UVA Women Win Third-Straight ACC Title With Records and Versatility

by Robert Gibbs 13

February 19th, 2022 ACC, College, News, Previews & Recaps

2022 ACC SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

  • When: Tuesday, February 15th to Saturday, February 19th Prelims 10:00am | Finals 6:00 pm (Tuesday 11:00am/4:30pm)
  • Where: McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta Georgia (Eastern Time Zone)
  • Defending Champions
    • Women: University of Virginia (17x) (results)
    • Men: University of Louisville (1x) (results)
  • Streaming: ACC Network
  • Championship Central: Here
  • Detailed Timeline: Here
  • Psych Sheets: Here
  • Live Results

The UVA women put a bow on their third-straight ACC title tonight, winning three of four individual events and the final relay, with two of those wins coming with ACC records. That’s the 18th title for the Cavalier women, the most in ACC history. The UVA women previously won titles in 1990, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2021.

It’s also the fourth title under head coach Todd DeSorbo. The Cavaliers were already a solid team under previous head coach Augie Busch, but they’ve taken it to a new level the last few years, and they won this week with a mix of top-end talent and depth. Thanks to several incredibly versatile swimmers who coaches can use like the aquatic equivalent of a Swiss Army knife, the Cavaliers broke the American and U.S. Open Records in the 200 free relay, 200 medley relay, and the 400 medley relay. They also set a new meet record in the 800 free relay and a new ACC record in the 400 free relay.

Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh led the Cavaliers with three individual wins each. Douglass won the 50 free, 100 fly, and the 100 free, while Walsh won the 200 IM, 200 free, and the 200 breast. But what really sets those two is their incredible versatility — each probably could’ve swum three totally different events and won them all.

The Cavaliers rolled through the first three days, winning every single swimming event. They stumbled a bit Friday, as NC State swept the three individual events, but even then, they capped off Friday’s finals session with the fastest 400 medley relay history by two seconds, and kept that momentum going into Saturday, winning every event except the 1650 free.

UVA Event Victories 

Still, it was a team effort, as every single swimmer and diver scored in at least one event. That fact is especially notable this year as it was a fairly close battle against the NC State Wolfpack. The Cavaliers won by 71.5 points in the end, but it remained tight until the last few events, and even a few missed points here and there would’ve kept the Wolfpack in it through the final relay.

Conference Roster

Final Scores

  1. UVA – 1418.5
  2. NC State – 1347
  3. Louisville – 1136.5
  4. UNC – 760
  5. Duke – 709
  6. Notre Dame – 651
  7. Virginia Tech – 636
  8. Florida State – 549
  9. Miami (FL) – 411
  10. Georgia Tech – 407
  11. Pitt – 328
  12. Boston College – 178

Next month, the Cavaliers will seek to take it one step further and defend their NCAA title. They’ve got to be considered the favorite at this point, but it could be a tougher battle than it was last year. NC State, which finished 2nd at NCAAs last year, should make some noise once again, and some of the schools that had depleted rosters last year to due to Covid and/or the Olympics are back to full strength. Still, this is a UVA team that’s been firing on all cylinders the last few years, and they seem to be on track to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

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Soapy
2 years ago

What about the men???

Admin
Reply to  Soapy
2 years ago

The Virginia men did not win their third-straight ACC Title.

Mr. Pancake
2 years ago

Seems like you guys need to run K Chilly’s program because this data is wrong

ACC Fan
2 years ago

It looks like the ENTIRE Women’s 200 fly final was never added into the system which effects the final scores for all of the teams. Can someone check this? Congrats to UVA!

CavaDore
2 years ago

Dude…you are way off on those numbers

Jessica Nava got 57 points (not 29).

Ella Nelson got 84 points (not 57).

Abby Harter got 62 points (not 37)

Anna Keating got 48 points (not 24)

Maddie Donohoe got 69 points (not 42)

Julia Menkhaus got 27 points (not 13)

Last edited 2 years ago by CavaDore
Jeff Thompson
2 years ago

But no ones talking about VTs Emma Atkinson.

Yup
2 years ago

Turns out wolves taste just like chicken….

Tomek
2 years ago

From Cavaliers website: “Sophomore Alex Walsh was named the ACC Women’s Most Valuable Swimmer”, deservedly so.

Last edited 2 years ago by Tomek
VA Steve
Reply to  Tomek
2 years ago

Alex or Kate tough choice. For some reason, some are underestimating Kate’s versatility.

swimfan27
Reply to  VA Steve
2 years ago

I think Kate just hasn’t raced as many races as Alex has at such a high level to showcase that versatility.

VA Steve
Reply to  swimfan27
2 years ago

Fairly put.

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