For the fifth time in the same number of years, the Virginia women’s swim and dive team won the national championship in dominant fashion. The event, which was held from March 19–22 in Federal Way, Washington, consisted of twenty-one events across several disciplines. Athletes from forty-three teams from across the nation met to demonstrate their aquatic prowess in the pinnacle event of the collegiate swimming calendar. After four days of competition, however, it was the Cavaliers who prevailed. The Hoos were propelled largely by the sustained success of fourth-year Gretchen Walsh. She made headlines last summer after her 100-meter butterfly world record, and then again as part of the world record-setting relay teams in August. With four Olympic medals to her name already, Walsh is no stranger to the spotlight—or the podium. Over the course of the weekend, she walked away victorious in three different events: the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, and 100-yard freestyle.
Older sister Alex Walsh brought home hardware of her own, with a championship in the 100-yard breaststroke. Junior Claire Curzen added two of her own titles, winning the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events. Together, the Walsh sisters, Curzen, and Maxine Parker set an NCAA record in the 200-yard medley relay in dominant fashion, besting the runner-ups by nearly two seconds. In total, Virginia won a whopping ten events while setting three collegiate records in the process. Cumulatively throughout the weekend, the Cavaliers tallied 544 total points; by comparison, the runner-up Stanford Cardinal scored 417. Although trailing midway through day two, Virginia quickly pulled away as the meet progressed and won with authority.
Coach Todd DeSorbo’s swim team is actively cementing its place as one of the most superior programs in all of modern athletics. In the sport, the last five-peat occurred from 1992–1996 (Stanford), and no women’s swim program has ever won six national titles in a row. Virginia will seek to make history next year, but with several key staples to the roster graduating this spring, it will be up to DeSorbo and his staff to assemble a roster that will remain competitive nationally. On top of this, with Virginia “restructuring” the program in the years to come—including scrapping the diving program—it will be even more challenging to remain a contender. The program’s recent dominance, however, should remain a major pull factor in drawing elite swimmers to Charlottesville, and this weekend’s performance only strengthens this further.
The win marks UVA’s thirty-fifth national championship, moving into a tie for 14th place nationally across all sports. Virginia continuously shows its commitment to promoting athletes of all disciplines, evident across its sustained success in a diverse array of competition. Only the men’s lacrosse (7), soccer (7), and tennis (6) programs have contributed more to the university’s totals than the women’s swimming program has. If the past few years are any indication, however, women’s swimming may rise to the top in the near future. For now, though, Cavalier fans can revel in the sustained success of one of the most dominant athletic programs to ever grace the Commonwealth.
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