Four titles, four records: A historic day for Virginia, Walsh to open 2024-25 season – The Cavalier Daily

National titles have become an annual success for the Virginia women’s swimming team, which celebrated its fourth consecutive NCAA championship on Friday at the Aquatic and Fitness Center. The No. 1 Cavaliers, who opened their 2024-25 season against Florida, saw another national championship banner hoisted to the AFC rafters before defeating the No. 3 Gators 181-119.

The Virginia women’s team showed from the start that they were ready to defend their title. Team captain, gold medalist and senior Gretchen Walsh plunged into the water as the buzzer sounded for the 50-meter butterfly. Appearing to be twice as fast as her competitors, Walsh broke an American record in her first swim, rewriting the history books with a time of 25.37 seconds in the 50-meter backstroke.

Walsh was far from finished for the day, however, as she broke two more American records within the same hour. Next came the 100-meter backstroke, where she clocked a time of 54.89 seconds. She then showed off her strength in another stroke, completing the 50-meter freestyle in just 23.10 seconds, setting her third record of the day.

Walsh jumped into the pool again to compete in a 100-meter individual medley. Just 55.98 seconds later, she completed her final swim of the day, this time not only breaking an American record, but also setting a new world record. In just four swims, she had broken four records, capping one of the most astonishing individual swimming feats in NCAA history.

The Virginia fans rightly acknowledged the greatness they had witnessed, stood and congratulated Walsh with a standing ovation on a masterful day.

However, one of the most entertaining races of the day was the women’s 800-meter freestyle. The audience eagerly watched lanes 4 and 5 as Cavan Gormsen, a sophomore from Virginia, and Michaela Mattes, a freshman from Florida, were separated by just a fraction of a second as they began their final turns toward the finish. Ultimately, Gormsen’s final step was enough to dislodge the Gators chasing her from behind, and she took first place by a quarter of a second – 8:21.55 was the final winning time.

Sophomore Claire Curzan and junior Aimee Canny were also bright spots for the Cavaliers, each managing to win two individual races while also contributing to relay victories. Curzan led the first event of the day, the 200-meter medley relay, finishing the race with a strong 50-meter freestyle that resulted in a Virginia victory. The Stanford transfer then dominated the 200-meter backstroke for her first individual win as a Cavalier and added a second victory in the 100-meter butterfly.

Despite a slow start, Canny was able to take her first win in the 200 meter freestyle. She managed to recover, then pulled away and won by well over a second. Her time of 1:54.13 set a new American record for the event, breaking the record she previously held.

The 200 meter backstroke was Canny’s next race, and it was a good race that resulted in another win. She and Curzan would then team up for the final event of the day, the 400-meter freestyle relay. Curzan played for the Cavaliers and then handed the game over to Canny, with the two managing to build a big lead that the team didn’t want to relinquish. Virginia capped the meeting with a three-second victory over the Gators.

Freshman Anna Moesch, who was a quarter of the 400-meter freestyle relay team, picked up a win of her own in the 100-meter freestyle. Meanwhile, gold medalist and junior Emma Weber took first place in the 100-meter breaststroke and second place in the 200-meter breaststroke. Sophomore Tess Howley also contributed a win, taking first place in the 200-meter butterfly by just 0.2 seconds.

This collective effort resulted in the Cavaliers winning 12 of the meet’s 14 events and being rewarded with a 62-point victory over the Florida Gators. The team has proven that they are not satisfied with four consecutive national championships – they look as motivated as ever in their quest for fifth place.

The men’s team, ranked No. 14 in the country, also struggled against Florida but was defeated by the third-ranked Gator men, 231-69. While the men didn’t have nearly the same success as the women, there were some promising signs. Fifth-grader Noah Nichols had a good performance, placing first in the 200-meter breaststroke and second in the 100-meter breaststroke. Junior Jack Aikins also had multiple podium finishes, finishing second in the 100-meter backstroke and third in the 200-meter backstroke. Otherwise it was a quiet day for the men, who were simply inferior.

The Cavaliers will face their first conference opponent of the season in their next game, a doubleheader at North Carolina on November 1st.