‘Limitless’ Virginia Cavaliers Sail to Fifth Consecutive Women’s National Title
This season, the University of Virginia coaching staff under eighth-year leader Todd DeSorbo took on the preposterous task of motivating a team considered a lock to win a national title. Superstar sisters Gretchen Walsh and Alex Walsh returned for their final seasons after already winning 14 combined individual national titles and pacing 14 relay conquests. Highly-touted Olympians Katie Grimes and Claire Curzan joined the college roster for the first time.
The Cavaliers entered the season owning the fastest times ever in seven out of 13 individual events contested on the NCAA level, and Curzan made it eight at midseason when she became the first woman ever under 1:47 in the 200 backstroke. The team now owns the fastest time ever in all five women’s relays, adding the 800 free mark to the list of 200 and 400-yard standards at last month’s ACC Championships.
On the eve of the NCAA Championships, what was left to accomplish? Virginia decided to aim for a set of ridiculous performances, to light the college swimming world on fire one last time before the Walsh sisters entered the professional swimming ranks.
Maxine Parker, a fifth-year sprint freestyle specialist who has taken part in the last three wins since transferring into the program, summarized the mindset by tweaking a popular adage: “Todd’s been telling us to reach for the stars. If you reach for the stars and you land on the moon, you still did great. Just having high expectations, high goals, and if you aren’t all the way there, it’s still a great meet.”
That turned out to be the story of the week in Federal Way, Wash., with Virginia not quite reaching its usual jaw-dropping form but still providing enough key moments to make history. Gretchen Walsh needed three tries to tie her American and NCAA records in the 50 free, but she came back a day later to become the first woman under 47 in the 100 butterfly. Another record followed in the 100 freestyle. Her older sister was unable to win a fourth national crown in the 200 IM but came through for a dominant performance in the 100 breaststroke.
Curzan shined in her first NCAA Championships with the team, sweeping the backstroke events and finishing second in the 50 free. Grimes had an off-meet, but fellow freshman Anna Moesch reached a pair of A-finals while taking her place alongside her decorated teammates on three national-title relays (out of the four Virginia relay wins). Parker, Cavan Gormsen, Leah Hayes, Aimee Canny and Tess Howley finished top-eight in at least one event apiece.
The result was 544 points, 127 ahead of second-place Stanford. The Cavaliers have now eclipsed 500 points at the NCAA Championships each of the last four seasons, and this year’s total was the second-most in their run behind the 551.5 points scored in 2022. Stanford scored 417 points to hold off Texas, which came in at 394. The Longhorns finished in the top-three for the fifth consecutive season. Indiana edged Florida for fourth, 312 to 298, with Florida (232), Louisville (209.5), Cal (202.5), Michigan (196) and NC State (164) rounding out the top-10.
Gretchen Walsh and Anna Moesch celebrate after a Virginia relay victory — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
The win brought history as Virginia becoming the second team to win five consecutive team titles in women’s swimming and diving, tying the record set by Stanford from 1992 through 1996. The title is also the fifth in program history, with Virginia never having finished first or second at the national meet prior to the 2021 season.
“Obviously we had a pretty big goal coming in. I always try to phrase it with them, ‘Let’s try to beat our seed times’ or ‘Can we get to 500 points?’ That kind of thing. Overall, it was a successful meet. It’s never going to be perfect. It wasn’t perfect. No team is every perfect at this competition,” DeSorbo said. “Really pleased with how the entire week went. A lot of great surprises, a lot of fun swims. It’s been a long week, but it’s been fun.
Gretchen Walsh finishes her college career having made a real case as the greatest yards swimmer ever, her accomplishments rivaling or perhaps surpassing the likes of Tracy Caulkins, Ryan Lochte, Caeleb Dressel and Leon Marchand, and her older sister ended up winning individual titles in five different events, with at least one victory during each of her five NCAA Championships.
“The Walshes have just meant so much to our program and to me,” DeSorbo said. “We’ve had a great connection… Just to have athletes who perform at that level who are good people and you just want to be around, they’re really amazing. They do elevate people around them, not just because they’re fast.
For Gretchen, the last four years have been defined by a relentless pursuit of the unthinkable as she annihilated the national records in four events. Most notably, she lowered the all-time standard in the 100 fly by almost one-and-a-half seconds within the past two years, taking an already-impressive mark of 48.46 all the way down to 46.97.
“I try to see myself and our team as limitless,” Gretchen said. “These goals, they don’t need to have any ceiling. I just think if I can just keep shooting to be my best, look for best times, something cool will come out of that, and hat’s kind of where the goals all stem from. It’s kind of hard setting lofty goals because you don’t want to be upset with not achieving them when (saying) you want to do them is crazy to people. I think that’s something that I’m working with. It’s definitely a privilege to be able to speak some of these goals into existence, whether I achieve them or not.”
That notion of pursuing such ridiculous swims has been contagious, helping to lift the Cavaliers with the excitement of what could be rather than weighing them down with pressure.
“I think it’s good for me,” Curzan said. “I heard Regan (Smith) say in an interview a couple years ago she doesn’t like to say goals because she doesn’t want to put a ceiling on herself, which I think works for some, but I think for me, as Gretchen said, the loftier goals are fun. Todd has a fast watch, so it’s more achievable in practice. It’s fun to think that you can do these cool things, and if it happens in a race, awesome, but also if you fall just shy, that’s still a really good time.”
About that historic streak: Stanford nearly made it six in a row before falling 11 points behind USC at the 1997 championships. The Cardinal would get back on top in 1998, and the program’s 11 titles are the most all-time. Next season, Virginia is expected to return most of its main contributors to this latest title roster, with two Walsh-sized exceptions. The chase for sole possession of the longest national winning streak in women’s swimming history will be far more challenging than any of the previous wins.
Saturday night closed out the Walsh-dominated chapter of college swimming history. The chase for limitless performances may not have yielded the typical total of earth-shattering swims, but the sisters and this UVA team have firmly secured their place in swimming lore.
“I don’t know that we’ll ever be able to beat it,” DeSorbo said. “Obviously, I think the future will be very different. Next year will be the first time in five years we’re without a Walsh or a (Kate) Douglass. It will be a different dynamic for our program. New challenges bring more excitement and more fun, so I’m looking forward to that. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we’d be in the position we are. It’ll be hard to beat, but it’s a great feeling for sure.
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 21 1. Virginia 544 2. Stanford 417 3. Texas 394 4. Indiana 312 5. Tennessee 298 6. Florida 232 7. Louisville 209.5 8. California 202.5 9. Michigan 196 10. NC State 164 11. Southern California 130 12. Wisconsin 126 13. Miami (Fl) 75.5 14. Ohio St 66 15. Alabama 65 16. Georgia 58 17. UNC 57 18. Purdue 53 19. Arizona St 41.5 20. Virginia Tech 37 21. Duke 33 22. Lsu 32 23. Brigham Young 29 24. South Carolina 28 25. Kansas 25 26. Texas A&M 22 27. Minnesota 21 27. Pittsburgh 21 29. Arizona 20 30. Siu 17 31. Houston 16 32. Cincinnati 15 33. Washington St. 14 34. Nebraska 13 35. Auburn 10 36. Florida St 8 37. UCLA 7 38. Princeton 6 38. Ohio 6 40. Arkansas 4 41. Rutgers 2 41. Akron 2 43. Fresno State 1
