Flashing lights, a brand new orange NCAA Championship banner and rowdy fans — that is exactly what Virginia envisioned heading into its only official home dual meet Friday against North Carolina.
The Cavaliers got just that. In a fiery, competitive atmosphere, Virginia came out on top on both the men’s and women’s sides, with the men eking out a one-point victory.
Friday’s matchup began with a morning exhibition session, distance session and diving competition for the Tar Heels. Because the Tar Heels were able to put up diving points before the afternoon finals session — and the diver-less Cavaliers could not — North Carolina began with 32 extra points on both the men’s and women’s sides.
This did not matter for the No. 1 ranked Cavalier women, who won every event they competed in and secured a 203-90 victory. However, the 32-point lead for the Tar Heel men did make for a close showdown for the No. 13 ranked Cavalier men, as they were down by five points heading into the final relay and ended up securing just enough points to outdo North Carolina in a 145-144 victory.
Top performances by freshman Maximus Williamson, senior Aimee Canny, sophomore David King, junior Claire Curzan, freshman Thomas Heilman and the women’s 200 freestyle relay squad contributed to the seven Aquatic & Fitness Center pool records that were shattered on this October evening — showcasing the Cavaliers’ early competitive speed and excitement that they hope to carry with them into the spring.
Another highlight from Saturday’s dual was freshman Sara Curtis putting down a roaring time of 21.18, which places her as the top performer in the nation for the women’s 50 freestyle this season and makes her the 12th fastest woman in NCAA history in this event. Curtis’ time Friday morning would have secured third place at last year’s NCAA’s — just behind her current teammate Curzan as well as Class of 2025 alumna Gretchen Walsh.
Graduate Bryan Greenwaldt’s time of 21.76 puts her at number three in the country right now for the women’s 50 freestyle. Both Curtis and Greenwaldt yet again reveal early prominence and continued dominance for the Cavalier women.
Williamson also shined, setting an AFC pool record in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:32.32. Heilman, his freshman counterpart, secured his No. 2 spot in the nation in the 100 fly, putting up a time of 44.59 which was also a pool record for the AFC.
In a slew of individual victories and pool records from both sides, Curzan and King also secured wins in the 200 backstroke and each set AFC pool records. The dual was a breezy victory for the women, but heading into the final relay, the Cavalier men were down by five points. Coach DeSorbo emphasized that the competitiveness of a meet like this should encourage the men to swim even faster.
“I told the guys before the meet, I was like, ‘It's gonna be close. It's probably gonna come down to the last relay … So just do your job through the meet so that we do have the chance to win the relay and win it [the meet] on the last relay,’” DeSorbo said. “And that's always fun. It's exciting.”
Not only did the Cavalier men win on the last relay, but they did so by nearly three seconds. Williamson even set the pool record in his leadoff swim of 42.09, which allowed the rest of the squad — including Heilman, Nicholas and Howat — to put up similar times and outrace the Tar Heels to the victory.
Though the Cavalier women swept every event they swam including the final relay alongside the men, DeSorbo noted that they have their eyes set on national competition. Other competitors such as Stanford, California, UC Berkeley, Texas and Tennessee competed this weekend and will be key indicators of the Cavalier women’s trajectory for NCAAs in the spring.
“I told our women … it's not necessarily about UNC or the person that's next to [you on] the block…. This is about the rest of the country,” DeSorbo said.
DeSorbo reflected upon the success of this year’s only home dual meet, emphasizing the at-home atmosphere that was created through music, fans and the competition that the Tar Heels brought to Charlottesville.
“There was a lot of energy, it was really loud, the DJ was amazing … the event itself was awesome. I think it brought a lot of energy. Both sides really performed a lot better than we had really hoped. And you know, I think anytime there are a lot of pool records broken … it means a lot,” DeSorbo said.
All in all, the Cavaliers have continued to reveal early dominance from both the men’s and women’s sides of the pool. With the next competition coming up at the inaugural CSCAA Power 4 Dual Meet Challenger Nov. 21-23 in Knoxville, Tenn., Virginia will have an opportunity to race Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC teams.
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