GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Virginia women and NC State men increased their leads on Day 4 of the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center (GAC). The Cavaliers have won 11 out of 12 possible gold medals to lead the women's competition with 1,178.5 points, while the Wolfpack leads the men's side with 1,063.5 after claiming seven gold medals through four days of swimming.
UVA's Alex Walsh dominated the women's 200-yard fly by setting the ACC Championships record in the first heat of the day at 1:52.05, before improving her time to own the NCAA, ACC, ACC Championships and pool record later in the evening, touching the wall at 1:49.16. Duke's Martina Peroni took second in 1:54.00, followed by the Cavaliers' Abby Harter in third at 1:54.81.
NC State earned its first gold on the women's side with Katharine Berkoff's five-peat in the 100-yard back with her 48.70 finish, etching her name in history as the first woman to win five consecutive golds in a single event at the ACC Championships. She also set a meet record in doing so. Her teammate Helen Noble took second as the Wolfpack went 1-2 with a 50.92 mark, followed by Virginia's Reilly Tiltmann in third (51.82).
Jasmine Nocentini of Virginia claimed the gold in the women's 100-yard breast, breaking the three-year old pool record with her time of 57.01. NC State's Abby Arens claimed her second medal of the ACC championships, finishing in second (58.74), followed by UVA's Emma Weber in third (58.81).
NC State freshman Baylee Cranford took home her first ACC Championships crown in the women's platform diving event, just edging out Louisville's Else Praasterink by six-tenths of a point. Cranford scored a 313.80 to Praasterink's 313.20. Georgia Tech's Anna Bradescu finished in third with 297.40 points.
The Pack went 1-2 again, this time in the men's 200-yard fly. Noah Bowers secured the gold for NC State's second consecutive title with a 1:39.65, the fourth fastest time in the country. Aiden Hayes finished behind him at 1:41.31, followed by UNC's Sebastian Lunak in 1:41.78.
NC State's Kacper Stokowski claimed his fourth-straight gold in the men's 100-yard back, touching the wall at 44.36. He's the first man to win four in a row at ACC Championships since UNC's Tommy Wyher did so from 2008-11. Virginia's Matt Brownstead placed second (45.26) and the Wolfpack's Hudson Williams finished two hundredths of a second later in third (45.28).
Noah Nichols brought the Virginia men their first gold of the meet in the 100-yard breast with a 50.89 finish. Virginia Tech's Carles Coll Marti collected his second silver medal (50.95), while Florida State's Peter Varjasi set the school record with his third-place finish (51.07).
The night was capped off with the women's and men's 400-yard medley relay, highlighted by Gretchen Walsh setting another American, US Open, NCAA, ACC, ACC Championships and pool record with her 100 back leadoff leg time of 48.10 - the fastest time ever in women's swimming history - to secure Virginia's fourth-straight victory in the event in 3:22.49. NC State claimed second place (3:28.23), followed by Louisville (3:30.28).
The NC State men earned their 16th first-place podium finish on the men's side, touching the wall at 3:02.20. Virginia Tech finished in second (3:02.76) and Notre Dame came in third (3:03.26), fueled by two-time ACC Champion Chris Guiliano's 40.17 100 free split on on the anchor leg.
In the men's exhibition team diving event, Pitt took first with 372.05 points, followed by Florida State in second (364.65) and Duke in third (334.60). Teams of three divers from six schools competed with each diver's best two dives and the score was determined by the team who earned the most points.
The final day of the 2024 ACC Championships begins Saturday at 9:30 a.m. with preliminary events, while the mile begins at 2:45 p.m., followed by the women's team diving event at 4 p.m., before Saturday'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 16 events)
1. Virginia, 1,178.5
2. NC State, 869
3. Louisville, 841
4. North Carolina, 627.5
5. Duke, 621.5
6. Florida State, 435
7. Virginia Tech, 429.5
8. Georgia Tech, 392
9. Notre Dame, 366
10. Pitt, 332
11. Miami, 299
Men’s Standings (through 15 events)
1. NC State, 1,063.5
2. Notre Dame, 746.5
3. Virginia Tech, 666.5
4. Louisville, 664
5. Florida State, 538
6. Virginia, 534.5
7. North Carolina, 529
8. Pitt, 438
9. Georgia Tech, 392
10. Duke, 198
11. Miami, 94
Schedule of Events
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.
Women'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