{"id":639422,"date":"2026-03-21T17:11:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T00:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=639422"},"modified":"2026-03-22T09:27:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T16:27:33","slug":"supreme-depth-leads-virginia-cavaliers-to-record-setting-sixth-consecutive-national-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/supreme-depth-leads-virginia-cavaliers-to-record-setting-sixth-consecutive-national-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Depth Leads Virginia Cavaliers to Record-Setting Sixth Consecutive National Title"},"content":{"rendered":"

Supreme Depth Leads Virginia Cavaliers to Record-Setting Sixth Consecutive National Title<\/strong><\/p>\n

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. 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, Stanford missing by a mere 11 points.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Led by ninth-year head coach Todd DeSorbo<\/strong>, the team won three individual events and all five relays<\/a> to finish with 589\u00a0<\/strong>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.<\/p>\n

“The first one, obviously, was fantastic,” DeSorbo said. “It’s the first time you ever win. And I think the second one is really cool because you start a streak. But this one is, to me, the most meaningful, just because we tried to take the approach that it’s a blank slate this year, that we haven’t won any. We’re starting all over and just start a new streak in a little bit of a different way where depth really will carry us through.”<\/p>\n

“To me, this one\u2019s the most meaningful, because one, it’s historic, right? Nobody’s ever done it, and not to mention they did it in historic fashion. I know other teams have scored more overall, but it’s been a long time. But for us, you know, as good as our teams have been in the past, and as good of athletes that we had in the past, it’s really impressive that we scored more points than we’ve ever scored.”<\/p>\n

An impressive final session saw Stanford claim three victories, 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).<\/p>\n

But the focus, deservedly, was on Virginia dominating the meet without a Walsh sister in sight. Last year’s title run was the last college meet for Gretchen Walsh<\/strong>, who finished with six career individual titles, 16 relay wins and an obliteration of the sprint record book. Older sister\u00a0Alex Walsh<\/strong> exhausted her eligibility after her fifth NCAAs, where a win in the 100 breaststroke made her the first swimmer to win titles in five consecutive seasons.<\/p>\n

“Gretchen was so larger-than-life that it kind of cast a shadow on a lot of people. She blocked the sun,\u201d DeSorbo said. \u201cI think now that the rest of them, the sun is shining on them, and they’re being able to blossom into that. ”<\/p>\n

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Claire Curzan — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

This time around, the reins were left to returning standout Claire Curzan<\/strong> plus budding freestyle star\u00a0Anna Moesch<\/strong>, 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<\/a>, with the second-fastest time ever in both events<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Going into the year, there was a lot of discourse about, ‘Virginia is good, but can they continue to be this dominant?” Curzan said. “And I think this year, by and above, we’ve exceeded everyone’s expectations, including our own. And the Walshes are awesome. They\u2019re the best duo in NCAA history, potentially even long-course history. To think that this team collectively can achieve even more than that, I think it’s really, really special. We\u2019ve worked so hard this year, we knew that there was a target on our back, and to kind of see that dream realized is awesome.”<\/p>\n

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<\/a>, just a tenth off\u00a0Missy Franklin’s<\/strong> 11-year-old record and the second-fastest time in history. Later on, Moesch placed second in the 100 free.<\/p>\n

Not quite the six individual wins from last season, but it hardly 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.<\/p>\n

“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 fill. Everyone on this team has done an amazing job stepping up to the plate and being there when they’re needed.”<\/p>\n

Consider the eight relay winners from Wednesday night. Joining Curzan on the medley relay were Sara Curtis<\/strong>,\u00a0Emma Weber<\/strong> and\u00a0Bryn Greenwaldt:<\/strong> 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<\/strong>, 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<\/strong> and\u00a0Bailey Hartman<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“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 the relays. 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\u2019re really proud of.”<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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. Along with Curzan and Moesch, Curtis proved to be dominating force in the team’s relay sweep.<\/p>\n

“I wouldn’t have said we were going to win all five relays at the beginning of the year, that’s for sure,” DeSorbo said.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong>, 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\u00a0Cavan Gormsen<\/strong> and Mintenko both made the final, finishing sixth and eighth, respectively.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0Leah Hayes<\/strong> and\u00a0Tess Howley<\/strong> each reached an A-final on the final day of competition, and both scored in all three of their individual events.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong>,\u00a0Zoe Skirboll<\/strong>,\u00a0Sophie Umstead\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Melissa Nwakalor<\/strong> were all individual scorers for the Cavaliers for a total of 16 contributors to the title effort.<\/p>\n

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Anna Moesch — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

Above all else, the title can be attributed to a championship culture, the one built through the early years even before the Walshes’ heyday, when Paige Madden<\/strong> and\u00a0Kate Douglass<\/strong> were three-time individual champions building a legacy that would become unlike anything the sport had seen before. In 2026, that culture is self-sustaining<\/p>\n

“I don’t really have a lot to do with it anymore, which is fantastic,” DeSorbo said. “The team just brings them in. Every year, the seniors don’t want to be that senior class that doesn’t win it. The freshmen don’t want to be that freshman class that’s the first one. And so it just kind of builds and builds and builds. And I think, particularly the first-years, the reason they came was to be a part of that. They’re excited about it. They want that. They’re excited about having that pressure and that expectation and perform well with that.”<\/p>\n

As the team departs Atlanta, a break awaits before long course season becomes the target, and then it will start over again next fall. Yes, Virginia will be favored for a seventh consecutive crown as the majority of the Cavaliers’ top scorers, including Curzan, Moesch and Canny, are set to be back. A program essentially built from scratch when DeSorbo arrived in Charlottesville less than nine years ago will be thinking seven.<\/p>\n

“(Senior associate head coach) Tyler Fenwick<\/strong> actually was talking to me before the trophy ceremony, and he was like, \u2018Who would have thought in 2017 in August that we’d be sitting here winning our sixth title in a row?'” DeSorbo said. “It hasn\u2019t sunk in yet. I’m gonna have to take a couple steps back and let it sink in. But it\u2019s pretty impressive for sure.”<\/p>\n