{"id":581835,"date":"2024-03-23T10:22:41","date_gmt":"2024-03-23T17:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=581835"},"modified":"2024-03-24T16:59:04","modified_gmt":"2024-03-24T23:59:04","slug":"ncaa-womens-championships-virginia-takes-care-of-business-set-for-four-peat-heat-sheets-up-downs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ncaa-womens-championships-virginia-takes-care-of-business-set-for-four-peat-heat-sheets-up-downs\/","title":{"rendered":"NCAA Women’s Championships: Virginia Takes Care of Business, Set For Four-Peat (Heat Sheets & Up-Downs)"},"content":{"rendered":"

NCAA Women’s Championships: Virginia Takes Care of Business in Day Four Prelims, Set For Four-Peat (Heat Sheets & Up-Downs)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Texas Longhorns did their best to make things interesting. Virginia has been wracking up wins all week at the NCAA Women’s Championships (five individual plus three relay wins so far) in pursuit of a fourth consecutive team title while Texas has zero wins and only two second-place finishes in swimming, yet the Longhorns sat only 51.5 points behind UVA heading into the final day. In contrast, the margin a season ago after Friday’s action was 102 points.<\/p>\n

Texas had 11 individual swimming scoring performances Friday while divers\u00a0Bridget O’Neil<\/strong> and\u00a0Hailey Hernandez<\/strong> were A-finalists. The 400 medley relay earned an impressive second-place finish. But the Longhorns still needed a huge Saturday morning session plus a Virginia setback or two, and that did not happen. Instead, Virginia is set up to pull away in the evening session.<\/p>\n

Seven Cavaliers qualified for the top-eight in prelims, with\u00a0Gretchen Walsh<\/strong> and\u00a0Jasmine Nocentini<\/strong> in the 100 freestyle and then the trio of\u00a0Alex Walsh<\/strong>,\u00a0Ella Nelson<\/strong> and\u00a0Aimee Canny<\/strong> in the 200 breaststroke. In the 200 butterfly, considered the stronghold of the Longhorns with three swimmers seeded in the top-three, Virginia’s two standouts moved from the edge of scoring territory into the A-final with huge best times.<\/p>\n

Tess Howley<\/strong> opted to scratch the 200 back and focus on the 200 fly, and she moved up from the 17th seed into fourth place in prelims.\u00a0Abby Harter<\/strong> moved up from 16th to seventh to earn her championship shot.<\/p>\n

Texas did shine in the 200 fly, with\u00a0Olivia Bray<\/strong>,\u00a0Emma Sticklen<\/strong> and\u00a0Kelly Pash<\/strong> placing first, second and fifth, respectively, but the Longhorns put only\u00a0Anna Elendt<\/strong> into the 200 breast final as\u00a0Lydia Jacoby<\/strong> struggled to a 16th-place result. Virginia ended up with seven A-finalists to Texas’ four as well as a four-to-two B-final advantage. Texas has\u00a0Erica Sullivan<\/strong> seeded fourth in the 1650 free, and the Longhorns are\u00a0expected to gain more points in diving, but Virginia’s Lizzy Kaye<\/strong> could also score on the platform after becoming the first-ever UVA A-finalist in diving during the 3-meter event Friday.<\/p>\n

Virginia, of course, also has the advantage of the Walsh sisters being heavily favored to win their respective events.<\/p>\n