color commentary for us that can’t be there yanyan.

Would like to see video of the breast : “Carles Coll Marti had flipped in first at the 100-meter mark, while Nichols and Flynn Crisci were tied for second behind him.

Breaststroke flip turn! Cool

And he went the extra mile in a yards race

Ps we secretly all love you

About Yanyan Li

Yanyan Li

Although Yanyan wasn't the greatest competitive swimmer, she learned more about the sport of swimming by being her high school swim team's manager for four years. She eventually ventured into the realm of writing and joined SwimSwam in January 2022, where she hopes to contribute to and learn more about …

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