2023 ACC Women’s Champs Preview: Hoos In For A Four-Peat?

2023 ACC Championships

• Tuesday, February 14 to Saturday, February 18, 2023
• Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina
• Defending Champions: Virginia (3x)
• Full Event Schedule
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Streaming

Event Schedule

Tuesday

• 200 medley relay
• 800 free relay
• Women’s 3-meter
• Men’s 1-meter

Wednesday

• 200 free relay
• 500 free
• 200 IM
• 50 Free
• Women’s 1-meter

Thursday

• 400 IM
• 100 Fly
• 200 Free
• Men’s 3-meter

Friday

• 200 fly
• 100 back
• 100 breast
• Women’s Platform
• 400 medley relay

Saturday

• 1650 free
• 200 back
• 100 free
• 200 breast
• Men’s Platform
• 400 free relay

2022 Final Standings

1. Virginia—1419
2. NC State—1347
3. Louisville—1137
4. North Carolina—760
5. Duke—709
6. Notre Dame—651
7. Virginia Tech—636
8. Florida State–549
9. Miami—411
10. Georgia Tech—407
11. Pitt—328
12. Boston College—178

Last year’s ACC Championships felt very multifaceted. While the Virginia women were wowing swim fans by sweeping all the relays (and setting NCAA records in three of them) and Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh, and Gretchen Walsh were dropping some of the fastest swims of all-time in their events, UVA was actually in a tight team battle with NC State—a team that was able to able to catch up to UVA due to their depth. Despite dominating them at NCAAs, UVA beat NC State by only 72 points last year, and were only leading by 35.5 points headed into the final day of the meet.

With NC State losing critical pieces like Sophie Hansson and UVA gaining a massive freshman class, the Hoos’ are in a more favorable position to win their fourth straight ACC title this year. Behind them, NC State and Louisville are expected to be locks for second and third.

Beyond the top three, there’s many questions about how the other nine teams at this meet will perform. Notre Dame and Pitt are in their first seasons under new, high-profile head coaches, while Duke got boosted by the #7-ranked freshman class in the  nation—changes within all of these teams should shake up the rankings a bit.

Swimmers To Watch

Boston College— Megan Kramer (sophomore, distance free), Adair Sand (junior, sprint free/back), Olivia Poulin (senior, diving)

The Eagles returns all 28 of their individual points in the form of distance freestyler Megan Kramer, who made the ‘B’ final in the 500 free and 1650 free last year. This season, she dropped her best time in the mile from a 16:36.30 to 16:29.99 (which would have placed 9th last year)—if she can sneak her way into the top 8 of an event it could be a huge boost for the team. Also keep an eye on Adair Sand, a transfer out of USC. She set a massive best in the 200 back at invites (1:55.96) that would have made the ‘B’ final at ACCs, and also has scoring times in the 200 and 500 free. Also be on the lookout for diver Olivia Poulin, who was six points away from a scoring dive in the one-meter. If the Eagles can rack up individual points from a second or third swimmer/diver, it could help push them above from last place.

Overall, Boston College has set team records in nine different events this season, showing that they are a team on a clear upward trajectory.

Duke— Sarah Foley (junior, IM/breast/free), Kaelyn Gridley (freshman, breast), Martina Peroni (freshman, fly/IM), Catherine Purnell (sophomore, distance free/IM)

Duke will be boosted by their freshman 1-2 punch of Kaelyn Gridley and Martina Peroni, who come in as the #15 and #18-ranked recruits in the class of 2023. Both swimmers (100/200 breast for Gridley, 200 fly/200 IM/400 IM for Peroni) have times that can A-final or are close to A-finaling in multiple events, so in addition to relay contributions, the two swimmers can bring possibly an extra 100+ points to the Blue Devils—which would be more than enough to make up for the 51 points that they trailed UNC by last season. Peroni’s 200 fly time of 1:53.76 is also faster than last year’s winning time of 1:54.11.

Of course, junior Sarah Foley will be leading this team. She was Duke’s the top-scoring swimmer with 82 points, and her best times in the 200 IM (1:54.38), 200 breast (2:05.78), and 200 free (1:43.85) make her at least a top four contender in all of her events. Also keep an eye on Catherine Purnell. Although she only scored 30 points last year, she’s dropped from a 4:46.55 to a 4:45.65 in the 500 free and set a PB of 4:12.39 in the 400 IM (her first since 2019), which pens her in range for two A finals. In addition, her best time of 200 fly (1:55.95) would have also made the ‘A’ finals at ACCs last year. Purnell had trouble hitting season-bests at ACCs last year, but if she can do so this time around, her point total could possibly double.

This year, Duke will be without their star diver Margo O’Meara, who was their top scorer last year with 90 points. However, their freshmen and a strong swimming core overall will be more than enough to make up for her loss.

Florida State— Edith Jernstedt (sophomore, fly/IM), Maddy Huggins (sophomore, breast), Anna Metzler (fifth year, distance free/back/IM)

Florida State hurts from losing Nina Kucheran, who racked up 42 points last year and was the team’s second-highest scorer. However, new additions and improvements from current swimmers will be extremely beneficial towards the Seminoles. One of those swimmers that saw big improvements is Maddy Huggins. In one season, she dropped from a 2:12.38 to a 2:10.35 in the 200 breast, a 2:04.75 to a 2:01.75 in the 200 IM, and she’s also been as fast as 1:00.58 in the 100 breast.  She only scored 28 points last year, but with her 200 breast time now being less than a second off what it took to ‘A’ final and her 200 IM now being in ‘C’ final range, her point total could increase tremendously. In addition, she’s likely to replace Kucheran in her breaststroke duties on the medley relays.

Let’s also talk about last year’s top scorer Edith Jernstedt, who contributed 43 points last year. She made the ‘A’ final of the 200 fly in addition to the ‘B’ finals of the 100 fly and the ‘C’ finals of the 200 IM, and looks to be one of the highest scorer for Florida State once more. The Seminoles also gained a big addition with Anna Metzler, a fifth-year transfer from the University of New Hampshire. She holds a best time of 4:07.20 in the 400 IM that would have placed fifth last year, and also has scoring times in the 200 back (1:56.41) and 200 IM (1:58.32). Last year, she had trouble swimming season-bests at conferences, so if she can do so this year in a different training environment it can be extremely beneficial to the team.

Georgia Tech— Deniz Ertan (freshman, distance free/IM), McKenzie Campbell (senior, distance free/fly/IM), Carmen Woodruff (junior, diving)

Georgia Tech gained one of their best recruits in years in the form of freshman Deniz Ertan, and it’s certainly going to show at ACCs. Ertan set team records in the 500 free (4:40.89), 1650 free (16:04.82), and 400 IM (4:09.68), and currently her 1650 free time leads the ACC by six seconds while her 500 time ranks third and her 400 IM time ranks fourth.

Last year’s top swimming scorer for Georgia Tech was McKenzie Campbell, who was 17th in the 200 fly, 15th in the 500 free, and 9th in the 400 IM—look to see her being a big contributor to the team this year as well. The top scorer for the Yellow Jackets overall was diver Camryn Hidalgo, who racked up 72 points. She’s graduated already, but her diving legacy will carry on in the form of Carmen Woodruff, who was the team’s next-highest scoring diver last year. She finished 7th in the 10-meter, 16th in the 3-meter, and 21st in the 1-meter last year, and will hopefully score double-digit points once again this year.

Louisville— Gabi Albiero (junior, sprint free/fly), Liberty Williams (junior, distance free), Christiana Regenauer (senior, sprint free/fly), Abby Hay (senior, fly/IM)

Louisville is in the same position that it was in last year—a clear lock for top three, but not deep enough to pass NC State and Virginia.  Last year’s top scorer Gabi Albiero has put up strong performances all year, and heads into ACCs ranked fifth in the conference for the 50 free, third in the 100 free, and fourth in the 100 fly. After a breakout NCAAs last year, Albiero is poised to be the face of this Louisville program and score the most points once more, but the chokehold that Kate Douglass and Gretchen Walsh have on her primary events might prevent her from a title. Speaking of titles, let’s talk about the Cardinal that won an ACC title last year. Liberty Williams is the defending ACC champ in the 1650 free, and she’s currently ranked second in the ACC for both the 500 and 1650 free. She’ll be challenged by names like Deniz Ertan and possibly Alex Walsh, but she has a shot at completing the distance sweep at this meet.

Beyond Albiero and Williams, Louisville will have a slew of talent expected to make big point contributions. Christiana Regenauer “only” made one ‘A’ final last year, but after improving from a 22.15 to 21.89 in the 50 free, from a 48.55 to a 47.97 in the 100 free, and from a 52.51 to 51.61 in the 100 fly, she can probably be penned in for three ‘A’ finals this time around. Regenauer’s improvements could be the thing that allows Louisville to overtake NC State for second in both of the freestyle relays—the two teams have constantly finished right next to each other but NC State has always been in front. Other swimmers with mutli-A final potential include Abby Hay, who scored only one point less than top scorer Albiero, Paige Hetrick, Rye Ulett, and Tristen Ulett.

Miami— Tara Vovk (fifth year, breast), Mia Vallee (junior, diving), Emma Gullstrand (sophomore, diving)

Miami has always been a team that relies on their diving to score points, but this year they have a legitimate swimming scorer in Tara Vovk. Vovk, a fifth year transfer from Northwestern, holds a best time of 58.01 in the 100 breast that would likely contend for a top three finish. In addition, she also has a 200 breast time (2:09.84) that’s within the range to ‘A’ final as well. Her 40ish points + relay contributions might not be enough to nullify the 138 points Florida State beat Miami by last year, but her swims will prove that Miami can succeed in swimming the same way they do in diving.

Of course, we can’t talk about Miami without talking about their 1-2 punch of Mia Vallee and Emma Gullstrand. Vallee will be looking to defend her 3-meter title, as well as to recapture the 1-meter title after finishing second last year. With the potential to finish first in two events, Vallee will likely be the top scorer for the Hurricanes again, like she was the last two seasons. Gullstrand, meanwhile, finished second behind Vallee in the 3-meter and fourth in the 1-meter last year and will also be in the conversation for the title this season.

NC State— Katharine Berkoff (senior, sprint free/back), Kylee Alons (fifth year, sprint free/fly), Heather MacCausland (senior, breast), Abby Arens (junior, sprint free/fly/IM)

With the loss of Sophie Hansson and an arguably weaker freshman class than Virginia, it seems unlikely that NC State will challenge UVA for first the way they did last year. That being said, the Pack are still a solid bet for second, and will give the defending champs more problems than any other team will. Katharine Berkoff is the fastest 100 backstroker ever and the three-time defending ACC champ—although Gretchen Walsh is a serious threat to challenge her this year, she’s probably still the favorite in the event. In addition, she’s going to be in contention for top three in the 50 free and 100 free. Abby Arens is another super versatile swimmer that can swim sprint free, IM, breast and fly, and will look to defend her title in the 200 fly. She’s going to be just as big of a contributor to NC State as Berkoff is—she scored 84 points last year compared to Berkoff’s 85.

It will be interesting to see how breaststrokers Heather MacCausland and Andrea Podmanikova will fill in the shoes of Sophie Hansson, who won the last four ACC titles in the 100 breast and also has three 200 breast titles under her belt. Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass seem to have locked anyone else out of contention for the 200 breast title this year, but the personal bests of MacCausland (58.16) and Podmanikova (57.90) put them in contention to win the 100 breast in the absence of last year’s top two finishers Hansson and Alexis Wenger.  This year, it seems that MacCausland will be NC State’s primary sprint breastroker on medley relays, whereas Podmanikova is stronger in the 200 breast.

Kylee Alons is another important piece for NC State, being a critical relay contributor and placing top five in the 50 free, 100 fly, and 100 back last year. Also be on the lookout for younger swimmers like Grace Sheble and Kennedy Noble—Sheble came in as a highly-ranked recruit last season but hasn’t dropped too much high school (she still set PBs in the 200/400 IM last year and was the #5-ranked scorer on her team), whereas Noble is NC State’s top-ranked freshman recruit whose PB of 1:51.91 in the 200 back would have finished fourth in the event last year.

North Carolina— Grace Countie (fifth year, sprint free/back), Sophie Lindner (fifth year, free/back), Greer Pattison (sophomore, sprint free/back), Ellie Vannote (senior, fly/IM), Emily Grund (redshirt senior, diving), Aranza Vasquez (junior, diving)

Diver Aranza Vasquez scored 78 points last year and was a key asset to the team, but they’ve got another star diver coming back—Emily Grund. Grund, who finished eighth in the one-meter, fifth in the ten-meter, and 10th in the three-meter at 2020 ACCs, missed the entirety of last season due a leukemia diagnosis but has since been declared cancer-free and will be competing again this season, being a huge boost for UNC as well

At the core of UNC’s swim team are their sprint freestyle and backstroke crew, which includes the likes of Grace Countie, Greer Pattison, and Olivia Nel. Countie was star of the team last year, scoring 77 points and finishing top five in the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 back. However, Pattison and Nel have made big jumps this season. Pattison (who also split 21.91 on the 200 free relay) dropped from a 22.52 to a 22.22 in the 50 free, 49.49 to 48.55 in the 100 free, and 52.22 t0 51,93 in the 100 back, while Nel dropped from a 22.30 to a 21.92 in the 50 free, 49.23 to 48.42 in the 100 free, and 53.76 to 53.33 in the 100 back. With their improvements, Nel could go from swimming in two C-finals and a B final last year to two A-finals and a C-final this year, while Pattison could go from two B-finals and an A-final to three A-finals—which would likely double their combined point total of 67 from last year.

Sophie Lindner is more of a backstroke specialist than her sprint teammates, finishing 5th in the 200 back and 6th in the 100 back last year. She was also 13th in the 200 free with a time of 1:46.64, but went on to set a personal best of 1:45.58 at NCAAs that would have made the ‘A’ final at ACCs and increase her 63 individual points from last year by at least 8. Also look out for Ellie Vannote, who recently went PBs of 51.59/1:54.07 in the 100 and 200 fly and also dropped from a 1:58.45 to a 1:57.07 in the 200 IM. Her 200 fly time would have won ACCs last year, while her 200 IM time would move her up from the ‘C’ final to the ‘B’ final.

UNC’s 200 free relay will be one to watch for, as their time of 1:26.99 from invites is currently ranked second in the ACC and is faster than the 1:27.13 that they swam at NCAAs.

Notre Dame— Coleen Gillilan (senior, fly/IM), Ellie Jew (senior, breast), Mary Cate Pruitt (sophomore, distance free)

Coleen Gillilan isn’t the star breaststroker that she used to be in high school, but her fly abilities have made her Notre Dame’s top swimmer for the last few years. Despite struggling to hit her best times, she earned 59 points and was the top scorer for the Fighting Irish last year. This year, she seems to be trending in a more positive direction—her season-best in the 2oo fly (1:55.54) is less than half a second off her ACCs time (1:55.02), while her season-best in the 100 fly (51.73) is 0.03 seconds faster than her season-best from last year. Her butterfly times in addition to her 200 IM PB of 1:56.96 put her in range for three A-finals, but if she can go near her best time of 1:53.94 in the 200 fly again, she’s in the conversation to win the title in the event.

Aside from Gillilan, all of Notre Dame’s top six scorers from last year have left. Diver Kelly Straub (70 points), Sydney Whiting (25 points), and Samantha Eyolfson (21 points) graduated, while Luciana Thomas (58 points) and diver Annie Wiese (43 points) have transferred to other schools. Without them, it is Ellie Jew (who had the seventh-most points on the team with 20 last year) who is expected to be a scoring leader. This season, she had a massive drop from 2:13.07 to 2:11.56 in the 200 breast, a time that would have moved her up from 18th to 11th last year. In addition, she also swam a 1:00.58 in the 100 breast that is faster than the 1:00.68 she swam to finish 14th in the 100 breast last year, which indicates that she can potentially see more time drops in the event. Also keep an eye on Mary Cate Pruitt, who holds a 500 free time which would have been (4:45.73) less than a second off ‘A’ finaling last year, as well as scoring times in the 200 and 1650 free.

In their first year under new head coach Chris Lindauer, the fighting Irish are very much in a rebuilding phase after losing 217 of their 412 individual points from last year.

Pitt— Sophie Yendell (junior, sprint free), Jacqueline Tinnery (fifth year, distance free), Claire Jansen (freshman, back)

Much like Notre Dame, Pitt is also in a rebuilding phase—they are in their first year under head coach Chase Kreitler and lost their three top scorers that scored 78 out of their 150 total individual points. The top returning scorer for the Panthers is fifth year Jacqueline Tinnery, who was 25th in the 500 free (4:51.99) and 12th in the 1650 free (16;33.38) to earn 15 points. At the Minnesota Invite, she beat both of those times and set personal bests of 4:49.62 and 16:28.93, and will look to move up a few places this year. Sophie Yendell only scored 3 points last year with 22nd place finish in the 50 free (22.78), but she improved to a 22.34 50 free and 53.43 100 fly at invites this year. She now has a 50 free time that would have ‘B’ finaled last year and a second scoring event in the 100 fly.

Although Pitt lost many of their top swimmers, they also gained new ones, particularly in the form of freshman Claire Jansen. At the Minnesota Invite, she swam best times of 53.56 and 1:57.28 in the 100 and 200 back, which would have placed 21st and 22nd at ACCs last year respectively.

Virginia— Kate Douglass (senior, sprint free/fly/breast/IM), Alex Walsh (junior, free/breast/back/fly/IM), Gretchen Walsh (sophomore, sprint free/back/fly), Reilly Tiltmann (sophomore, free/back), Ella Nelson (senior, IM/breast), Maxine Parker (junior, sprint free), Aimee Canny (freshman, sprint free)

Ah…Virginia. Where do we start? We know they are the favorites to win, so there’s no point in discussing the ridiculous amount of talent they have. Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh, and Gretchen Walsh are also over-entered in the psych sheets, so we don’t know what they will swim at the meet—all we know is that they aren’t going to finish worse than second in any of their events. Being the defending champs in the 400 IM and 200 back respectively, we also know that Ella Nelson and Reilly Tiltmann are also going to be big pieces for  the team as well. So, what is there to discuss about UVA? To me, two big questions about this team need to be answered at ACCs: 1. relay lineups, and 2. the status of their freshmen.

Let’s talk about relays first. The loss of breaststroke specialist Alexis Wenger means that both of UVA’s medley relays will have their orders rearranged, which raises a lot of questions. Will Alex Walsh, who has been swimming breast on the majority of the UVA relays this season, drop the 200 free relay to take on the 200 medley/800 free relay double? Is UVA going to put up a 800 free relay time that will challenge Stanford at NCAAs? Which swimmer is going to take that fourth spot alongside Douglass and the Walsh sisters on the free relays? Will Maxine Parker anchor like she’s always done this season, or will it be Aimee Canny, who saw breakout swims at the Cavalier invite? Parker so far has been the better sprinter (21.86/48.33 season-bests), but Canny’s 1:42.78 200 free is a more impressive swim and her 22.31 50 free speed indicates that she has a lot of 100 free potential (an event that she hasn’t raced in yards yet.). It’s possible that Parker will take on 200-yard relay duties while Canny swims on the 400-yard relays, but that’s all up for speculation.

Based on the several season-bests from the Cavalier Invite, it’s clear that UVA didn’t go all-in on midseasons, meaning that several of their newcomers will likely be swimming their first rested meet at ACCs. Canny is the biggest point of interest—she’s the top seed in the 200 free, and could also make some noise in the 100 free. Claire Tuggle, who was in a nearly four-year long improvement drought up until last week, looks to reset her personal bests in the 200 and 500 free (1:44.81/4:41.36). Interestingly enough, she’s also entered in the 1650 free, an event she hasn’t raced since 2016. Carly Novelline is a versatile freshman strong in back, fly, and sprint free, and has an opportunity to beat her times from high school that made her one of the top recruits in the country. Parker, a transfer from Georgia, struggled to reach her 2021 bests last season, but swam a personal best in the 50 free at invites this season that brings her momentum coming into ACCs.

For Virginia, NCAAs is the end all be all, but ACCs will be a major stepping stone that answers a lot of questions about the team.

Virginia Tech— Emma Atkinson (junior, free/back), Carmen Weiler Sastre (freshman, free/back), Chase Travis (junior, distance free/IM)

At the front and center of this Virginia Tech team will be their “big three”: Emma Atkinson, Carmen Weiler Sastre, and Chase Travis. Atkinson scored 77 points for the Hokies last year, with many of those points coming from a third-place finish in the 200 back. Her best time of 1:49.86 in the event is second in the ACC to defending champ Reilly Tiltmann (who has only been 0.26 seconds faster), and it will be a battle between the two swimmers (and potentially Gretchen Walsh) for the title this season. Atkinson is also strong in the 200 free (1:44.23), 500 free (4:43.16), and 100 back (51.23), and will be a lock for two more A-finals in addition to her 200 back.

Travis scored 53 points last year, which was the third-most on her team. She finished fifth in the 500 free (4:43.12) and second in the 1650 free (16:00.54), and has already swam a 4:42.96 in the 500 free this season that is faster than her 2022 ACCs team. Sastre, who had major breakout swims during midseasons, will be the biggest addition to Virginia Tech. She swam 200 back (1:52.97) and 200 free (1:45.18) times that are ranked fifth and sixth respectively in the ACC this season, and also holds scoring times in the 50 free (22.52), 100 free (48.74), and 100 back (52.71).

Showdown Races

100 Back—The competitiveness of this race is contingent on whether Gretchen Walsh swims it or not. If she doesn’t, Katharine Berkoff will run away with the win, taking her fourth 100 back ACC title in four years. However, if Walsh does swim this race, that’s where things could get interesting. Berkoff (48.74 PB) and Walsh (49.00 PB) hold the fastest two performances of all time in the 100 back, so expect for the winning time at ACCs to be extremely quick. While Berkoff beat Walsh both at ACCs and NCAAs last year, Walsh has the top time in the ACC and in the nation (50.07) by a significant margin while Berkoff is seeded second with a 50.86. That being said, Berkoff tends to drop significant amounts from in-season to championship meets, so don’t take their in-season gap too much into consideration. Aside from the top two, Reilly Tiltmann (50.42 PB) is in a good position for third, and could turn some heads if she breaks the 50-second barrier.

500 free—As the most wide-open event in the NCAA, the 500 free is bound to get competitive on an ACC level. Alex Walsh, who posted the top time in the ACC by two seconds (4:38.34) in just her third time swimming the 500 free, should be a favorite if she chooses to swim the race. Liberty Williams swam a 4:38.82 to finish second behind Emma Weyant (who no longer swims in the ACC), and there are several swimmers such as Maddie Donohoe (4:39.61), Deniz Ertan (4:40.89 PB), and Ella Nelson (4:39.03 PB, though she might swim the 200 IM over the 500 free) that are all within range of Williams’ time and could all contend for the title in the absence of Walsh. This race is also an opportunity for someone from the ACC to make a “statement swim” in the 500 free—with how weak the event has been compared to previous years, a 4:34 or faster swim could immediately vault someone into the position of NCAA title favorite.

200 fly— The reason for excitement over the 200 fly is two-fold. If defending NCAA champion Alex Walsh swims this event, she’s going to win, but her time is going to be an indicator of how she stacks up against the Texas women who hold the top three times in the nation for this event. Walsh is currently ranked 26th in the country with a season-best of 1:55.63 swam unsuited at a dual meet, so it will be interesting to see how much she drops at ACCs. If Walsh doesn’t swim the 200 fly, the event is also wide open and truly anyone’s to take. Two swimmers, Ellie Vannote (1:54.07) and Martina Peroni (1:53.76) have already been faster than last year’s winning time of 1:54.11, while Abby Harter also went a 1:53.38 at NCAAs last year that would have won ACCs by a significant margin.

SwimSwam Picks

1. Virginia
2. NC State
3. Louisville
4. UNC
5. Duke
6. Virginia Tech
7. Florida State
8. Notre Dame
9. Miami
10. Georgia Tech
11. Pitt
12. Boston College

Overall, the top three should remain unchanged—as I’ve said multiple times before, UVA’s freshman/transfer class is stronger than NC State’s and NC State loses one of their top swimmers from last year, so I don’t see NC State seriously challenging UVA throughout the meet the way they did last year. Both UNC and Duke got better from last year, but I still have UNC over Duke because they have better divers and sprinters, and therefore better relays. That being said, the battle between the two teams for fourth is going to be extremely close and one to keep track of this year.

Notre Dame finished ahead of Virginia Tech and Florida State for sixth last year, but considering that they lost half of their individual points, I have them finishing behind both the Hokies and the Seminoles. Georgia Tech and Miami were separated by just four points last year, and the battle between them comes down to which newcomer has a greater impact: Tara Vovk for Miami, or Deniz Ertan for Georgia Tech. While Ertan can ‘A’ final in three individuals compared to Vovk’s two, Vovk will elevate Miami’s relays more while Ertan doesn’t have much relay contribution. In addition, Miami’s divers will have higher placements than Georgia Tech’s swimmers, so I have Miami ahead—though it will be very close between the two teams.

Boston College is clearly on a tear this season, carrying momentum forward to a new coaching staff. While Pitt beat Boston College by 150 points last year, they lost 78 of those points, while Boston College is on an upward trend—practically rewriting their team record book this year and gaining a three-event scorer in Adair Sand that will close the gap between the two teams.

But Pitt also has more room to grow, especially in relays, relative to best times. With Chase Krietler coming to Pitt from Dave Durden’s Cal team, it’s easy to see him saving his team’s best effort for the one ‘big meet,’ which for Pitt is this ACC Championship (for now).

At this point, our crystal ball reads the latter. But if that’s reversed, it’s actually very momentous, even at the bottom of the rankings, for both teams.