GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Four records were set on day two of the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center (GAC). Virginia owns a dominant lead on the women's side after winning all three swimming events on day two with 552 points, while NC State holds the lead on the men’s side with 531.5 points.
Gretchen Walsh made history with a 19.95 split in the second leg of Virginia's 200-yard free relay which set an NCAA, American, US Open, ACC, ACC Championships and GAC pool record with a 1:23.63 finish. Walsh is the first woman in swimming history to swim a sub-20 seconds split, beating her own previous record of 20.19 set in January. The Cavaliers broke the previous record, also set by Virginia, at the 2023 ACC Championships of 1:23.87 by over two seconds.
Louisville and NC State finished second and third in the women's 200 free relay, respectively, with their NCAA 'A' cut times of 1:25.39 and 1:26.24, respectively.
Virginia swept the women's 500-yard free with freshman Cavan Gormsen taking the gold with a 4:38.43 finish. Aimee Canny finished in second in 4:39.96 and Sophia Knapp completed the sweep in 4:40.26.
UVA's Alex Walsh added another podium finish to her career with a first-place swim in the women's 200-yard IM (1:51.76). The Cavaliers went 1-2 as Ella Nelson finished in second (1:54.21). Duke's Sarah Foley secured third place with her time of 1:55.12.
Gretchen Walsh wasn't done for the night, though, and swam the fastest women's 50-yard freestyle ever as she set her own NCAA, American, US Open, ACC, ACC Championship and GAC Pool Record with her time of 20.57.
The Cavaliers' Jasmine Nocentini claimed silver with her time of 21.13 and NC State's Katharine Berkoff grabbed the bronze, touching the wall at 21.23. With Louisville's Christina Renegauer's time of 21.46, each of the top four times qualified as NCAA 'A' cut times.
North Carolina's Aranza Vazquez Montaño repeated as the women's 1-meter diving champion with a 336.05 - the first back-to-back 1M champion since Virginia Tech's Kalyea Arnett in 2013-14. Louisville's Else Praasterink finished second with a score of 306.80, followed by Duke's Margo O'Meara in third with a 302.20.
The NC State men set another American Record - their second of the Championships - in the 200-yard free relay. Quintin McCarty, Larry Salls, Noah Henderson and Lukas Miller finished in 1:14.44 which also set an ACC Championships record as well as tying the conference record. The quartet beat the previous record set by NC State at the 2023 ACC Championships.
Louisville's Ilia Sibirtsev won the first gold of his career with the first-ever 500-yard freestyle victory for the Cardinals at the ACC Championships. He finished atop the podium with the second fastest time in Cardinal history at 4:14.41. NC State finished in second and third, with James Plage in second (4:14.72) and Owen Lloyd in third (4:14.87).
The Wolfpack was back on top with Arsenio Bustos going back-to-back in the men's 200-yard IM, claiming gold with a time of 1:40.75. Virginia Tech's Carles Coll Marti earned a second-place finish (1:41.51), followed by Virginia's Timothy Connery in third (1:41.86).
Notre Dame's Chris Guiliano set a meet record in the men's 50-yard free, touching the wall at 18.57. The reigning men's 50-yard free NCAA Champion Youssef Ramadan (VT) took second at 18.84 and Virginia's Matt Brownstead finished in third (18.86).
The championships continue Thursday at 9:30 a.m. with preliminary events and Wednesday's finals events start at 5:30 p.m. They will air live on ACC Network Extra and are also accessible via the WatchESPN app. Direct links to the ACCNX feeds and live swimming and diving results are available HERE.
Women’s Standings (through 8 events)
1. Virginia, 552
2. Louisville, 473.5
3. NC State, 418
4. Duke, 332
5. North Carolina, 328
6. Notre Dame, 274
7. Virginia Tech, 253.5
8. Florida State, 217
9. Pitt, 183
10. Georgia Tech, 177
11. Miami, 162
Men’s Standings (through 7 events)
1. NC State, 531.5
2. Notre Dame, 335.5
3. Louisville, 302
4. Virginia Tech, 298.5
5. Florida State, 292
6. Virginia, 249.5
7. Georgia Tech, 235
8. North Carolina, 223
9. Pitt, 193
10. Duke, 130
11. Miami, 54
Schedule of Events
Thursday, Feb. 22 - 9:30 a.m. - Prelims
400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, Men’s 3-Meter
Thursday, Feb. 22 - 5:30 p.m. - Finals
400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, Men’s 3-Meter
Friday, Feb. 23 - 9:30 a.m. - Prelims
200 Fly, 100 Back, 100 Breast, Women’s Platform
Friday, Feb. 23 - 4 p.m.
Women's Team Diving Event
Friday, Feb. 23 - 5:30 p.m. - Finals
200 Fly, 100 Back, 100 Breast, Women’s Platform, 400 Medley Relay
Saturday, Feb. 24 - 9:30 a.m. - Prelims
200 Back, 100 Free, 200 Breast, Men’s Platform
Saturday, Feb. 24 - 2:15 p.m. - Finals
1650 Free (Early Heats-Finals)
Saturday, Feb. 24 - 4 p.m.
Men's Team Diving Event
Saturday, Feb. 24 - 5:30 p.m. - Finals
1650 Free, 200 Back, 100 Free, 200 Breast, Men’s Platform, 400 Free Relay