2026 ACC Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

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
• 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

The 2026 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships get underway in earnest today at the storied McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA. Technically, this is the third day of the meet, as divers have competed over the past two days, but tonight will be the first session featuring competition in the pool.

We’ll only see relays tonight, but those should provide plenty of excitement for swim fans. The session will begin with timed finals of the 200 medley relay. The Virginia women’s team may not be able to replicate their own NCAA record in that event (or the 800 free relay) from last year, but they’ve still got plenty of depth and should hold on to their top seed, even against a strong Stanford squad.

The men’s side feels a lot more open on both relays. Florida State has been on fire so far this season, and the Seminoles hold the top seed with a 1:22.23 from midseason. But the Cal Bears are seeded only a tenth of a second behind them and are the defending champions, and NC State is always dangerous in this event. Keep an eye out for Aiden Hayes — while he’s usually known more for his butterfly prowress, he set the all-time record in the 50 back leading off this relay at NCAAs two years ago.

Florida State also has the top seed in the 800 free relay (6:10.65), but again, this race feels wide open. Look out for Cal to dominate the first heat, as the Bears are only seeded 10th. The second heat features Florida State, NC State, Stanford, Louisville and Virginia all in the middle of the pool, and all of those teams should feature top-notch 200 freestylers, depending on how coaches choose to construct their lineups.

We’ll also have finals of the diving platform events. Stanford freshman Ellie Cole and Cal’s Geoff Vavitsas come into tonight as the top seeds after this morning’s prelims.

Women’s 200 Medley Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:31.10- University of Virginia (Curzan, A. Walsh, G. Walsh, Moesch), 2025
• ACC Record: 1:31.10- University of Virginia (Curzan, A. Walsh, G. Walsh, Moesch), 2025
• ACC Championship Record: 1:31.73- University of Virginia (G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Cuomo, Douglass), 2023
• Pool Record: 1:32.16- Virginia (G. Walsh, Wegner, Cuomo, Douglass), 2022
• 2026 NCAA Championships Qualifying Time: 1:36.09
• 2026 NCAA Championships Provisional Time: 1:36.57

We can’t see the livestream either, but it sounds like Louisville won.

Top 8:

1. Louisville – 1:32.26
2. Virginia – 1:32.46
3. Stanford – 1:32.94
4. Cal – 1:33.29
5. NC State – 1:33.56
6. Duke – 1:35.67
7. UNC – 1:35.99
8. Florida State – 1:36.73

We couldn’t watch the race, and live results aren’t working, but piecing it together from Meet Mobile indicates that while UVA got great splits from Sara Curtis on leadoff (22.91) and Claire Curzan on fly (21.75), that wasn’t enough to overcome Louisville’s overall depth.

Louisville got a 23.73 leadoff from Julie Mishler, putting them nearly a second behind UVA, but Anastasia Gorbenko delivered a 25.49 breast split to close the gap against Emma Weber (26.36). Gorbenko’s split appears to be tied for the 3rd-fastest split ever. UVA regained the lead with Curzan’s 21.75 (6th-fastest all-time) split against Caroline Larsen‘s 22.41. Julia Dennis anchored Louisville with a 20.63 to run down Bryn Greenwaldt (21.44) and secure an upset victory for the Cardinals, 1:32.26 to 1:32.46.

Louisville demolished their school record, as the Cardinals took over a second off the previous record of 1:33.41 from last year.

Stanford was in the hole early on after a 24.16 leadoff from Alana Berlin. The Cardinal proceeded to get strong splits from Lucy Thomas (26.09), Torri Huske (21.78), and Annam Olasewere (20.91), but that wasn’t enough to overcome the top two seeds, and Stanford finished 3rd in 1:32.94.

Cal finished 4th in 1:33.29, setting a new program record with a lineup consisting entirely of underclassmen. NC State got a 25.79 breast split from freshman Eneli Jefimova en route to place 5th with a 1:33.56. Duke (1:35.67) and UNC (1:35.99) were also under the NCAA ‘A’ cut.

Men’s 200 Medley Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:20.15- Florida (Chaney, Smith, Liendo, McDuff), 2024
• ACC Record: 1:20.67- NC State (Stokowski, Hunter, Korstanje, Curtiss), 2023
• ACC Championship Record: 1:21.54- California (Seeliger, Okadome, Rose, Alexy), 2025
• Pool Record: 1:21.13- Florida (Chaney, Hillis, Friese, Davis), 2022
• 2026 NCAA Championships Qualifying Time: 1:23.61
• 2026 NCAA Championships Provisional Qualifying Time (Relay): 1:23.85

Top 8 (per Meet Mobile):

1. Florida State – 1:22.38
2. Cal – 1:22.39
3. Louisville – 1:22.40
4. Pitt – 1:22.57
5. Stanford – 1:22.73
6. Notre Dame – 1:23.44
7. Virginia Tech – 1:23.75
8. Georgia Tech – 1:24.29

Meet Mobile currently shows DQs for UNC, UVA, and NC State, and that seems to have been confirmed from the livestream audio.

We’re still trying to figure out exactly what happened, as the livestream’s graphics seemed to be inaccurate. But it appeared that NC State and Florida State dueled it out for most of the race. The Wolfpack touched first, going 1:21.9, but were ultimately DQ’d, and Florida State won in 1:22.38.

Quintin McCarty put the Wolfpack in the lead early with a 20-low split, but we don’t have any of their splits beyond that.

Update: now we do. McCarty led off for NC State with a 20.32, putting the Wolfpack solidly in the lead. Florida State pulled ahead on breast, as Arsen Kozhakhmetov split 23.62. Aiden Hayes split 19.50 on fly, but he drew the DQ with a -0.09s reaction time. Drew Salls anchored in 18.49 to run down Bork and touch first.

The Seminoles’ Max Wilson went 20.64 to leadoff, Tommasso Baravelli went 23.21 on breast, Michel Arkhangleskiy split a strong 19.41 on fly, and Sam Bork anchored in 19.02, good for 1:22.38. That’s actually about 0.15s slower than their midseason time, perhaps providing optimism for Seminoles fans that they’re leaving some in the tank for NCAAs.

Cal (1:22.39) and Louisville (1:22.40) finished close behind Florida State. The Bears’ relay featured a 22.69 breaststroke split from Yamato Okadome and an 18.28 anchor from Lucca Battalingi. Louisville’s back half dominated, with Aiden Musso splitting 19.42 on fly and freshman Nikita Sheremet anchoring in 18.45.

Pitt’s Julian Koch was even faster on fly, splitting a 19.23 that should put him in the conversation to win the 100 fly later on this week.

UVA initially appeared to finish 7th in 1:23.1, but was DQ’d for an early takeoff on the breaststroke leg. Thomas Heilman split 19.61. Maximus Williamson did not appear, meaning we’re likely to see him momentarily in the 800 free relay.

UNC initially touched 11th with a 1:24.4. Martin Kartavi anchored in a strong 18.55, but left early by 0.05s.

Women’s Platform Diving – Finals

• ACC Championship Record: 364.70, Katrina Young (Florida State), 2014
• ACC Record: 367.20, Brittany Viola (Miami), 2008
• Pool Record: 360.30, Yu Zhou (Minnesota), 2016

Top 8:

1. Ellie Cole (Stanford) – 392.40
2. Sofia Knight (UNC) – 324.80
3. Kayleigh Clark (FSU) – 306.30
4. Josie Zillig (Duke) – 252.65
5. Emilie Moore (Stanford) – 245.30
6. Ariana Drake (Cal) – 237.50
7. Jess Vega (Pitt) – 232.90
8. Violet Williamson (Cal) – 223.70

Stanford freshman Ellie Cole shattered the meet and conference records, scoring a stellar 392.40. Cole, who competed for Australia at the 2024 Olympics, broke a conference record of 367.20 that had stood since 2008.

Women’s 800 Free Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 6:44.13- Virginia (G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Canny, Curzan), 2025
• ACC Record: 6:44.13- Virginia (G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Canny, Curzan), 2025
• ACC Championship Record: 6:44.13- Virginia (G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Canny, Curzan), 2025
• Pool Record: 6:48.30- Stanford (Huske, Ruck, Smith, Forde), 2022
• 2026 NCAA Championships Qualifying Time: 7:00.86
• 2026 NCAA Championships Provisional Qualifying Time: 7:05.18

Top 8:

1. Virginia – 6:45.34
2. Cal – 6:50.15
3. Stanford – 6:54.09
4. Louisville – 6:54.75
5. NC State – 6:57.54
6. Pitt – 7:00.42
7. Virginia Tech – 7:03.27
8. Notre Dame – 7:03.70

The UVA women crushed the pool record and swam to the 2nd-fastest performance of all-time, with a 6:45.34. Aimee Canny led off in 1:41.81, setting a new personal by 0.04s. Madi Mintenko split 1:41.25, right in line with her best flat start time of 1:41.70. Cavan Gormsen kept things rolling with a 1:41.86 split, and then Anna Moesch anchored in 1:40.42. Moesch currently has the best flat start time in the nation this season with a 1:40.25 from November.

Cal took 2nd in 6:50.15, highlighted by a 1:40.95 split from Mia West, whose lifetime best is a 1:41.74 from last month. Stanford finished 3rd in 6:54.09, thanks to a trio of 1:43 splits from Caroline Bricker, Gigi Johnson, and Lucy Bell. Louisville kept within range of Stanford, thanks largely to a 1:41.61 split from Anastasia Gorbenko, as the Cardinals took 4th in 6:54.74. NC State (6:57.54) and Pitt (7:00.42) were also under the NCAA ‘A’ cut.

Men’s 800 Free Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 5:59.75- California (Alexy, Jett, Lasco, Henveaux), 2024
• ACC Record: 5:59.75- California (Seeliger, Okadome, Rose, Alexy), 2025
• ACC Championship Record: 6:06.66- California (Alexy, Jett, Lasco, Henveaux), 2025
• Pool Record: 6:03.89- Texas (Kibler, Carozza, Hobson, Foster), 2022
• 2026 NCAA Championships Qualifying Time: 6:14.67
• 2026 NCAA Championships Provisional Qualifying Time: 6:16.69

Don’t be confused by the inaccurate graphics if you’re watching the livestream; Cal won heat 1 with a 6:09.53, as both Keaton Jones and Ryan Erishman split 1:31s. Virginia Tech’s Brendan Whitfield went 1:31.62 to lead off, as the Hokies took 2nd in the heat with a 6:13.32.

Top 8:

1. Stanford – 6:07.40
2. NC State – 6:07.42
3. Cal – 6:09.53
4. Virginia – 6:10.17
5. SMU – 6:11.47
6. Florida State – 5:11.74
7. Louisville – 6:12.70
8. Virginia Tech – 6:13.32

After Cal rolled to a 6:09.53 in the first heat, it seemed like there was at least some chance that time could hold up to win. But, that wasn’t to be, as both Stanford and NC State swam 6:07s to take the top two spots from the final heat.

Kaii Winkler continued his torrid sophomore campaign with yet another PR, clocking a 1:30.92 to post the fastest time in the country while putting the Wolfpack in the lead on the first leg. From there, consistency was the name of the game for NC State, as Jerry Fox (1:32.38), Hudson Williams (1:32.02), and Daniel Diehl (1:32.10) all split 1:32-low.

Stanford got a 1:32.85 leadoff from Andres Dupont-Cabrera, then a 1:31.91 from freshman Ethan Ekk. Jason Zhao split 1:32.80 on the third leg, and then Henry McFadden anchored in a sizzling 1:29.84 to run down Diehl and take the win, 6:07.40 to 6:07.42.

The Virginia Cavaliers got a pair of 1:31s to start the race, as freshman Maximus Williamson led off in 1:31.46 and David King split 1:31.45 on the second leg. Thomas Heilman (1:33.09) and Hayden Bellotti (1:34.17) lost ground to Stanford, but finished 3rd in the heat and 4th overall with a 6:10.17, to set a new Cavalier record.

SMU took 5th in 6:11.47, setting a new school record by nearly three seconds and finishing ahead of the top-seeded Seminoles (6:11.74), as well as Louisville (6:12.70) and Virginia Tech (6:13.32). Pitt (6:14.43) also finished under the NCAA qualifying time, with the Panthers setting a program record by over two seconds.

Men’s Platform Diving – Finals

• ACC Championship Record: 523.95, Nick McCrory (Duke), 2010
• ACC Record: 548.90, Nick McCrory (Duke), 2011
• Pool Record: 509.25, Zhipeng Zeng (Ohio State), 2016

Top 8:

1. Misha Andriyuk (Stanford) – 412.30
2. Geoff Vavitsas (Cal) – 395.70
3. Carlos Martinez (FSU) – 367.15
4. Ciro Mejia (UNC) – 364.30
5. Gunnar Grubbs (Stanford) – 352.95
6. Ray Pres (Louisville) – 343.05
7. Farouk Farouk (Miami) – 329.40
8. Max Fowler (GT) – 316.90

Stanford sophomore Misha Andriyuk captured his first ACC title with a score of 412.30. That’s actually lower than his score from last year, when his 432.15 put him 2nd in the final, but it was still more than enough to take the win tonight. Cal junior Geoff Vavitas took 2nd tonight after finishing in 6th last year.

Total Diving Points

Women

Men

Scores Through Day 3

With all diving events complete, the Stanford men and women each hold the lead. Over the next few days, watch for a lot of movement, as diving-forward teams begin to slip in the standings, while teams without diving programs, and/or who drew relay DQs today, work to claw their way up.

Women

1. Stanford — 261
2. Pittsburgh — 227
3. California — 207
4. Miami — 204
5. Louisville — 174
6. Notre Dame — 171
7. Florida State — 167
8. North Carolina — 165
9. Georgia Tech — 149
10. Virginia Tech — 124
11. Virginia — 120
12. NC State — 116
13. Duke — 112
14. SMU — 97
15. Boston College — 24

Men

1. Stanford — 244
2. California — 218
3. Louisville — 205
4. Florida State — 202
5. SMU — 186
6. Georgia Tech — 177
7. Virginia Tech — 163
8. Miami — 162
9. Notre Dame — 147
10. North Carolina — 137
11. Pittsburgh — 135
12. Duke — 68
13. Boston College — 58
14. NC State — 56
15. Virginia — 52