2026 ACC Championships: Day 6 Prelims Live Recap

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|Day 5
  • Finals: Day 1|Day 2|Day 3|Day 4 | Day 5
• 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
• Day 6 Prelims Heat Sheet

The sixth day of action (and third full day of swimming) gets underway this morning with preliminary heats in the 200 fly, 100 back and 100 breast.

The Virginia women enter the day with a 124-point lead over Stanford in the team, while the Cal men head into Friday leading the Cardinal men by 26 points.

WOMEN’S 200 FLY – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 1:49.11, Emma Sticklen (Texas) – 2025
• ACC Record: 1:49.16, Alex Walsh (Virginia) – 2024
• ACC Championship Record: 1:49.16, Alex Walsh (Virginia) – 2024
• Pool Record: 1:50.61, Kelsi Worrell (Louisville) – 2016
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:55.88

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Tess Howley (Virginia), 1:52.58
2. Mia West (Cal), 1:52.89
3. Caroline Bricker (Stanford), 1:52.96
4. Carli Cronk (Notre Dame), 1:53.57
5. Charlotte Hook (Stanford), 1:55.45
6. Ava Chavez (Cal), 1:55.46
7. Bailey Hartman (Virginia), 1:55.60
8. Lilou Ressencourt (Cal), 1:55.62

Virginia junior Tess Howley out-touched Cal sophomore Mia West to win the fifth and final heat of the women’s 200 fly as the two swimmers advance 1-2 into tonight’s championship heat.

Howley opened up a lead of nearly four-tenths through the 150 turn, and then held off West to touch first in a time of 1:52.58, less than eight-tenths shy of her season-best of 1:51.81 set in November.

West, who set a personal best time of 1:53.32 at the end of January in a dual against Stanford, clocked 1:52.89 to mark her first career swim under 1:53.

Stanford junior Caroline Bricker, last year’s runner-up, topped the penultimate heat in 1:52.96 to advance 3rd into the final, while Notre Dame sophomore Carli Cronk shattered her best time in 1:53.57 to qualify in 4th. Cronk’s previous best, set in January 2025, stood at 1:55.28.

Cal’s Ava Chavez also had a big swim, coming just one-tenth shy of her 11-month-old best time in 1:55.46 to advance in 6th.

MEN’S 200 FLY – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 1:36.41, Luca Urlando (Georgia) – 2025
• ACC Record: 1:37.92, Nicolas Albiero (Louisville) – 2022
• ACC Championship Record: 1:37.92, Nicolas Albiero (Louisville) – 2022
• Pool Record: 1:37.92, Nicolas Albiero (Louisville) – 2022
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:41.45

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Josh Zuchowski (Stanford), 1:40.63
2. Logan Robinson (FSU), 1:40.98
3. Hayden Bellotti (Virginia), 1:41.02
4. Gibson Holmes (Stanford), 1:41.14
5. Landon Gentry (Virginia Tech), 1:41.35
6. Casper Puggaard (Cal), 1:41.46
7. Thomas Heilman (Virginia), 1:41.57
8. Seb Lunak (UNC), 1:41.64

Stanford senior Josh Zuchowski dropped nearly a second and a half off his personal best time to lead the men’s 200 fly field into tonight’s final, clocking 1:40.63 from the third heat.

Zuchowski’s previous best stood at 1:42.04, set at the 2025 ACCs.

He ran down FSU’s Logan Robinson, who was 5th last year, to win the heat, with Robinson touching in 1:40.98 to advance in 2nd.

Virginia junior Hayden Bellotti won the first circle-seeded heat in 1:41.02, knocking 95 one-hundredths off his previous best time of 1:41.97.

Stanford’s Gibson Holmes (1:41.14), Virginia Tech’s Landon Gentry (1:41.35) and UNC’s Seb Lunak (1:41.64), who were all in last year’s final, made it back again this year in 4th, 5th and 8th, respectively.

The two freshmen qualifiers both came out of the last heat, with Cal’s Casper Puggaard setting a new PB of 1:41.46 to out-touch top seed Thomas Heilman (1:41.57) as they squeaked through to the final in 6th and 7th.

WOMEN’S 100 BACK – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 48.10, Gretchen Walsh (Virginia) – 2024
• ACC Record: 48.10, Gretchen Walsh (Virginia) – 2024
• ACC Championship Record: 48.10, Gretchen Walsh (Virginia) – 2024
• Pool Record: 48.74, Katharine Berkoff (NC State) – 2022
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 51.68

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Claire Curzan (Virginia), 48.83
2. Erika Pelaez (NC State), 50.28
3. Claire Jansen (Pitt), 50.47
4. Mary-Ambre Moluh (Cal), 50.48
5. Ali Pfaff (Duke), 51.00
6. Leah Shackley (NC State), 51.04
7. Kennedy Noble (NC State), 51.30
8. Camille Murray (Louisville), 51.35

Claire Curzan unleashed one of the fastest swims in history to dominate the prelims of the women’s 100 back, breaking 49 seconds for the first time and becoming the third-fastest performer ever.

• Curzan’s Splits: 23.51/25.32

Curzan put up a time of 48.83 to erase her previous best of 49.11, set en route to winning the 2025 NCAA title, to leapfrog her over Bella Sims and rank #3 all-time in the event.

All-Time Performers, Women’s 100 Back (SCY)

1. Gretchen Walsh (Virginia), 48.10 – 2024
2. Katharine Berkoff (NC State), 48.55 – 2024
3. Claire Curzan (Virginia), 48.83 – 2026
4. Bella Sims (Florida), 48.97 – 2025
5. Regan Smith (Riptide), 49.16 – 2021

Curzan came into the meet leading the NCAA this season with a time of 49.12, which she produced at the CSCAA Dual Meet Challenge in November.

NC State sophomore Erika Pelaez clocked 50.28 to advance 2nd into the final and improve on her personal best of 50.44 set earlier this season.

Pitt senior Claire Jansen also set a new PB, resetting her Panther record of 51.03 set earlier this season in 50.47 to qualify 3rd overall.

Cal sophomore Mary-Ambre Moluh had a strong swim to advance in 4th, hitting a new season-best of 50.48 to make it four women sub-51 in the prelims. Moluh was the runner-up last season to Gretchen Walsh.

After both racing the 200 fly, Virginia’s Tess Howley (52.00) and Carly Novelline (52.55) missed the ‘A’ final, placing 13th and 23rd, respectively, though Novelline was only one one-hundredth shy of her season-best.

MEN’S 100 BACK – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 43.20, Hubert Kos (Texas) – 2025
• ACC Record: 43.83, Kacper Stokowski (NC State) – 2023
• ACC Championship Record: 44.04, Coleman Stewart (NC State) / Kacper Stokowski (NC State) – 2020/2023
• Pool Record: 43.35, Luca Urland0 (Georgia) – 2022
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 45.26

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Kaii Winkler (NC State), 44.74
2. Marcus Reyes-Gentry (Notre Dame), 44.87
3. Hudson Williams (NC State) / Tommy Janton (Notre Dame), 44.94
4. –
5. Aiden Hayes (NC State), 44.98
6. Quintin McCarty (NC State), 45.16
7. Max Wilson (FSU), 45.47
8. Evan Petty (Cal), 45.51

Three weeks ago, Kaii Winkler raced the 100 back for the first time in more than two years. Now, he’s heading into the ACC final as the top seed.

Winkler clocked 45.46 in the event on January 31 in a dual with UNCW, and followed that up with a monster swim in this morning’s prelims, blasting his way to a time of 44.74 to lead the heats.

Winkler, Marcus Reyes-Gentry, Hudson Williams and Tommy Janton claimed the top four seeds for the final from the penultimate heat, with all four breaking 45 seconds.

Reyes-Gentry, a junior at Notre Dame, clocked 44.87 to break 45 seconds for the first time, lowering his two-year-old best time of 45.12 set at the 2024 ACCs.

NC State’s Williams and Notre Dame’s Janton tied for 3rd overall in 44.94, with Janton doing so out of Lane 9. It was a massive two-second season-best for Janton, who had only been 47.03 this season, while Williams came into the meet ranked 2nd in the conference in 2025-26 at 44.49.

NC State fifth-year Aiden Hayes made it five men sub-45, as he clocked 44.98 for his fastest swim in the event since the 2024 NCAAs. His teammate Quintin McCarty, who was 2nd last year, also set a big season-best in 45.16 to qualify in 6th.

Florida State senior Max Wilson, the fastest man in the conference this season in 44.43, got through to the final in 7th in 45.47.

Notably missing the final was Virginia’s David King, who was 3rd last year, and his teammate, Jack Aikins. King was 15th in 46.03, while Aikins took 10th in 45.79.

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 55.73, Lilly King (Indiana) – 2019
• ACC Record: 56.09, Jasmine Nocentini (Virginia) – 2024
• ACC Championship Record: 56.72, Sophie Hansson (NC State) – 2022
• Pool Record: 56.85, Lilly King (Indiana) – 2016
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 59.51

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Eneli Jefimova (NC State) / Anastasia Gorbenko (Louisville), 57.39
2. –
3. Lucy Bell (Stanford), 57.86
4. Emma Weber (Virginia), 58.12
5. Kaelyn Gridley (Duke), 58.46
6. Mia Cheatwood (Louisville), 58.59
7. Elle Scott (Cal), 58.71
8. Zoe Skirboll (Virginia), 58.79

Two international stars produced matching times to sit in a deadlock heading into tonight’s final of the women’s 100 breast.

In the first circle-seeded heat, Estonian native and NC State freshman Eneli Jefimova threw down a time of 57.39, marking a new lifetime best as she lowers the 57.67 mark she set at the Georgia Tech Dual Meet Tournament early in the season.

In the next heat, Israeli native and Louisville first-year (though officially listed as a sophomore) Anastasia Gorbenko equalled Jefimova’s 57.39 swim, and just like her counterpart, she also improved on her previous lifetime best of 57.67.

Stanford senior Lucy Bell closed out the women’s portion of the session by clocking 57.86 in the fourth heat, just shy of her 57.60 PB set three weeks ago.

Duke senior Kaelyn Gridley, the defending champion, advanced 5th overall in a time of 58.46, tying her season-best to the one-hundredth, while UVA’s Emma Weber, the 2025 runner-up, qualified 4th in 58.12.

The cut-off for the ‘A’ final this morning was 58.79, more than a full second faster than what was required last season (59.88).

MEN’S 100 BREAST – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 49.51, Julian Smith (Florida) – 2025
• ACC Record: 50.62, Denis Petrashov (Louisville) – 2025
• ACC Championship Record: 50.62, Denis Petrashov (Louisville) – 2025
• Pool Record: 49.90, Max McHugh (Minnesota) – 2022
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 51.58

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

1. Yamato Okadome (Cal), 50.78
2. Eli Martin (Virginia Tech), 51.29
3. Daniel Li (Stanford), 51.54
4. Luca Gissendaner (Cal), 51.62
5. Hank Rivers (Cal), 51.63
6. Tommaso Baravelli (FSU), 51.95
7. Ben Delmar (UNC), 51.99
8. Ethan Maloney (VT) / Zhier Fan (Stanford), 52.01*

Cal sophomore Yamato Okadome is the only swimmer in the ACC to have broken 51 seconds in the 100 breast so far this season, and he did it again on Friday morning as the Japanese native clocked 50.78 to comfortably pace the field into the final.

Okadome, who was 3rd in last year’s final as a freshman, set a personal best of 50.48 in December at the Minnesota Invite.

A pair of sophomores, Virginia Tech’s Eli Martin and Stanford’s Daniel Li, both had strong swims to advance 2-3 into the final after neither made the top eight as a freshman.

Martin, who was 36th in the event last year, put up a time of 51.29 to qualify 2nd, lowering his newly-minted best time of 51.56 set earlier this month.

Li, 13th in last year’s consolation final, also reset the best time he only recently established, clocking 51.54 to erase the 51.79 marker he established on January 30.

The Golden Bears put three swimmers into the top five, with seniors Luca Gissendaner (51.62) and Hank Rivers (51.63) joining Okadome in tonight’s final. Gissendaner has been as fast as 51.25 this season, while Rivers has been 51.51.

Tying for 8th in 52.01 were seniors Ethan Maloney (Virginia Tech) and Zhier Fan (Stanford), setting up a potential swim-off for the last lane in the ‘A’ final.

MEN’S 100 BREAST – SWIM-OFF

• NCAA Record: 49.51, Julian Smith (Florida) – 2025
• ACC Record: 50.62, Denis Petrashov (Louisville) – 2025
• ACC Championship Record: 50.62, Denis Petrashov (Louisville) – 2025
• Pool Record: 49.90, Max McHugh (Minnesota) – 2022
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 51.58

1. Ethan Maloney (VT), 51.73
2. Zhier Fan (Stanford),

Virginia Tech senior Ethan Maloney clocked 51.73 in the men’s 100 breast swim-off to top Stanford’s Zhier Fan and earn a berth in tonight’s ‘A’ final.

Maloney’s swim marked a new personal best, improving on his previous mark of 51.95 set at the 2023 ACC Championships. Last season, he was 20th in the 100 breast in a time of 52.56.