The Virginia women are undoubtedly the best team in college swimming. They have won four straight NCAA championships and are the clear favorites to win a 5th this year. If they were a country they would have been 16th in gold medals, and 21st in overall medals at the 2024 Olympic Games.
Last night, they further cemented their undeniable dominance in swimming by breaking their final NCAA relay record with their 6:44.13 swim in the 800 freestyle relay. This time was almost two seconds faster than the 6:45.91 mark set by Stanford back in 2017.
The NCAA record was not even the most impressive feat accomplished by the Virginia women last night. With Gretchen Walsh’s leadoff swim of 1:39.34, the UVA women officially hold every single ACC swimming record.
Coming into this season, the Cavalier women were short two conference records, the 200 backstroke and the 200 freestyle.
Claire Curzan took care of the 200 backstroke record when she set the NCAA record in the event at the Tennessee Invite with her 1:46.87 at the Tennessee invite. Her time broke Kennedy Noble’s conference record of 1:48.43 from last year’s NCAA Championships.
Leading off the relay last night, Gretchen Walsh took down Mallory Comerford’s 1:39.80 200 freestyle record from the 2018 NCAAs to become the 2nd fastest women in history in the event, just behind Missy Franklin’s 1:39.10.
All the ACC Conference Swimming Records:
| Event | Time | Team | Swimmer | Year |
| 50 free | 20.37 | Virginia | Gretchen Walsh | 2024 |
| 100 free | 44.83 | Virginia | Gretchen Walsh | 2024 |
| 200 free | 1:39.34 | Virginia | Gretchen Walsh | 2025 |
| 500 free | 4:28.90 | Virginia | Leah Smith | 2017 |
| 1000 free | 9:30.15 | Virginia | Leah Smith | 2016 |
| 1650 free | 15:25.30 | Virginia | Leah Smith | 2016 |
| 100 back | 48.10 | Virginia | Gretchen Walsh | 2024 |
| 200 back | 1:46.87 | Virginia | Claire Curzan | 2024 |
| 100 breast | 56.09 | Virginia | Jasmine Nocentini | 2024 |
| 200 breast | 2:01.29 | Virginia | Kate Douglass | 2023 |
| 100 fly | 47.42 | Virginia | Gretchen Walsh | 2023 |
| 200 fly | 1:49.17 | Virginia | Alex Walsh | 2024 |
| 200 IM | 1:48.37 | Virginia | Kate Douglass | 2023 |
| 400 IM | 3:55.97 | Virginia | Alex Walsh | 2024 |
| 200 Free Relay | 1:23.63 | Virginia | Nocentini, G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Parker | 2024 |
| 400 Free Relay | 3:05.84 | Virginia | Douglass, A. Walsh, Parker, G. Walsh | 2023 |
| 800 Free Relay | 6:44.13 | Virginia | G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Canny, Curzan | 2025 |
| 200 Medley Relay | 1:31.51 | Virginia | G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Cuomo, Douglass | 2023 |
| 400 Medley Relay | 3:21.01 | Virginia | Nocentini, G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Parker | 2024 |
The Texas men and women also hold all the conference records in the Big 12, but they are not on a four year NCAA Title Streak.
This feat prompted a tweet from the Reddit College Football Twitter account stating: “There is an argument to be made that UVA Women’s Swimming and Diving is the most dominant sport in D1 athletics at this moment, especially taking into account Olympic medals won by current and recently graduated swimmers”
There is an argument to be made that UVA Women’s Swimming and Diving is the most dominant sport in D1 athletics at this moment, especially taking into account Olympic medals won by current and recently graduated swimmers https://t.co/L7fecno8L8
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) February 19, 2025
There is not a consensus in the comments of the post about whether this is true or not, and people have offered some alternative programs. Let’s compare the two most popular suggestions, OU softball and Penn State Wrestling:
Note: This discussion is about current dominance, not all-time results
| Team | Penn State Wrestling (Men) | OU Softball | Virginia Swimming (Women) |
| Consecutive NCAA Titles | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Consecutive Conference Titles | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Regular Season Meet/Game | Last Loss: 2019 | 59-7, 61-1, 59-3, 56-4 over last four seasons | Last Loss: 2022 |
| Recent Olympians | Paris 2024: 2/16 athletes- 12.5% | Tokyo 2021 (not contested 2024): 5/15 athletes- 33.3% | Paris 2024: 6/20 athletes- 30% |
| Olympic Medals | 1 Bronze | Silver | 11 total (5 gold, 5 silver, 1 bronze) |
| Misc | Broke NCAA team scoring record last year | First college softball team in history to four-peat | All 5 NCAA relay records. |
Not all of the comparisons are completely fair, particularly due to the number of games softball has to play in comparison, but what do you think? Are the Virginia women the most dominant team in Division 1 athletics right now?
