2024 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships
- February 20-24, 2024
- Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina
- Short Course Yards (25 yards), Prelims/Finals
- Psych Sheets
The ACC has published its final pre-meet psych sheets, and as usual, they don’t give many clues as to what top swimmers will be racing at the conference championship meet.
While most swimmers are over-entered, there are still a few clues as to what swimmers won’t race.
For example, Virginia’s Alex Walsh, who can swim almost everything, is entered in 7 events:
- 200 IM (#1 seed – 1:52.59)
- 400 IM (#1 seed – 4:00.52)
- 100 fly (#8 seed – 51.87)
- 200 free (#2 seed – 1:43.43)
- 200 fly (#56 seed – No Time)
- 100 breast (#8 seed – 59.37)
- 200 breast ($1 seed – 2:04.22)
Walsh has swum a different event lineup at each of her three ACC Championships so far. In 2021 as a freshman, she swam the 100 breast/200 back/200 IM. In 2022 as a sophomore, she swam 200 IM/200 free/200 breast. In 2023 as a junior she swam 200 breast/200 free/100 breast. She’s gone 3-for-3 in each of the last two seasons at ACCs and should again this year. Her pre-meet entries don’t do much, but at least we know she’s not swimming backstrokes (she’s #1 in the conference this season in the 200 back).
Her teammate and younger sister Gretchen Walsh is entered in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 fly, and 100 back – which was always going to be her likely event lineup (though Virginia has surprised before). That means no 200 free, where she leads the conference this season.
The same is true for NC State’s Katharine Berkoff, who is entered in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 back, and 200 back. She’s 4th in the ACC this season in the 200 free.
Virginia Tech did better than most at keeping their entries limited. For Caroline Bentz, for example, that means she’ll swim the 50 free, 100 back, and 200 back. That means she’s not entered in the 100 free, an event where she would have been the 9th seed – higher than her seeds in the 50 free or 100 back.
On the men’s side, Youssef Ramadan is entered in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 100 fly, and 200 fly. That means he won’t swim the 100 back, where he ranks 5th in the conference this season.
Coaches will have to scratch athletes down to their three allotted individual events as the meet goes on.
Other Hints in the psych sheets:
- Virignia sophomore Carly Novelline is entered in four races: the 100 free, 100 fly, 100 back, and 200 back.
- NC State’s Kacper Stokowski is entered in the 100 back, 200 back, 100 free, 200 free, and the 100 fly. He hasn’t swum the 100 fly yet this season.
- Louisville’s three swimmers at the World Championships, Ilia Sibirtsev, Denis Loktev, and Denis Petrashov are all entered in the meet.
- Virginia’s Aimee Canny is entered in all of her usual events – but also the 100 breaststroke. Cavalier coaches have been dropping hints all season that the 100 breaststroke might be a new event for her.
I am not seeing Louisville’s Abby Hay in the psych sheet. Am I missing something?
She hasn’t raced since mid-season.
Has SEC psych sheet come out yet?
Not yet.
This is clearly the prescratch psych sheet. Lots of people entered in four or five events.
A. Walsh could swim the whole meet left handed and with her cap on inside out and UVA would still win easily.
Article talks about AWalsh swimming different events at NCAAs each year, but then lists her ACC events.
Tragic. Hope she leads off the 800 free relay
She said on the unfiltered waters podcast that they were definitely going for the 800 relay record, and I would imagine she will lead off
I wonder if they’ll go for round 2 at NCAAs if they don’t get the record at ACCs
I doubt it; they need Gretchen on all four sprint relays for their best chance of winning.
They could get it with Canny, the Walsh sisters, and any one of four others. Probably two 140’s, a 142 low and a 143.
Nelson, AW, GW, and Canny? Parker?
I’m thinking it will be Nelson, AW, GW, and Canny, as I believe Nelson’s 200 free splits have been faster than Parker’s in the past (though I could be wrong).
Dressel also once let everyone know he was on the UF 8 FRR and wasn’t. You can’t always believe what you hear.
It would be exciting to see her swim it so I hope she does.
llia Sibirtsev, Denis Loktev, and Denis Petrashov are swimmers of Louisville, not NC State’s