Friday afternoon in Chapel Hill, N.C, No. 1 Virginia women’s swimming and diving team arrived prepared to take the South’s oldest rivalry to the pool. On the other end of the deck sat No. 21 North Carolina, hoping to shock the swimming world and pull off a massive upset to open ACC play. Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, the four-time national champions do not go down easily. The Cavalier women protected their title in commanding fashion, winning 213.5-85.5. The men’s team competed as well but not to the same level of success as their counterparts.
The meet began as expected for the women’s team. As they dove off the blocks for the 200-meter medley relay, it seemed it was a matter of strokes before the race was all but over. That tends to happen when superstar senior Gretchen Walsh kicks things off, and she soared through the pool with a 22.96-second backstroke leg. Her teammates had her back the rest of the way, with junior Emma Weber following for the breaststroke leg and then sophomore Claire Curzan completing a scorching butterfly leg. By the time freshman Anna Moesch dropped in to anchor the team, there was little left for her to do. She touched the wall after her final lap nearly six seconds before a Tar Heel team followed.
Sophomore Claire Curzan had an outstanding day, contributing to a relay win and tacking on individual wins in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke events. Her dominance was clear for all to see, finishing so far ahead of the competition that she could watch the rest of the field complete their final laps. Her 100-yard time came in at 50.54 seconds, while her 200-yards were completed in 1:51.84 — over four seconds ahead of the second place finisher. This just continued the great start she got off to in the first meet of the year against Florida, as she looks poised to have a big year. She has won all eight races she has swum this season.
Of course, Walsh could not help but dazzle the North Carolina crowd. She looked simply in a league of her own in the 50-yard freestyle as her impressive dive start nearly carried her the length of the pool. After a ferocious turn, she sprinted towards the finish with a mixture of grace and ease. She was clocked in at 20.84 seconds. Walsh reentered the pool for the 100-yard butterfly, and the result would be more of the same. As the announcer put it after Walsh’s 22-second 50-yard split, “The fight is for second place.” Walsh exploded to the finish line with a time of 48.43, giving her about four and a half seconds of peace before the rest of the swimmers finally caught up to her. Just like Curzan, she has now won all eight of the races she has swum this season.
Junior Aimee Canny was another bright spot for the team, collecting two wins in the meet. She got off to a great start in the 200-yard freestyle and fended off Tar Heel senior Georgia Nel’s late push, beating her out by just under a second. She then continued her winning ways in the 200-yard breaststroke, with her teammates hooting and hollering each time she rose above the surface of the water. With the pool deck’s support, she shot out to a substantial lead and held it the whole way through, finishing with a time of 2:07.60.
In the 200-yard individual medley, Canny fell behind teammate and freshman Leah Hayes on the opening leg. However, after a strong breaststroke leg from Canny, the two were neck and neck for the remainder of the race. As they made the turn and switched to freestyle, Hayes was able to defend the minuscule lead she had and reached the wall just before Canny. The win was decided by less than a second and clinched Hayes’ first collegiate victory.
Weber, after helping the relay medley team earn a victory, collected a win herself in the 100-yard breaststroke, a race that came down to the wire. Her time of 58.77 seconds was just enough to edge out North Carolina senior Skyler Smith, who finished a mere 0.36 seconds behind. Graduate student Maxine Parker contributed to the 200-yard freestyle relay victory while also finishing first in the 100-yard freestyle individually. Sophomore Tess Howley and junior Sophia Knapp helped the team as well, with Howley winning the 200-yard butterfly and Knapp taking the 1,000-yard freestyle.
The North Carolina women were simply outclassed by the Cavaliers, and it showed, as Virginia did not lose a single event in the meet. If anything, today proved that this team is certainly more than capable of hoisting a fifth consecutive trophy and cementing themselves as one of the great college dynasties. They will move to 2-0 on the year, while the Tar Heels drop to 1-2.
The No. 14-ranked men’s team did not find the same success as the women's team, falling to the unranked Tar Heels. Junior Jack Aikins was the lone highlight for the Cavaliers, winning the 200-yard backstroke and finishing second in the 100-yard backstroke. The men were hoping for a bounceback performance after losing to Florida but could not find it, losing 208.5-91.5.
This marks the final dual meet of the calendar year, and Virginia’s next action will take place at the Tennessee Invite Nov. 20-22, a three-day meet featuring some of the top teams in the nation.
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