Virginia swimming experienced a tale of two meets Saturday in Christiansburg, Va. The No. 1 Cavalier women broke as many pool records as they have national championships, decimating the Hokie women 201-87. The No. 21 men were upset by an unranked Virginia Tech squad, echoing last year’s disappointment in the same annual dual. The result kept the women unbeaten at 7-0, while the men fell to 2-5 in dual-meet action.
In 2025, the then-No. 17 Cavalier men fell to the No. 19 Hokies on Senior Day in Charlottesville. This time around, they came up short once again on the road, dropping a 157-104 decision to their underdog rivals — even with the Virginia Tech men’s divers exhibitioning the 1-meter and 3-meter events, thus earning no points on the platforms.
Virginia’s women wasted no time setting the tone for their meet, blitzing the opening 200-yard medley relay in a pool record time of 1:36.20. In fact, all three Cavalier relay teams in that event beat the previous pool mark of 1:37.57 set by Virginia in 2024, once again highlighting the immense depth of this year’s roster. But it was junior Claire Curzan, sophomore Leah Hayes, senior Carly Novelline and freshman Madi Mintenko who etched the new record onto the board of the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
From there, the record spree continued. Curzan — a U.S. Olympian and NCAA record holder — set two more pool records, clocking 50.25 in the 100-yard backstroke and 1:51.00 in the 200-yard backstroke. Hayes then erased one of the pool’s oldest marks with a 1:57.46 win in the 200-yard individual medley, toppling a Hokies’ pool record from 2012. Not to be outdone, sophomore standout Anna Moesch ripped a 21.58 in the 50-yard freestyle, adding yet another facility record to Virginia’s tally. By meet’s end, the Cavalier women had set five pool records, rewriting a quarter of their rival school’s record book.
In total, the women swiftly won every event but one — the 100-yard freestyle — which Virginia Tech managed to claim, as many of Virginia’s top women in the event did not enter. Hokie Emily Claesson took that race in 48.78, while Virginia still went 2-3 behind her with mid-year freshman arrival Nina Jazy in 49.04 and junior Lawson Ficken in 49.42.
The 201-87 final score illustrates yet another thoroughly commanding performance in the Cavaliers’ undefeated season en route to a sixth straight national championship — and Coach Todd DeSorbo’s women emphatically keep their pace far ahead of any competition.
On the men’s side, however, the meet was a frustrating case of déjà vu. Despite entering as the ranked team, the Virginia men once again fell to a lower-ranked Hokies squad for a second straight year. Last year was a devastating home loss on Virginia’s Senior Day, 198-102, and this year, the Virginia Tech side capitalized on a home advantage and a senior day of their own, handing the Cavalier men another upset defeat.
The meet started ominously for the Cavalier men, as the Hokies out-touched Virginia’s ‘A’ team in the opening 200-yard medley relay by a mere 0.07 seconds, indicating this matchup would be tougher than DeSorbo's squad may have expected. From that point, Virginia Tech kept the pressure on and ultimately won a majority of the men’s events, handing the Virginia men their fifth loss of the season.
Amidst the defeat, the Cavalier men posted some strong individual performances, picking up five event wins over the course of the 14-event day. Freshman U.S. Olympian Thomas Heilman continued to live up to his billing, sweeping the 100- and 200-yard butterfly events in 45.57 and 1:42.36, respectively.
Sophomore and 2025 NCAA qualifier Spencer Nicholas nabbed the second place finish in the 100-yard butterfly, posting a 46.61. Freshman star Maximus Williamson added a win of his own in the 200-yard individual medley, touching in 1:44.51.
In addition to their favored backstroke events, Virginia also found rare success in distance freestyle. Sophomore Dillon Wright outpaced the field to take the 1650-yard freestyle in 15:21.44, and Nicholas captured the 100-yard backstroke in 46.36.
These victories highlighted some of the bright spots for the Cavalier men — a talented group of underclassmen continuing to develop. This group showed flashes of its immense talent Saturday, but strong individual performances weren’t enough to swing the outcome, particularly with losses to Virginia Tech in both of the contested relay events.
The unranked Hokies seized control of the remaining nine events, exploiting areas of relative weakness for Virginia. Virginia Tech swept the freestyle sprint events — winning the 50-,100- and 200-yard freestyle — while also taking both breaststroke events. Hokie junior Brendan Whitfield proved especially pivotal, securing those three freestyle wins that included a blazing 19.12 in the 50-yard dash. Whitfield ultimately led the men to a performance that belied their lack of a national ranking and handed Virginia’s men an undeniably disappointing result.
The Cavaliers close out the dual-meet portion of the season next weekend at NC State, in a two-day showdown against the No. 6 men and No. 7 women. In Raleigh, N.C., the Virginia women will face one of their tougher battles of the regular season against a historic rival in the Wolfpack women, while the men will aim to rebound against the elite NC State men.
Then, the teams will shift their full attention to the postseason, starting with the ACC Championships in February. This meet will act as the official Commonwealth Clash decider, meaning the men have a chance to redeem themselves by securing a victory in the overall competition with their in-state foe. If the resilient swims and records set Saturday are any indication, the Cavalier women are gearing up for an exciting championship season — one that may rewrite far more than just Christiansburg’s record books.
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