NCAA Women’s Championships: Virginia Punctuates Title Run With Dominant 400 Freestyle Relay

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
==================================================================================
         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 
==================================================================================
  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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