Supreme Depth Leads Virginia Cavaliers to Record-Setting Sixth Consecutive National Title
The Virginia Cavaliers women’s swim team had an enormous task to succeed a pair of legends who finished their careers among the most decorated performers ever. History was on the line, with Virginia having tied the record for most consecutive national titles with five. Previously, Texas had won five straight from 1984 through 1988, and Stanford did the same from 1992 to 1996. Both teams fell short in their attempts at a sixth win, with Stanford missing by a mere 11 points.
Not the case in 2026. Favored all season for a repeat title, Virginia sailed through this week’s NCAA Championships in Atlanta, taking the lead after the second event and pulling away each day. Led by ninth-year head coach Todd DeSorbo, the team won three individual events and all five relays to finish with 589 points, the highest total by any team since Stanford scored 593 in 2018. The 208.5-point margin of victory marked largest margin of victory throughout this unprecedented winning streak. In fact, Virginia’s 165.5-point advantage at the conclusion of Saturday’s racing was already bigger than any of its previous wins.
An impressive final session saw Stanford claim three national titles, helping the Cardinal earn second place for a second consecutive season. Stanford scored 380.5 points to edge out Texas (376.5) by four points. A strong finish by Cal helped the Golden Bears edge Tennessee for fourth by 1.5 points (303-301.6). Rounding out the top 10 were Michigan (296), Indiana (258), Louisville (201.5), NC State (196.5) and Florida (125.5).
But the story was Virginia, all without a Walsh sister in sight. Last year’s title run was the last college meet for Gretchen Walsh, who finished with six career individual titles, 16 relay wins and an obliteration of the sprint record book. Older sister Alex Walsh also exhausted her eligibility following her fifth NCAAs, where a win in the 100 breaststroke made her the first swimmer to win titles in five consecutive seasons and in five consecutive events.
Claire Curzan — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
This time around, though, the reigns were left to returning standout Claire Curzan plus budding freestyle star Anna Moesch, and both performed brilliantly. Curzan finished a close second place in the 100 butterfly at the national meet before repeating as national titlist in both backstroke events, with the second-fastest time ever in both events.
Moesch, an individual A-finalist and relay champion as a freshman, emerged as the best 200 freestyler in the country. At the ACC Championships, she became only the fifth swimmer in history to break 1:40, and she followed that up with a national title. Moesch finished with a sensational time of 1:39.23, just a tenth off Missy Franklin’s 11-year-old record and the second-fastest time in history. Later on, Moesch placed second in the 100 free.
Not quite the six individual wins from last season, but it did not matter as Virginia brought by far its deepest team ever to this national showcase. That was evident from the meet’s first night when Virginia won both the 200 medley and 800 free relays without a single swimmer appearing on both teams. This was no star-driven victory but rather the result of years of purposeful roster-building.
“I think we’ve just adapted,” Moesch said. “If anything it’s made us more motivated than we’ve ever been. I think having people come and go makes us have more shoes to fil. Everyone on this team has done an amazing job stepping up to the plate and being there when they’re needed.”
Consider the eight champions from Wednesday night. Joining Curzan on the medley relay were Sara Curtis, Emma Weber and Bryn Greenwaldt, one star recruit from Italy, one steadily-improving four-year senior and one transfer from Division II Augustana. Before Moesch’s come-from-behind heroics on the 800 free relay were Aimee Canny, a four-year swimmer from South Africa who was the first international standout to join the Cavaliers plus the highly-recruited duo of Madi Mintenko and Bailey Hartman.
“I think it shows how much depth this team has,” Moesch said that night. “We talked throughout the season about maybe having some people double in that relay. Being able to go into both relays and have so many options of people who could do so amazing is something that is really special to us and something we’re really proud of.”
Good reason to be proud as a Virginia swimmer made the final in every single event except for diving, which the school no longer sponsors. Curtis proved as good as advertised, starring on four relays and finishing second in the 50 free, becoming the third-fastest swimmer ever in the process. Curtis added a third-place finish in the 100 free, jumping off to fifth all-time. Thanks to the new event schedule in place, Curtis picked the 100 fly as her third event; she ended up 13th there but finished as the meet’s second-quickest 100 backstroker (behind Curzan) thanks to her 49.47 leadoff leg on the Cavaliers’ 400 medley squad.
Canny, best known for her mid-distance freestyle abilities throughout her career, pivoted this season and reached the top-eight in both IM events and finishing second in the 200 breaststroke after leading most of the race. Katie Grimes, a two-time U.S. Olympian, was quiet in Atlanta but still managed a third-place finish in the 1650 free and fifth-place time in the 400 IM. A disappointing performance in the 500 free left Grimes in 11th place, but it barely registered as Cavan Gormsen and Mintenko both made the final, finishing sixth and eighth, respectively.
As for Mintenko, an impressive NCAA debut brought her a fifth-place finish in the fastest field ever assembled in the 200 free. Weber was an NCAA A-finalist for the first time, ending up seventh in the 100 breast. Leah Hayes and Tess Howley each reached an A-final on the final day of competition, and both scored in all three of their individual events.
And while the new meet schedule eliminated B-finals, Virginia still got big points from places nine through 16. In addition to the aforementioned swimmers, Hartman, Greenwaldt, Carly Novelline, Zoe Skirboll, Sophie Umstead and Melissa Nwakalor were all individual scorers for the Cavaliers for a total of 16 contributors to the title effort.
“It’s something that we’ve known all year, that this was a really special group of girls,” Moesch said. “I knew that when we came here, we were going to be so determined and so motivated to do as best as we possibly could. I think we’ve outdone expectations and done amazing, and I couldn’t be prouder and happier to be with them every night.”`
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 21 1. Virginia 589 2. Stanford 380.5 3. Texas 376.5 4. California 303 5. Tennessee 301.5 6. Michigan 296 7. Indiana 258 8. Louisville 201.5 9. NC State 196.5 10. Florida 125.5 11. Alabama 100.5 12. Ohio St 87 13. Wisconsin 70.5 14. Southern California 66 15. Georgia 63 16. Pittsburgh 55 16. Minnesota 55 18. Miami (Fl) 48 19. South Carolina 41 20. UCLA 39 21. Duke 35 21. Purdue 35 21. Lsu 35 24. UNC 33 25. Auburn 25 25. University of Kansas 25 27. Nebraska 24 28. Arkansas 23.5 29. Arizona 21 30. Texas A&M 19.5 31. Florida St 16 32. Cincinnati 11 33. Notre Dame 9 33. Akron 9 33. Nevada 9 36. Northwestern 8 37. Virginia Tech 6 37. Penn 6 37. Arizona St 6 40. Siu 4 40. Rutgers 4 42. Washington St. 3 43. Fresno State 2 43. East Carolina University 2 43. Princeton 2 43. Indiana State 2 47. Ucsd 1 47. University of North Texas 1
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