NCAA Women’s Championships: Virginia Punctuates Title Run With Dominant 400 Freestyle Relay
Heading into the final event of the NCAA Women’s Championships, the team title had already been decided. Via another sensational performance and display of power and depth, the University of Virginia had locked up a fourth consecutive crown. Still, the Cavaliers wanted to cap this latest title run with flair.
Job done.
Behind the quartet of Jasmine Nocentini, Alex Walsh, Gretchen Walsh and Maxine Parker, Virginia claimed victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Cavaliers touched the wall in 3:05.89, good for a 2.71-second margin over runnerup Florida. Virginia’s time is the second-fastest in history, falling just shy of the 3:05.84 mark produced at last year’s NCAA meet.
Of course, Gretchen Walsh was at the forefront of the triumph, as the junior sensation delivered another stunning performance. Having already set numerous records over the weekend, including a barrier-breaking showings in the 100 butterfly (sub-48) and 100 freestyle (sub-45), Walsh split 45.17 for the third leg. Her American and NCAA records in the 100 freestyle arrived earlier Saturday night, with Walsh touching the wall in 44.83.
Nocentini, the Northwestern transfer who proved to be a key cog in the Cavs’ success, opened the relay with a 47.06 effort. Alex Walsh followed in 46.54, and was followed by her sister’s 45-low effort. Parker closed out the event with a split of 47.12, giving Virginia plenty of cushion over Florida, which was timed in 3:08.60.
“I told the girls before the relay, ‘Just have fun. Maybe swim a little bit fast,'” Virginia head coach Todd DeSorbo. “And Gretchen said, ‘Make sure we win and win by a lot.’ She said it. I said, ‘OK, go for it.’ I’m actually surprised they went as fast as they did in that relay. It’s a long meet. Everybody’s exhausted. I was shocked they came as close to the record as they did. It’s really impressive.”
The 40 points claimed in the final relay lifted Virginia’s total to 527.5 for the four-day meet, with Texas finishing in second in the team standings with 441 points.
Event 21 Women 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
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NCAA: N 3:05.84 3/18/2023 Virginia
K Douglass, A Walsh, M Parker, G Walsh
Meet: M 3:05.84 3/18/2023 Virginia
K Douglass, A Walsh, M Parker, G Walsh
American: A 3:05.84 3/18/2023 Virginia
K Douglass, A Walsh, M Parker, G Walsh
US Open: O 3:05.84 3/18/2023 Virginia
K Douglass, A Walsh, M Parker, G Walsh
Pool: P 3:10.28 2/20/2021 Alabama
Antoniou, Scott, Molnar, Dupre
School Seed Finals Points
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1 Virginia 3:07.34 3:05.89P 40
1) Nocentini, Jasmine SR 2) r:0.34 Walsh, Alex SR
3) r:0.23 Walsh, Gretchen JR 4) r:0.16 Parker, Maxine SR
r:+0.52 22.59 47.06 (47.06)
1:09.15 (22.09) 1:33.60 (46.54)
1:54.75 (21.15) 2:18.77 (45.17)
2:41.30 (22.53) 3:05.89 (47.12)
2 Florida 3:08.00 3:08.60P 34
1) Sims, Bella FR 2) r:0.15 Ivey, Isabel 5Y
3) r:0.09 Kruger, Lainy FR 4) r:0.21 Cronk, Micayla JR
r:+0.54 22.69 47.01 (47.01)
1:08.79 (21.78) 1:33.27 (46.26)
1:56.19 (22.92) 2:21.72 (48.45)
2:43.87 (22.15) 3:08.60 (46.88)
3 Louisville 3:10.18 3:09.08P 32
1) Regenauer, Christiana 5Y 2) r:0.32 Albiero, Gabi SR
3) r:0.17 Dennis, Julia SO 4) r:0.20 Mehraban, Lucy FR
r:+0.69 22.74 47.51 (47.51)
1:09.94 (22.43) 1:34.67 (47.16)
1:56.81 (22.14) 2:21.91 (47.24)
2:44.27 (22.36) 3:09.08 (47.17)
4 Michigan 3:10.30 3:09.47P 30
1) Balduccini, Stephanie FR 2) r:0.17 Newman, Claire SR
3) r:0.20 Kendall, Brady SO 4) r:0.16 Flynn, Lindsay JR
r:+0.69 22.88 47.60 (47.60)
1:09.97 (22.37) 1:35.35 (47.75)
1:57.49 (22.14) 2:22.49 (47.14)
2:44.52 (22.03) 3:09.47 (46.98)
5 Tennessee 3:08.97 3:09.70P 28
1) Douthwright, Brooklyn JR 2) r:0.23 McSharry, Mona SR
3) r:0.29 Fuller, Josephine JR 4) r:0.27 Spink, Camille FR
r:+0.61 22.97 47.75 (47.75)
1:10.25 (22.50) 1:35.84 (48.09)
1:58.46 (22.62) 2:23.55 (47.71)
2:45.37 (21.82) 3:09.70 (46.15)
6 USC 3:10.37 3:10.55 26
1) Buinaia, Vasilissa 5Y 2) r:0.24 Delgado, Anicka SR
3) r:0.39 Tuggle, Claire SO 4) r:0.42 Abraham, Minna FR
r:+0.64 23.15 48.05 (48.05)
1:10.61 (22.56) 1:35.59 (47.54)
1:58.53 (22.94) 2:23.58 (47.99)
2:45.95 (22.37) 3:10.55 (46.97)
7 Stanford 3:11.11 3:10.57 24
1) Johnson, Gigi SO 2) r:0.32 Nordmann, Lillie JR
3) r:0.24 Shaw, Anna JR 4) r:0.26 Tang, Amy JR
r:+0.70 22.85 47.75 (47.75)
1:10.94 (23.19) 1:35.59 (47.84)
1:58.16 (22.57) 2:23.60 (48.01)
2:45.92 (22.32) 3:10.57 (46.97)
8 Indiana 3:11.37 3:10.68 22
1) Peplowski, Anna JR 2) r:0.13 Turak, Ashley 5Y
3) r:0.36 Ristic, Ella SR 4) r:0.33 Paegle, Kristina SO
r:+0.72 22.81 47.18 (47.18)
1:09.88 (22.70) 1:35.14 (47.96)
1:58.32 (23.18) 2:23.93 (48.79)
2:46.08 (22.15) 3:10.68 (46.75)
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 21 1. Virginia 527.5 2. Texas 441 3. Florida 364 4. Tennessee 277 5. Stanford 250 6. Louisville 212 7. Indiana 206 8. Southern California 200 9. Ohio St 162 9. NC State 162 11. California 153 12. Michigan 147.5 13. Georgia 116 14. Texas A&M 104 15. Wisconsin 95 16. Duke 80 17. UNC 77 18. Purdue 57 19. Auburn 54 20. Minnesota 47 21. Lsu 44 22. UCLA 36 23. Alabama 25 24. Arizona St 23 25. Utah 22 26. Virginia Tech 18 27. Northwestern 17 28. Siu 16 29. Penn 15 30. Nebraska 11 31. South Carolina 9 32. Notre Dame 6 32. Kansas 6 32. Miami (Ohio) 6 32. Rutgers 6 36. Akron 5 36. Arkansas 5 38. Florida St 4 38. Cincinnati 4 40. Houston 3 40. Washington St. 3 40. Miami (Fl) 3
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