UVA Women’s Swimming and Diving Set Sights on Fourth Straight NCAA Title
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The top-ranked Virginia women’s swimming and diving team will compete in the 2024 NCAA Division I Championships Wednesday (March. 20) through Saturday (March 23) at the Jack Bauerle Pool at the Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Georgia. A total of 18 competitors will represent UVA as the Cavaliers attempt to win their fourth consecutive NCAA team title.
The 18 Cavaliers are scheduled to participate in 41 individual events (including diving). Nine of the 18 qualified in three individual events and five made two individual events. Virginia has nine competitors in the field who have earned All-America honors during their careers.
Virginia will have relay teams in all five events (200 medley, 800 free, 200 free, 400 medley and 400 free). Those lineups will be determined in advance of the championships.
Wednesday will kick off the Championships with two relay finals beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday-Saturday will begin with prelims at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m. each day.
HOW TO FOLLOW
All sessions will be televised live on ESPN+ for authenticated subscribers. Links for the live stream and live results are available on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also follow along on Meet Mobile app.
GOING FOR FOUR
UVA will be attempting to become the first school since 1996 to win four consecutive NCAA team titles. Stanford won five straight team championships from 1992 to 1996. Texas is the only other program to claim four-or-more consecutive titles after winning the championships in five consecutive seasons from 1984 to 1988.
ORDER OF EVENTS
Wednesday: 200 medley relay, 800 free relay
Thursday: 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, 1-meter diving, 200 free relay,
Friday: 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 3-meter diving, 400 medley relay
Saturday: 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, platform diving, 400 free relay
SCHEDULED TO COMPETE FOR THE HOOS
Izzy Bradley (100 back), Aimee Canny (500 free, 200 free, 200 breast), Cavan Gormsen (500 free, 200 free, 1650 free), Abby Harter (200 IM, 200 fly), Tess Howley (200 back, 200 fly), Lizzy Kaye (1-meter, 3-meter, platform diving), Anna Keating (400 IM, 200 breast), Sophia Knapp (500 free), Ella Nelson (200 IM, 400 IM, 200 breast), Jasmine Nocentini (50 free, 100 breast, 100 free), Carly Novelline (100 fly, 100 back), Maxine Parker (50 free, 200 free, 100 free), Maggie Schalow (200 fly), Zoe Skirboll (100 breast), Reilly Tiltmann (200 free, 100 back, 200 back), Alex Walsh (200 IM, 400 IM, 200 breast), Gretchen Walsh (50 free, 100 fly, 100 free) and Emma Weber (100 breast, 200 breast).
RETURING INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS
A total of six Cavaliers return to the championships as NCAA Champions. That group has a combined 32 NCAA gold medals. That list includes Canny, Nelson, Parker, Tiltmann and Alex and Gretchen Walsh. Alex Walsh tops that group with 13 individual and relay titles during her UVA career. Gretchen Walsh has 11 NCAA first-place finishes.
Career NCAA Championships
Alex Walsh (13)
200 IM (2021, 2022), 400 IM (2022, 2023), 200 fly (2022), 200 free Relay (2022), 400 free Relay (2022, 2023), 800 free Relay (2021, 2023), 400 Medley Relay (2022, 2023), 200 Medley Relay (2023)
Gretchen Walsh (11)
100 free (2022, 2023), 100 back (2023), 200 free Relay (2022, 2023), 400 free Relay (2022, 2023), 200 Medley Relay (2022, 2023), 400 Medley Relay (2022, 2023)
Aimee Canny (2)
800 free Relay (2023), 400 Medley Relay (2023)
Ella Nelson (2)
800 free Relay (2021, 2023)
Maxine Parker (2)
200 free Relay (2023), 400 free Relay (2023)
Reilly Tiltmann (2)
400 free Relay (2022), 800 free Relay (2023)
ZONE DIVING RECAP
For the second consecutive year, Virginia’s Elizabeth Kaye qualified for all three diving events at NCAA Championships. She repeated as the Zone A 3-meter diving champion (642.45), was the runner-up in the 1-meter competition (587.70) and had a third-place showing in the platform competition (496.95).
LAST YEAR’S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
Virginia became the fifth program to win three consecutive NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. UVA joined Texas, Stanford, Georgia and Auburn as three-peat champions. The Cavaliers totaled 541.5 points with 11 total wins, sweeping all five relay races and adding six individual NCAA Championships. UVA becomes just the fourth program to win all five relays at the NCAAs. The 11 wins matches UVA’s 11 victories from 2022 when the Cavaliers totaled 551.5 points. The last time a team won three-straight NCAA Champions was Stanford’s 2017-2019 team with multiple-time champions Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel and Ella Eastin.
Senior Kate Douglass led Virginia with three individual wins, winning the 200-yard IM, 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard breaststroke, all in NCAA, American and US Open record times. Douglass finished her career with seven individual NCAA Championships, sweeping all three events in 2022 and 2023.
2023 TOTAL INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS
Kate Douglass: 200 IM, 100 fly, 200 breast
Gretchen Walsh: 100 back, 100 free
Alex Walsh: 400 IM
2023 RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS
200 medley relay (Gretchen Walsh, Alex Walsh, Lexi Cuomo, Kate Douglass)
800 free relay (Aimee Canny, Alex Walsh, Reilly Tiltmann, Ella Nelson)
200 free relay (Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Lexi Cuomo, Maxine Parker)
400 medley relay (Gretchen Walsh, Alex Walsh, Kate Douglass, Aimee Canny)
400 free relay (Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh, Maxine Parker, Gretchen Walsh)
AMERICAN (SCY) AND NCAA RECORDS HELD BY UVA SWIMMING
Event Name Time Meet
50 Free Gretchen Walsh 20.57+^ 2024 ACC Championships
100 Free Gretchen Walsh 45.16+^ 2024 ACC Championships
100 Back Gretchen Walsh 48.10+^ 2024 ACC Championships
200 Breast Kate Douglass# 2:01.29+^ 2023 NCAA Championships
100 Fly Gretchen Walsh 48.25+^ 2024 ACC Championships
200 Fly Gretchen Walsh 1:49.16^ 2024 ACC Championships
200 IM Kate Douglass# 1:48.37+^ 2023 NCAA Championships
200 FR Kate Douglass#, 1:23.87+ 2023 ACC Championships
Gretchen Walsh, Lexi Cuomo#, Alex Walsh
200 FR Jasmine Nocentini, 1:23.63^ 2024 ACC Championships
Gretchen Walsh, Alex Walsh, Maxine Parker
400 FR Kate Douglass#, 3:05.84+^ 2023 NCAA Championships
Alex Walsh, Maxine Parker, Gretchen Walsh
200 MR Gretchen Walsh, 1:31.73+^ 2023 ACC Championships
Alex Walsh, Lexi Cuomo#, Kate Douglass#
400 MR Gretchen Walsh, 3:22.34+^ 2022 ACC Championships
Alexis Wenger, Alex Walsh, Kate Douglass#
400 MR Gretchen Walsh, 3:21.80^ 2023 ACC Championships
Alex Walsh, Kate Douglass, Aimee Canny
+ American (SCY) Record
^ NCAA Record
# Graduated
HOOS IN THE TOP FIVE of NCAA RANKINGS
Event Rank Name Time
50 Free 1 Gretchen Walsh 20.57
2 Jasmine Nocentini 21.13
10 Maxine Parker 21.75
100 Free 1 Gretchen Walsh 45.16
4 Jasmine Nocentini 46.75
200 Free 1 Gretchen Walsh 1:40.23
500 Free 6 Aimee Canny 4:36.26
100 Back 1 Gretchen Walsh 48.10
5 Claire Curzan* 50.30
200 Back 1 Claire Curzan* 1:49.04
6 Alex Walsh 1:50.18
7 Reily Tiltmann 1:50.64
100 Breast 3 Jasmine Nocentini 57.01
7 Alex Walsh 57.89
200 Breast 1 Alex Walsh 2:02.24
3 Ella Nelson 2:04.29
7 Anna Keating 2:06.74
100 Fly 1 Gretchen Walsh 48.25
2 Claire Curzan* 50.21
200 Fly 1 Alex Walsh 1:49.16
200 IM 1 Alex Walsh 1:51.76
3 Gretchen Walsh 1:52.34
9 Ella Nelson 1:53.60
400 IM 1 Alex Walsh 4:00.52
9 Ella Nelson 4:03.61
200 FR 1 UVA 1:23.63
400 FR 1 UVA 3:07.34
800 FR 1 UVA 6:46.28
200 MR 2 UVA 1:33.69
400 MR 1 UVA 3:22.49
* Not participating at NCAAs
ACC RECAP
Thanks to a sweep in the five swimming events during the final night of competition at the ACC Championships, Virginia won its fifth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference title and smashed the league’s all-time championship scoring mark in the process. The title was the 20th in the Cavalier program’s history. The UVA women totaled 1637.5 points, besting the mark of 1615 set by the NC State men’s team during the 2023 championship.
The Cavalier women won a total of 17 events over the five-day championship. Gretchen Walsh set four NCAA records at the meet with new standards in the 50 free (20.57), the 100 fly (48.25) and the 200 free relay (1:23.63) and 100 free (45.16). Walsh was named the ACC’s most valuable swimmer. During the course of the meet, she won a total of seven gold medals to raise her career total to 16.
Alex Walsh also picked up an individual gold (200 breast) and relay first-place victory to up her career ACC gold medal count to 26, the most ever by a Cavalier, topping former UVA standout Kate Douglass’ previous record of 25.
UVA’s win in the 400 free relay squad to end the meet was the program’s 24th relay win in the last 25 contested at ACC Championship competition.
LOOKING BACK AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Two members from the current UVA rosters are not competing this year for the Cavaliers while focusing on the World Championships and U.S. Olympic trials. That includes junior Jack Aikins and sophomore Claire Curzan. They teamed up with former Wahoo Kate Douglass to compete for Team USA at the recently completed World Aquatic Championships in Doha, Qatar. That trio combined to earn 15 medals for the Team USA.
World Championship Cavalier Final Medal Tally: 15
Gold: 200 IM (Douglass), 50 Back (Curzan), 100 Back (Curzan), 200 Back (Curzan), Mixed 4×100 Medley (Curzan, Douglass, Aikins), Men’s 4×100 Medley Relay (Aikins)
Silver: 100 Fly (Curzan), 200 Breaststroke (Douglass), 50 Free (Douglass)
Bronze: 4×100 Free Relay (Aikins), Mixed 4×100 Free Relay (Aikins, Curzan, Douglass)
Other Worlds Highlights:
- Claire Curzan was named the Best Female Swimmer at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships. Over the course of the eight-day meet, Curzan won a total of six medals: four gold, one silver and one bronze.
- Kate Douglass set an American record (23.91) in the 50M Freestyle on the final day of competition
- Curzan became the third swimmer in World Championships history to sweep the 50, 100, and 200 distances of a single stroke (backstroke).
- All three members of the Virginia swimming contingent won gold in the Mixed 4x100M Medley Relay. Curzan and Douglass swam the final two legs in the final while Aikins swam the leadoff backstroke leg in the preliminaries.
- Since taking over the UVA program in 2017, Cavaliers have won 25 gold medals at the competition.