Last season, the Virginia women’s swimming and diving team had one main goal: to be the best squad in program history. Finishing fifth at NCAA Championships, the Cavalier women were able to accomplish that goal.
Whereas the goal was even more ambitious this season — finishing in the top four — the Virginia women placed fifth yet again at the NCAA Championships in Atlanta, Ga.
“We fell short of what our hopes and dreams were for this meet, but top five is still nothing to hang your head about,” Virginia coach Augie Busch said.
Last year, California, Georgia, Stanford and Texas A&M all finished ahead of the Cavaliers, respectively. This year, the same teams remained in the top four, with Georgia placing first (414 points) and Texas A&M (309 points) edging out Virginia for fourth place. The Cavaliers scored 264 points, falling short of its podium-finish goal.
“I think that if we’re disappointed with a fifth-place finish and not a top four finish that our standards are really high, and that says a lot for our program on the upswing,” junior Leah Smith said.
Smith, arguably the most dominant swimmer in Virginia history, proved to be the star of the meet for the Cavaliers. Winning both the 500 and 1,650-yard freestyle, Smith provided Virginia with its only victories.
“I really wanted to get all the points I could for our team and was just trying to repeat [my titles] again from last year,” Smith said.
After winning these two events, Smith now has four individual NCAA titles — more than any other Virginia student athlete and tied with former Clemson swimmer Mitzi Kremer (1987-89) for the second-most national titles in ACC women’s swimming and diving history.
“[Winning four individual titles] is rare not just in [Virginia] athletics history but in college swimming history as a whole,” Busch said.
While Smith has another year of competition on the team, this meet marked the end of several illustrious swimming careers. Senior Hanne Borgersen, an ACC Champion and Smith’s mile training partner, concluded her career with a 17th-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Also, senior Courtney Bartholomew, who claimed nine ACC individual titles during her time at the University, placed second in the 100 and the 200-yard backstroke.
“I cried after Courtney’s last race,” Smith said. “I was just so proud of her. Courtney’s always there, and she’s always about the team.”
The Cavalier women have had plenty to be proud of this season. They held a perfect 8-0 record in dual meets, reached No. 1 in the CSCAA Top 25 for the first time in program history and captured their ninth-consecutive ACC Championship.
By many measures, Virginia has had a successful season. However, the NCAA Championships have forced Busch to change how he sees success.
“Now we define success in a different way,” Busch said. “We define it in ways that have to do with this meet. That’s a positive cultural improvement.”
Next up, some members of the Virginia swimming and diving team will be competing for a chance to race in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The trials will take place in Omaha, Neb. from June 26-July 3. Smith said that is her main focus at the moment, but she still has her eyes on next season.
“The fifth-place finish has put a fire under us, and we know that we want more than that,” Smith said.
Busch, who will enter his fourth year at Virginia next year, plans on continuing to pursue the same team goal from this season, he said.
“Our goal from here on out is to finish in the top four at NCAAs and get a trophy,” Busch said. “To me, that’s the new standard for this program.”
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