Virginia Swim and Dive hosted the Cavalier Invite over the weekend and yet again showed its depth in a dominating performance. Ranked No. 1 on the women’s side and No. 20 on the men’s, both teams have had impressive seasons that they are hoping to continue into the ACC Championships later this month. Over the three-day Invite, the Cavaliers notched 64 personal bests and five Aquatic and Fitness Center Pool Records. Notably, United States National Team member junior Jack Aikins did not swim as he is taking a gap year to prepare for the Summer Olympics. The meet was held in the NCAA Championship style and included all NCAA Championship events. The field consisted of 11 teams, which alongside Virginia, included Duke, George Washington, Johns Hopkins, North Carolina, South Carolina, St. Bonaventure, Army, North Carolina Wilmington, Richmond and William & Mary.
Day 1 - Friday
Virginia opened day one of the invite with a bang, winning six events and setting two AFC pool records. Nine Cavaliers set personal best marks in the morning preliminary races, including junior Gretchen Walsh, who swam a blistering 1:54.71 in the 200-yard individual medley, the third-best time for the Cavaliers this season.
The day one finals also saw a 200-yard freestyle relay composed of senior Matt Brownstead, juniors Connor Boyle and Tim Connery and graduate student August Lamb that set an AFC pool record of 1:16.37. Brownstead’s opening leg also established a pool record in the 50-yard freestyle.
The Cavaliers also shone in the 500-yard freestyle. On the women’s side, Virginia swept the event and was led by sophomore Aimee Canny, who swam a 4:38.58 followed by junior Kate Morris at 4:45.73 and freshman Lainey Mullins at 4:49.23. On the men’s side, junior Peter Thompson won the race with a time of 4:22.16 followed by freshman Jack Berube, who swam a personal best of 4:26.81.
In typical fashion, Gretchen Walsh delivered another exceptional performance in the finals, swimming another personal best of 1:52.34 to win the 200-yard individual medley by seven seconds. Her time set the new national lead in the event for the season, surpassing senior Alex Walsh’s season-best 1:52.59, and is third-all time for Virginia. After the weekend, Gretchen Walsh now owns five of the season’s national leads. For the men, senior Jack Moore swam a personal best of 1:46.65 to claim victory in the event, followed by sophomore Matthew Heilman, who also swam a personal best of 1:47.29.
The Cavaliers closed out the night’s finals with the 50-yard freestyle, which freshman Aimee Crosbie won for the women in a quick 22.60, followed by sophomore Izzy Bradley, who swam a personal best of 23.01. For the men, sophomore Patrick Gilhool finished in the runner-up position behind North Carolina Wilmington, swimming a 20.57. Overall, six victories on the day marked a strong start to the meet for the red-hot Cavaliers.
Day 2 - Saturday
Virginia picked up right where it left off on the second day of the meet. Alex Walsh kicked things off, setting a pool record in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 57.89. Although she did not swim in the finals, graduate student Jasmine Nocentini matched that mark to claim victory for the Cavaliers. The men also found success in the 100-yard breaststroke finals, sweeping the event led by senior Noah Nichols at 51.83.
Brownstead set a pool record in the 100-yard backstroke, with a blistering 45.52, winning the event. Alex Walsh, in a time trial, claimed another AFC record when she swam a 1:50.18 in the 200-yard backstroke, the third-fastest time for Virginia in school history.
Senior Sam Baron swam to first place for the women in the 100-yard Butterfly with a time of 52.54. On the men’s side, freshman Simon Lins won with a time of 47.74, followed closely by Gilhool.
In another dominating performance, the women swept the podium of the 200-yard freestyle, led by freshman Cavan Gormsen at 1:45.28. Gormsen has had a phenomenal first season and this was the second time she had won the event this year. Overall, the second day proved to be just as successful for the Virginia squad as the first, with nine more events won and three more AFC pool records set.
Day 3 - Sunday
Hot after two days of racing, Virginia closed out the Cavalier Invite Sunday with eight more wins and a slew of personal bests. Several Cavaliers set personal bests during the morning’s preliminary races yet again, including Bradley, sophomore Teddy Cross and Berube who set personal bests in the 200-yard backstroke preliminaries.
To kick off the finals for the day, Thompson won the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:17.02. Building off of the personal best she set in preliminaries, Bradley set another one in the 200-yard backstroke finals at 1:54.99 to win the event. Cross also took victory in that event for the men.
In the 100-yard freestyle, Crosbie earned a win by swimming a personal best 49.48, while freshman Noah Dyer matched his personal best 44.38 to win. Senior Anna Keating and graduate student Will Tenpas claimed victory in their respective 200-yard breaststroke finals as well. To close out the meet, Baron placed first in the 200-yard butterfly, bringing Virginia’s win count to 23, finishing an excellent weekend.
Overall, the women’s team placed first at the meet, collecting 808.6 points, well ahead of second-place North Carolina’s 726.1. The women’s score is a testament to the dominance they have exhibited throughout the season and over the past three years in which they have been National Champions. The men finished second behind the Naval Academy who collected 764 points to Virginia’s 749.1 in a close race. These results bode well for both teams with championship season quickly approaching.
“If this weekend is any indication of how the rest of the championship season will go, we’re really excited about what’s to come,” Coach Todd DeSorbo said.
The Cavaliers will next travel to the ACC Championships beginning Feb. 20, with the first round of preliminary racing scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. The women’s team has won the last four ACC Championships, while the men have not won since 2013 and will be looking to improve on last year’s fourth place performance. Both teams have had very successful seasons thus far and are likely to be successful in carrying their momentum into the upcoming championships.
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