2026 ACC Champ Day 4 Ups/Mids/Downs: UVA Women Project To Jump Into Lead After Dominant 500 Free

2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships

• Dates:
  • Diving: Sunday, February 15–Tuesday, February 17
  • Swimming: Tuesday, February 17–Saturday, February 21
• Location: McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
• Defending champions: UVA women (6x); Cal men (1x)
• Live Results
• Live Video: ESPN+ ($)
• Schedule of Events (PDF)
• Championship Central
• Pre-Scratch Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1|Day 2|Day 3
• Teams: Boston College, Cal, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (women swimming & diving/men diving), NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, Virginia, Virginia Tech

For those unfamiliar with swimming terminology, the concept of “Ups” and “Downs” is a good way to track which teams performed best at prelims. In prelims, swimmers qualify for one of three finals heats: the top 8 finishers make the A final, places 9 through 16 the B final and places 17 through 24 the C final. In finals, swimmers are locked into their respective final, meaning a swimmer in the B heat (spots 9-16) can only place as high as 9th or as low as 16th, even if they put up the fastest or slowest time of any heat in the final.

With that in mind, we’ll be tracking “Ups,” “Mids” and “Downs” after each prelims session. “Up” refers to swimmers and divers in the A final, “Mid” to B finalists, and “Down” to C finalists.

Scores After Day 3

Women’s Day 4 Ups/Mids/Downs

UVA clearly and easily showed why they are the dominant team in the ACC right now, despite losing some heavy hitters over the past few years. Sitting in 10th after diving and the 200 Medley and 800 Free Relays, the Cavaliers put up 14 swimmers into finals this evening, with a whopping 10 of them seeded into the A-finals. In the 500 free, alone, led by Katie Grimes, UVA placed five swimmers into the A-final, occupying the top four spots. Louisville, California, Stanford and NC State all had strong mornings, with each team placing at least eight swimmers into finals, as the top echelon of teams began to separate themselves from the pack.

Women’s Scoring Day 4 Prelims (plus 200 Free Relay as seeded)

Women’s Projected Day 4 Scores

Men’s Day 4 Ups/Mids/Downs

NC State rebounded well after a relay DQ last night, placing 12 swimmers into finals tonight, with an equal distribution among the points-heavy ‘A’ and ‘B’ finals. California equaled their six in ‘A’ finals, including an impressive four in the 500 free, but put up a big goose egg in the 200 IM, advancing no swimmer into a final, although they only had one swimmer contest the event. Cal, Stanford and Louisville’s point totals from the previous days look to keep them ahead of NC State, but the Wolfpack looks to be in a good spot to contest with Cal for the title.

Men’s Scoring Day 4 Prelims (plus 200 Free Relay as seeded)

Men’s Projected Day 4 Scores