2023 ACC SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Wake up everyone, college conference championship season is upon us! And while Night 1 of the ACC Championships will feature a less-than-busy schedule, it still promises plenty of excitement for swim fans and frantic texts for SwimSwam writers.
The excitement was to begin with the women’s 200 medley relay. Last year, the UVA women set the all-time record in that event at that meet, but NC State should have enough firepower to at least keep the Cavaliers honest. The NC State men swam one of the fastest times ever at the NCAAs last year, while Louisville set the competition record in 2022.
We wonder if we might see UVA pull out all the stops and top up the 800 free season as this is the only season where they don’t own the all-time mark. In the men’s game, it should be NC State’s race to lose, although the Cardinals usually have their A-game this season as well.
While swimming fans recover from some exciting competitions, attention should turn to diving as the top eight finishers from the preliminary rounds of the women’s 3m and men’s 1m will battle it out for the individual title and vital team points .
Women’s 200m Relay – Timed Final
- NCAA Record: 1:31.81, Virginia – 2022 ACC Championships
- ACC Record: 1:31.81, Virginia – 2022 ACC Championships
- ACC Championship Record: 1:31.81, Virginia (2022)
- NCAA A Average: 1:36.24
Top 8:
Well, that didn’t take long. Virginia broke all records in the second heat of the week, storming in the 200-medley relay to a 1:31.73. Gretchen Walsch led in 22.65 in what appears to be the fastest 50-yard back ever. Alex Walsch split 26.10 on the chest, Lexi Cuomo went to fly, and 22:49 Kate Douglas anchored in 20.49, which is among the fastest 50-yard free splits ever.
NC State placed 2nd in 1:33.02. Catherine Berkow led away in 23:22, followed by Heather MacCausland with a chest gap of 26.40. Kylee Alons delivered a huge 21.99 flysplit, the only leg on which the Wolfpack outperformed the Cavaliers. Abby Arenas anchored on 21.41.
Louisville was third in 1:34.23. The Cardinals had a great back half, eh Christian Regenauer Split 22.56 on the flying leg and Gaby Albiero anchored in 20.88. UNC placed 4th in 1:34.70, also under the NCAA A-cut.
Men’s 200m Individual Medley Relay – Timed Final
- NCAA record: 1:21.13, Florida – 2022 NCAA Championships
- ACC record: 1:21.69, NC State – 2022 NCAA Championships
- ACC Championship Record: 1:21.84, Louisville (2022)
- NCAA A Average: 1:23.76
Top 8:
NC State safely reclaimed the event title after being DQed for an early start last year. Kapper Stokowski started at 20.70 after I drove here at 20.58 last year. The Wolfpack had a huge improvement on their chest as Mason Hunter shared 23.07 compared to Rafal Kusto’s 23.60 last year. Nyls Korstanje has nearly doubled his fly split, up from 19.66 last year, to 19.72 today. David Curtis anchored in 18.76 after going at 18.04 last year but earned the DQ for an early start.
The Virginia Cavaliers advanced from 6th place last year (1:24.59) to 2nd place today (1:23.03). The big difference came on the back leg, where Matt Brownstead went on 12/21 after leaving at 10:20pm last year. Noah Nichols improved his breaststroke split tonight to a 23.09, almost matching Hunter. Max Edwards Split 20:28 on fly and August Lambfill in for those who are absent Matt Kinganchored in 18.54.
Louisville, last year’s champion, slipped to 3rd this year with a 1:23.59 after clocking a 1:21.84 in his 2022 win. student in the first year Charlie Crush then set off at 9.65pm Denis Petrashov Split 23.29 on the chest. So Dalton Lowe, who memorably shared 19.50 last year, went to 20.06 tonight Abdelrahman Elarby anchored in 18.59.
Pitt finished 4th in 1:23.98, improving almost a second from last year. The big difference came on the back leg, where Krzysztof Radziszewsk improved to 20.70 tonight from 21.38 last year. Notre Dame (1:24.36) and Virginia Tech (1:24.36) were also under the NCAA “B” cut.
Women’s 3m – Final
- ACC Record: 439.70, Abby Johnston (DUKE) – 2010 ACC Championships
- ACC Championship Record: 439.70, Abby Johnston (DUKE) – 2010 ACC Championships
Women’s 800m Free Relay – Timed Final
- NCAA record: 6:45.91, Stanford – 2017 NCAA Championships
- ACC Record: 6:52.56, Virginia – 2021 NCAA Championships
- ACC championship record: 6:53.27, Virginia (2022)
- NCAA A-average: 7:00.86
Men’s 800m Free Relay – Timed Final
- NCAA record: 6:03.89, Texas – 2022 NCAA Championships
- ACC record: 6:05.31 – 2018 NCAA Championships
- ACC championship record: 6:08.22, NC State (2022)
- NCAA A-cut: 6:16.02
Men’s 1m Diving – Final
- ACC Record: 499.94, Nick McCrory (DUKE) – 2010 ACC Championships
- ACC Championship Record: 499.94, Nick McCrory (DUKE) – 2010 ACC Championships