Live Highlights from Day 1 of the Finals

2025 ACC Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships: A New Era in Competition

As college conference championships kick off this evening, the excitement is palpable, especially at the ACC Championships taking place in Greensboro, NC. This event has evolved significantly over the past few years for a couple of key reasons. After many years of separate championship events for men and women, the ACC has consolidated these competitions into a unified five-day format since 2022. Additionally, with the inclusion of powerhouse schools like Cal, Stanford, and SMU, the dynamics of the conference have transformed.

Tonight’s schedule includes just a few events, but fans can always count on ACC teams to bring their best performances right from the start, and this evening promises to be equally thrilling.

The competition opens with the 200 medley relay, where the UVA women hold the all-time record. It will be intriguing to see if they can challenge that record this evening, depending on their strategy for the subsequent event, the 800 free relay. Notably, this relay is the only yards NCAA/U.S. Open relay record not held by the Cavaliers, leading to speculation that they may opt to pursue that claim tonight, potentially featuring star sprinter Gretchen Walsh.

On the men’s side, the race for the 200 medley relay is anticipated to be a showdown between NC State and Cal. The Wolfpack currently holds both the meet and conference records and set an all-time record by becoming the first team to finish under 1:21 at the 2023 NCAA Championships. While Cal is a formidable opponent in this event, they may pose a greater threat in the 800 free relay, with all four of their previous record-breaking swimmers returning from last year’s NCAA championships.

Tonight’s Event Lineup

200 medley relay
Women’s 1-meter diving
800 free relay
Men’s 3-meter diving

Women’s 200 Medley Relay – Timed Finals

NCAA Record: 1:31.51, Virginia – 2023 NCAA Championships
ACC Record: 1:31.51, Virginia – 2023 NCAA Championships
ACC Championship Record: 1:31.73, Virginia (2023)
NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:36.24
NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 1:36.76

Top 8 Teams:

Stanford – 1:34.05 (A)
Cal – 1:34.34 (A)
Louisville – 1:34.55 (A)
Virginia – 1:35.18 (A)
NC State – 1:35.22 (A)
FSU – 1:35.27 (A)
UNC – 1:35.48 (A)
Pitt – 1:36.68 (A)

The Stanford women’s team made a strong impression by securing victory in their first ACC Championships event with a time of 1:34.05, placing them third nationally this season, just behind UVA and Texas.

Levenia Sim opened the relay with a time of 24.17, followed by Lucy Thomas (26.31), Gigi Johnson (22.97), and Tori Huske (20.60). The Cardinal improved their mid-season time by over half a second.

Cal initially held the lead, with Isabelle Stadden contributing a 23.61 leadoff, followed by Lea Polonsky (26.44) and Mckenna Stone (22.91). Mary-Ambre Moluh then anchored with a time of 21.38, finishing with a solid 1:34.34. With a season-best of 1:34.24, they remain a strong contender nationally.

Louisville claimed the third spot with a time of 1:34.55, led by Gabi Albiero’s 22.67 fly split, the fastest in the field. Virginia, perhaps focusing on the 800 free relay, finished fourth with a time of 1:35.18, demonstrating their depth with a B team performance that still met the NCAA A cut, along with NC State (1:35.22), Florida State (1:35.27), UNC (1:35.48), and Pitt (1:36.68).

Men’s 200 Medley Relay – Timed Finals

NCAA Record: 1:20.15, Florida – 2024 NCAA Championships
ACC Record: 1:20.67, NC State – 2023 NCAA Championships
ACC Championship Record: 1:21.69, NC State – 2022
NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:23.62
NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 1:23.90

Top 8 Teams:

Cal – 1:21.54 (A)
FSU – 1:21.98 (A)
NC State – 1:22.06 (A)
Stanford – 1:22.74 (A)
Louisville – 1:23.02 (A)
Virginia – 1:24.14
Pitt – 1:24.32

Continuing the trend, the Cal men’s team also clinched victory in their first ACC Championships event. Bjorn Seeliger led off with a 20.85, displaying potential for even faster times in the upcoming month. Freshman Yamato Okadome contributed with a 22.91 breast, followed by Dare Rose’s impressive 19.68 on fly, and Jack Alexy anchoring at 18.10. Their finishing time would have ranked them second nationally, save for a recent surge of sub-1:21 finishes at the SECS earlier this evening.

A remarkable performance was also seen from the Florida State Seminoles, particularly their freshman Michel Arkhangelskiy. After a 20.96 leadoff and a 23.15 breast split from Tommaso Baravelli, Arkhangelskiy made an impressive comeback with a 19.10 fly split, which ranks among the top ten all-time splits. Despite Sam Bork’s strong 18.77 finish, it wasn’t enough to overtake Alexy, but it secured FSU a record-breaking 1:21.98.

NC State followed close behind, finishing third at 1:22.06, with significant improvements from their athletes. The remaining top teams, including Stanford (1:22.74) and Louisville (1:23.02), demonstrated exceptional talent, while the UNC Tar Heels made history by breaking their own records.

Women’s 1M Diving – Finals

ACC Record: 379.98, Jenna Dreyer (Miami) – 2007 NCAA Zone B Diving Regionals
ACC Championship Record: 379.25, Aranza Vazquez (UNC) – 2023 ACC Championships

Top 8 Scores:

Aranza Vazquez (UNC) – 357.40
Mia Vallee (Miami) – 349.30
Chiara Pellacani (Miami) – 329.55
Elizabeth Kaye (UVA) – 303.75
Samantha Vear (FSU) – 303.00
Margo Omeara (Duke) – 293.90
Eliana Joyce (UNC) – 276.25
Lanie Gutch (UNC) – 268.20

In a stunning performance, UNC’s fifth-year star Aranza Vazquez clinched her third ACC 1M title, bringing her total ACC titles to eight with a score of 357.40. Vazquez previously swept all diving events in 2023 and has a rich history of wins in both 1M and 3M competitions.

Finishing second, 2021 champion Mia Vallee of Miami scored 349.30, contributing to a solid performance for both schools as they took multiple spots in the top eight.