Virginia Women's Swim & Dive Wins Third Straight ACC Championship

The Cavaliers clinched the program's 13th ACC title in the last 15 seasons

Author:
Matt Newton
Updated:
Feb 19, 2022 11:23 PM EST
Original:
Feb 19, 2022

The Virginia women's swimming and diving team captured its third-consecutive ACC Championship on Saturday, capturing ACC titles in four events on the final day to seal the deal.

The Cavaliers came into Saturday's competition leading second-place NC State by just 35.5 points, as the Wolfpack made up some serious ground on Friday to make UVA earn the championship on Saturday.

Maddie Donohoe started the night off with a third-place finish in the timed finals of the women's 1650, finishing in 16:03.28

Reilly Tiltmann won the ACC title in the 200-yard backstroke, dethroning the three-time defending champion Emma Muzzy from NC State with a finish of 1:50.49, just ahead of Muzzy's 1:50.62.

Kate Douglass defended her ACC title in the 100-yard freestyle and teammate Gretchen Walsh finished right behind her in second place. It was an incredibly close finish, with Douglass (46.81), Walsh (46.86), and third-place finisher Katharine Berkhoff from NC State (46.89) all finishing within one-tenth of a second of each other.

Virginia went 1-3 in the 200-yard breaststroke, as Ella Nelson finished third and Alex Walsh took the ACC title with a mark of 2:03.02, beating NC State's Sophie Hansson (2:03.75), who was the three-time ACC defending champion in the event. Walsh's 2:03.02 finish is the third-fastest time ever recorded in the women's 200-yard breaststroke.

Finally, Virginia capped off the ACC Championship with a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay, completing the sweep of the relay events at the ACC Championships. Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh, Reilly Tiltmann, and Gretchen Walsh finished in 3:08.22, more than two seconds ahead of NC State to win the title.

Virginia won ACC titles in the following events over the five days at the ACC Championships:

400-yard freestyle relay: Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh, Reilly Tiltmann, Gretchen Walsh

200-yard backstroke: Reilly Tiltmann

100-yard freestyle: Kate Douglass

200-yard breaststroke: Alex Walsh

400-yard medley relay (American record): Gretchen Walsh, Alexis Wenger, Alex Walsh, Kate Douglass

200-yard medley relay (American record): Gretchen Walsh, Alexis Wenger, Lexi Cuomo, Kate Douglass

400-yard individual medley: Ella Nelson

100-yard butterfly: Kate Douglass

200-yard freestyle: Alex Walsh

200-yard freestyle relay (American record): Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh, Lexi Cuomo, Gretchen Walsh

50-yard freestyle: Kate Douglass

200-yard individual medley: Alex Walsh

500-yard freestyle: Emma Weyant

800-yard freestyle relay: Reilly Tiltmann, Ella Nelson, Ella Bathurst, Alex Walsh

Sophomore Alex Walsh was named the ACC Women's Most Valuable Swimmer after capturing three individual ACC titles as well as three more ACC titles as part of Virginia's relay teams.

Here are the final standings for the 2022 ACC Women's Swimming & Diving Championships:

Virginia – 1418.5
NC State – 1347
Louisville – 1136.5
North Carolina – 760
Duke – 709
Notre Dame – 651
Virginia Tech – 636
Florida State – 549
Miami – 411
Georgia Tech – 407
Pittsburgh – 328
Boston College – 178

Virginia has now won 13 of the last 15 ACC Women's Swimming & Diving Championships and the program has won 18 ACC Championships in its history.

The Virginia men's swimming and diving team finished fourth with 1041 points.

The NCAA Championships begin in March with the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships taking place March 7-9, the Women's NCAA Championships taking place March 16-19, and the Men's NCAA Championships taking place March 23-26th.

See more coverage of the 2022 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships here:

UVA Swimming & Diving Breaks Two American Records at the ACC Championships

UVA Women's Swim Sets Another American Record at the ACC Championships

Virginia Women's Swimming Sets Another American Record in the 400 Medley Relay

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