2023 NCAA WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- March 15-18, 2023
- Allan Jones Aquatic Center–Knoxville, Tennessee
- SCY (25 yards)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Stream
- SwimSwam Preview Index
- Pick ’em Contest
- Day 1 Finals Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Recap|Day 2 Finals Recap
- Day 3 Prelims Recap|Day 3 Finals Recap
- Day 4 Prelims Recap|Day 4 Finals Recap
Virginia’s quartet of Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh, Maxine Parker, and Gretchen Walsh chopped almost a full second off the NCAA, American, and U.S. Open records in the 400 free relay with a 3:05.84 on Saturday night, punctuating the team’s three-peat with a relay sweep.
The Cavaliers lowered their previous record of 3:06.83 from last month’s ACC Championships. They went with a lineup change for the NCAA Championships, switching out Lexi Cuomo for Parker along with some other tweaks to the order.
Douglass led off with a 46.37 split in her final collegiate swim. Gretchen Walsh took over anchor duties (45.85) instead of leading off while her older sister, Alex, moved from the anchor to the second leg.
After winning the individual 100 free race earlier in the evening (45.61), Gretchen Walsh clocked the only sub-46 split in the 400 free relay field to cap her meet. Parker posted a 47.04 after notching the highest finish of the three Virginia B-finalists in the 100 free (10th place, 47.72) a few events earlier.
Splits Comparison
| Virginia, 2023 NCAAs | Virginia, 2023 ACCs | |
| 1st Leg | Kate Douglass, 46.37 | Gretchen Walsh, 46.41 |
| 2nd Leg | Alex Walsh, 46.58 | Kate Douglass, 46.35 |
| 3rd Leg | Maxine Parker, 47.04 | Lexi Cuomo, 47.00 |
| 4th Leg | Gretchen Walsh, 45.85 | Alex Walsh, 47.07 |
| 400 Free Total | 3:05.84 | 3:06.83 |
The NCAA relay record was Virginia’s second of the week after breaking the 200 medley relay mark to open the meet.
400 YARD FREESTYLE RELAY — TIMED FINALS
NCAA Record: 3:06.83, Virginia (G. Walsh, K. Douglass, L. Cuomo, A. Walsh) — 2023Meet Record: 3:06.91, Virginia (K. Douglass, A. Walsh, R. Tiltmann, G. Walsh) — 2022American Record: 3:06.83, Virginia (G. Walsh, K. Douglass, L. Cuomo, A. Walsh) — 2023U.S. Open Record: 3:06.83, Virginia (G. Walsh, K. Douglass, L. Cuomo, A. Walsh) — 2023- 2022 Champion: Virginia (K. Douglass, A. Walsh, R. Tiltmann, G. Walsh) — 3:06.91
Top 8:
- Virginia (K. Douglass, A. Walsh, M. Parker, G. Walsh) — 3:05.84 (NCAA and American Record)
- Stanford (T. Huske, T. Ruck, A. Tang, C. Curzan) — 3:08.54
- Louisville (G. Albiero, C. Regenauer, J. Dennis, E. Welch) — 3:09.57
- NC State — 3:10.51
- Ohio State — 3:10.52
- Indiana — 3:12.39
- Texas — 3:12.59
- Florida — 3:12.62
Stanford earned second, touching 1.03 second ahead of third place Louisville. Torri Huske led off in 46.59, just off the 46.46 she clocked in the individual final to finish second. Next, Taylor Ruck swam 46.74, a great final NCAA swim for her. Amy Tang split 48.36, and Claire Curzan anchored in 46.85; a great split for her as well.
Louisville added .65 seconds from ACCs, but they still had plenty of room to spare as they finished almost a second ahead of NC State. Gabi Albiero posted 47.38, and then they got three 47-mid splits from the rest of their relay: Christiana Regenauer swam 47.24, Julia Dennis went 47.49, and Ella Welch brought them home in 47.46.
Indiana finished sixth out of heat three, closing out a strong championships for them. Aside from Virginia and Stanford, they were the only team in the top 8 that dropped from their seed.
Notably, both Alabama and LSU were disqualified.
FINAL FULL STANDINGS
- Virginia – 541.5
- Texas – 414.5
- Stanford – 333
- Louisville – 288
- NC State – 263
- Ohio State – 223
- Indiana – 219
- Tennessee – 214
- Florida – 179
- UNC-Chapel Hill – 152
- Cal – 137
- USC – 125
- LSU – 112
- Alabama – 111
- Wisconsin – 100
- Georgia – 90.5
- Minnesota – 53
- Arizona – 52
- Kentucky – 49
- Virginia Tech – 46
- Duke – 42
- Miami (FL) – 36
- Michigan – 33
- Purdue – 32
- Texas A&M – 26
- South Carolina – 25
- Arizona State – 19
- Northwestern/Arkansas – 18
- (tie)
- Auburn – 14
- Hawaii – 11.5
- Florida State – 11
- Miami (OH) – 9
- UCLA – 8
- Penn – 7
- Akron/Nevada – 5
- (tie)
- FIU – 4
- Georgia Tech/Utah – 2
- (tie)
The previous non-Virginia record was held by Bears Cal team consisting of Izzy Ivey (47.79), Katie McLaughlin (46.62), Amy Bilquist (46.48) and Abbey Weitzeil (46.07) combined time 3:06.96 at 2019 NCAA Division I Championships. The time did not count as an American Record because of Weitzeil’s wrapped arm.
Taylor Ruck, in the same race, split 45.65 for Cardinals who finished 3rd overall after Cal and Michigan,
Incroyable leadoff from KD after the 200Br.
Crazy respect for how much talent is on this UVA squad. I remember when Cal broke the record in 2019 I want to say and just being blown away by having a relay with 3 sub-47 splits with a freshman Ivey, who led-off with a 47 high and is now more than capable of a sub-47 leadoff let alone a sub-47 split. This Virginia group is just like “nah, we want a sub-46 too.” Just incredible stuff. I’m a firm believer that with a closer race that maybe they could have gone even faster. No disrespect to Amy Tang on the 3rd leg, but I’m only imagining what if Regan Smith didn’t turn pro and stayed on this relay. Sub… Read more »
A lovely 2nd place for the women’s Longhorns
— and with all that young talent returning,
they will be formidable for NCAA’s in 2024!
I can’t believe 2024 is next year
They underperformed
Who coaches Texas sprinters? Hmmmmmmmmm