By Reid Carlson on SwimSwam
2020 WOMEN’S ACC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- When: Wednesday, February 19th to Saturday, February 22nd | Prelims 10:00 am | Finals 6:00 pm (1650 prelims Saturday at 4:00 pm)
- Where: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina (Eastern Time Zone)
- Defending Champion: North Carolina State University (NC State) (1x) (results)
- Live Results (coming soon)
- Streaming: ACC Network
- Championship Central:Here
- Detailed Timeline:Here
- Psych Sheets:Here
For 12 consecutive years, the University of Virginia women’s swimming and diving program has placed either first or second at the ACC Championships. In fact, 10 of those 12 years the Cavaliers were champions, and their 9-year win streak was stopped just short of a tenth-consecutive victory in 2017 when NC State took the title. UVA took the trophy back in 2018, but in 2019 the Wolfpack came out on top once again.
While NC State lost a couple of major contributors last season such as Elise Haan and Tamila Holub, the Wolfpack gained Katharine Berkoff who will play a pivotal role in this year’s ACC and NCAA Championships for NC State.
Virginia, meanwhile, adds Kate Douglass, who has already broken three program records this season and is arguably the fastest and most well-rounded sprinter in the entire ACC, which will contribute immensely to UVA’s point potential as Douglass might not only win three individual events but could be the factor that puts four of UVA’s five relays on the top of the podium.
Perhaps no other team in the ACC has gone through the changes the University of North Carolina has: in 2019, former-Head Coach Rich DeSelm announced his resignation and made public his cancer diagnosis. In May, UNC hired Olympian Mark Gangloff to lead both its women’s and men’s swimming & diving programs, making this Gangloff’s first ACC Championships as Head Coach.
Louisville suffered perhaps the greatest individual loss of any team in the ACC as they no longer have star Mallory Comerford on the college team. Comerford won three individual titles at the 2019 ACC Championships and was instrumental on four separate relays, each of which placed top-2 with the 800 free relay taking home gold for Louisville. Though Louisville still boasts significant firepower and shouldn’t slide from third place, their relays–especially the 800 freestyle–are rather diminished without Comerford.
Between NC State and Virginia there really isn’t room for anybody else to be in the conversation for the team title.
SCHEDULE
Wednesday
200 Medley Relay
800 Free Relay
Thursday
500 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
1-Meter Diving
200 Freestyle Relay
Friday
100 Butterfly
400 Individual Medley
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
3-Meter Diving
400 Medley Relay
Saturday
1650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
Women’s Platform Diving
400 Freestyle Relay
STARS
Virginia
Kate Douglass (breast/fly/IM/sprint free), Alexis Wenger (sophomore, breaststroke), Abby Richter(junior, IM/fly/back), Julia Menkhaus (sophomore, fly/back/IM), Morgan Hill (senior, sprint free/fly), Paige Madden (junior, free/back), Megan Moroney (senior, back/free), Emma Seiberlich (junior, back/fly/free), Caroline Gmelich (junior, back/fly).
The University of Virginia is loaded with young talent that began impacting NCAA rankings as soon as competitions began. Freshman Kate Douglass has the top time in the NCAA in the 200 breaststroke, and the only ‘A’ time achieved so far this season in the event, with a 2:06.19 from the Tennessee Invite. Douglass also holds the 11th-fastest time in the NCAA in the 100 breast with a 59.53, just behind teammate Alexis Wenger who sits at 10th with a 59.41. Douglass is also ranked 4th in the NCAA and first in the ACC in the 100 fly (50.30) and 2nd in the nation in the 200 IM (1:52.84) and 1st in the ACC. Junior Abby Richter and sophomore Julia Menkhaus each add depth in the IMs, butterfly, and backstroke. In 2019, Richter placed 2nd in the 200 IM, shaving over a second from her prelims time in the process, and went on to place 8th in the 200 back and 10th in the 100 back. Menkhaus, who was a freshman in 2019, placed 4th in the 200 fly and was a ‘B’ finalist in both the 200 IM (13th) and 100 back (14th).
While Douglass will likely take on some combination of the 100 butterfly, 100 breastroke, 200 breaststroke, and 200 IM at the ACC Championships, she will also likely play a key role on UVA’s 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Though we are unlikely to see Douglass individually in the sprint freestyles, teammate Morgan Hill is the fastest in the conference in the 50 and 100 freestyles. Paige Madden extends Virginia’s range into the 200, 500, and mile, and strengthens the 800 freestyle relay with her individual best time of 1:43.03 in the 200 free. Madden currently holds the top times in the conference in both the 200 backstroke and the mile, so she and her coaches will have to decide from which race the team most needs the points.
In 2019, UVA did not have a single swimmer score in the mile. However, if Maddie Donohoe, who is currently ranked 4th in the ACC in the mile, swims the event and maintains a top-8 placing Madden may not be needed.
In 2019, Madden was one of four women from UVA to final in the 200 back, taking 4th behind teammates Megan Moroney (2nd) and Emma Seiberlich (3rd), each of whom return this season. Moroney will also be a major force on UVA’s 400 and 800 freestyle relays and could be utilized to lead off the 400 medley relay, though she was left off the 400 medley in 2019. Another possible medley lead-off Caroline Gmelich, who currently ranks 3rd in the ACC in the 100 backstroke. Gmelich has one of the fastest 50 backstrokes in the ACC and will also likely swim the 200 medley relay.
NC State
Katharine Berkoff (freshman, back/free/IM), Sophie Hansson (sophomore, breast/IM), Kay Foley (freshman, distance free), Abby Kriegler (freshman, distance free/IM), Heather Maccausland (freshman, breaststroke), Kate Moore (junior, distance free/back), Makayla Sargent (senior, distance free/IM), Ky-lee Perry (senior, sprint free), Kylee Alons (sophomore, sprint free/back/fly), Sirena Rowe (junior, sprint free/fly), Emma Muzzy (sophomore, back/IM).
The NC State Wolfpack took down Virginia at the 2019 ACC Championships but will be hard-pressed to repeat at champions in 2019, though NC State still carries major firepower and has added freshman Katharine Berkoff, Kay Foley, Abby Kriegler, and Heather Maccausland to the mix, each of whom stands to score individually at ACCs, with Berkoff holding top-3 times in both the 100 and 200 backstrokes, plus the 8th-fastest time this season in the conference in the 500. Berkoff’s significance to NC State’s relays cannot be downplayed either as she must step in to fill the shoes of Elise Haan on the 200 and 400 medley relays, as well as the 800 free relay.
2019 ACC breaststroke record-setter Sophie Hansson will be looking to defend her titles in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, and possibly help carry NC State to two more repeat victories in the 200 and 400 medley relays. Hansson also swam on NC State’s champion 200 freestyle relay and runner-up 400 freestyle relay in 2019, where she will play a vital role again for the Wolfpack.
Kate Moore and Makayla Sargent are both ACC veterans capable of capturing individual titles this year. Moore and Sargent finished one-two, respectively, in the 400 IM in 2019 at ACCs, and Sargent was also 3rd in the 1650 behind teammates Tamila Holub, who is absent from NC State’s roster this season, and Anna Jahns who graduated in 2019. Emma Muzzy and Moore will be a strong force in the 200 backstroke as Muzzy returns as the defending champion and Moore last year’s 5th-place finisher. Muzzy, alongside Poole and Sargent, will be a major threat in the individual medleys, events where NC State picked up major points in 2019.
Ky-lee Perry, Kylee Alons, and Sirena Rowe bring the heat in the sprints for NC State and will contribute greatly to the sprint relays. Perry, Alons, Rowe, Hansson, and Berkoff are all contenders for the 200 and 400 medley and freestyle relays, and Perry, Alons, and Rowe may all once again feature in the finals of the 50 freestyle individually.
Louisville
Grace Oglesby (senior, fly/IM), Sophie Cattermole (senior, distance free/IM), Arina Openshyeva (junior, sprint free), Maria Eduarda Sumida (sophomore, distance free/IM), Mariia Astashkina (junior, breast/IM), Morgan Friesen (junior, breast/IM), Kaylee Wheeler (sophomore, breast), Casey Fanz (senior, sprint free), Alena Kraus (sophomore, free/fly).
Grace Oglesby returns as Louisville’s top 100/200 butterflyer and 200 IMer, and will again play a vital role on Louisville’s medley relays. Sophie Cattermole is Louisville’s top distance freestyler and will also contribute to the 800 free relay. Arina Openshyeva currently stands as Louisville’s top 200 freestyler who could also score top-8 in the 100 and top-16 in the 500. Like Cattermole, Openshyeva is capable of contributing a vital 1:45 split to the Cardinals’ 800 free relay and will also likely swim on the 400 free relay, which Louisville won last year. Maria Eduarda Sumida holds top-8 ACC ranking