UVA’s Noah Nichols Ties ACC 100 Breast Record, Moves to #2 This Season, With 51.03

2023 ACC SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, February 14 to Saturday, February 18, 2023
• Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina
• Defending Champions:
  • Women: Virginia (3x)
  • Men: NC State (results)
• Full Event Schedule
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Streaming

It was a relatively sleepy prelims session this morning in Greensboro, at least compared to the record book assault we’ve seen most evenings this week.

That changed in the final event heat of the day, as UVA junior Noah Nichols rocked a 51.03 in the 100 breast to tie the ACC meet and overall record, set by Louisville’s Evgenii Somov in 2021.

Nichols has been on fire all-season, having been throwing down fast times even at dual meets, with or without a tech suit. He now owns the #2 time in the nation this season, behind only Leon Marchand‘s 51.01 from a few weeks ago. Marchand is likely to swim the 400 IM at NCAAs, but Nichols will still have to contend with a strong field that includes stars like Max McHugh, Reece Whitley, Caspar Corbeau, and Liam Bell, among others.

Update: Nichols’ time slides to #4 this season after Florida teammates Aleksas Savickas and Dillon Hillis went 50.73 and 50.90 this morning at SEC prelims.

For the moment, Nichols’ sights are probably set on becoming the first UVA man since 2007 to win an ACC title in this event. The last Cavalier man to win an ACC title in this event was Vanja Roguli, who won three-straight titles from 2005 to 2007.

Last year, Nichols finished 5th in the A-final with a time of 52.07.