Dominance and drama collide at the 2026 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships.
Virginia’s women’s swimming team put on a stellar performance, leaving their mark on nearly every meet and locking in another ACC title. On the men’s side, Cal defeated Stanford in a tight battle for the conference title.
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Here are the key takeaways from this year’s ACC Swimming and Diving Championships.
Virginia women still dominate in post-Walsh era
After winning five consecutive NCAA championships, there is no doubt that the Virginia women’s team will continue its success in 2026. However, some question whether their success will continue. Dominate No Alex and Gretchen Walsh.
Virginia and head coach Todd DeSorbo reminded the rest of the NCAA that the Hoosiers remain the most dominant force in college swimming.
The Cavaliers posted the second-fastest time in NCAA history in the 800 freestyle relay, surpassing Stanford’s quartet of Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel.
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The race seemed to be over before it even began, as the Virginia women’s team extended a sizable lead after the first day of swimming, winning three of the four swim events. They once again posted the second-fastest swim time in history, this time in the 200 freestyle relay, trailing only their own at the 2024 ACC Championships.
Olympic medalist Claire Curzan was the Hoos’ X-factor, setting an NCAA record in the 200-yard back with a time of 1:46.09. Curzine also posted the second-fastest 100-yard backstroke time in NCAA history, trailing only Gretchen Walsh. Corzine was named the ACC’s most valuable swimmer of the tournament after winning four gold medals.
Already having a major breakout season. This week, she became the fourth woman to break 1:40 in the 200 freestyle. The sophomore is now just six-tenths of a second shy of the legendary NCAA record of 1:39.10 set in 2015.
Overall, the Virginia women’s team won a total of 11 championships and captured their seventh consecutive ACC Championship. This team has young stars and suffocating depth and will enter the NCAA as the clear favorite for a sixth consecutive national championship.
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California beats Stanford on final day
The Cal men’s team is 2-2 as a member of the ACC, but this year’s tournament is entering the final day.
The Bears locked up the 2025 title early, winning the game by more than 200 points, but things are different in 2026.
Stanford and Cal competed in a seven-round heavyweight battle. After a full week of racing, there was little separation.
The Cardinals outscored the Bears on the dive even with almost zero points on the relay between the two. The defending champion won with points from the individual swimming event.
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California’s Yamato Okadome led the way, winning three gold medals in the 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard medley relay.
The Bears didn’t win the meet based on overall wins, as Cal only won four individual and relay titles total. Stanford also won 4 championships and the North Carolina men’s team won 7 ACC championships, but lacked the complete team that Cal brought to Atlanta.
The Cal men’s team finished second in last year’s NCAA tournament and will compete for another top-three spot in March.
New stars emerge
Despite the success of seniors like Stanford’s Torri Huske and Lucy Bell, who won nine ACC medals, the conference has turned over a new leaf.
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The underclassmen continued their success this week, reaching the championship finals and winning half of the ACC individual titles.
Freshmen and sophomores won an astonishing 16 individual event titles. By comparison, they only managed seven wins in 2025.
Seven freshmen finished in the top eight in the men’s 500-yard freestyle, with NC State freshman Max Carlsen winning. The only fifth-year student, Cal’s Eduardo Oliveira de Moraes, finished fourth.
Carlson also won the 1,650-yard freestyle, while Virginia sophomore and U.S. Olympian Katie Grimes won both the 500-yard freestyle and the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Louisville freshman Nikita Sheremet set the second-fastest time in history in the 18-and-under 100-yard freestyle, now tying him with NC State’s Kaii Winkler, who finished second in the event as a sophomore this year. Sheremet also won a silver medal in the 50-yard freestyle event.
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Mosch, a sophomore, swept the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle events and defeated Husker in the 100 meters.
Okadom is the ACC’s most valuable men’s swimmer in this tournament, and he’s only a sophomore. Additionally, half of Cal’s 20 scoring athletes are underclassmen.
The trend continues in diving, with Stanford freshman Ellie Cole and Stanford sophomore Misha Andriyuk sweeping the platform events.
The ACC is ready to compete with the rest of the country
This week, the ACC is ready to compete for a national championship and place in the top five of the NCAA tournament in March.
The Virginia women’s team is the standard in college swimming, but Stanford, Cal State Louisville and North Carolina State also had impressive performances.
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The Louisville women defeated Virginia in the 200-yard medley relay, with NC State’s Eneli Jefimova becoming the nation’s fastest 100-yard breaststroker after the week.
The Cal women’s team, which has been in a rebuilding state over the past few years, is hitting its stride, breaking the school record in the 200-yard medley relay. Sophomore Mia West also won California’s first ACC title in the 200-yard butterfly.
On the men’s side, Texas and Arizona State will be tough to catch nationally, but Cal, Stanford and NC State look ready to compete in late March.
Stanford’s Henry McFadden had a top-five time nationally in the 200-yard freestyle this year, and Okadom matched the NCAA’s best time in the breaststroke this season.
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NC State’s 200-yard freestyle relay team and 400-yard freestyle relay team broke ACC meet and conference records. They were four-tenths of a second faster than the SEC champion Florida Gators in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Impressive pool time and great diving action provided an exciting finish to the ACC’s 2026 season.
