We’re again with our common section of overreactions, this time from the 2024 NCAA Division I Ladies’s Swimming and Diving Championships. You realize the drill: we’ll bounce to large conclusions based mostly on one night time of racing!
Gretchen Walsh Can Begin For The Virginia Males’s Basketball Crew
I solely watched ten minutes of Virginia’s 67-42 loss to Colorado State within the First 4 of the NCAA Division I Males’s Basketball Match on Tuesday night time, however ten minutes was sufficient for me to know that UVA was struggling. However earlier than Virginia followers go into despair over their basketball staff’s misfortunes, I suggest a grand answer: get Gretchen Walsh in a uniform.
Walsh is way and away essentially the most dominant athlete on Virginia’s campus proper now. On Wednesday, she broke one more NCAA document (it’s a part of her weekly routine!) — main off Virginia’s 200 medley relay with a time of twenty-two.10, smashing Maggie MacNeil’s earlier document by 0.42 seconds. I don’t need to hear something about how Walsh is a feminine swimmer with no basketball expertise. She’s superhuman, is over six foot, can break information like loopy, and would in all probability be capable of dunk if she tried (isn’t going 19 within the 50 free the swimming equal of dunking?). And I’m certain she would be capable of shoot higher than 25% from the sphere, which is what UVA males’s basketball shot from on Tuesday night time.
In spite of everything, SwimSwam editor-in-chief Braden Keith did say that Walsh was “going Caitlin Clark” throughout the ACC Championships (no matter meaning…).
I’m certain Todd DeSorbo doesn’t need to hand over his star swimmer, however I’m certain he can determine one thing out with Tony Bennett and make it work. However no matter they find yourself doing, all I’m saying is that I anticipate to see Walsh on the ground within the John Paul Jones Area subsequent winter.
(By the way in which, SwimSwam’s March Insanity bracket challenges are nonetheless open, so please be part of!)
NC State Wants To Go To Relay Camp
For the second 12 months in a row, the NC State ladies have DQed in a relay as a consequence of an early takeoff, and it may value them a number of locations within the remaining rankings. Final 12 months, they have been DQed for a similar purpose within the 200 free relay, and it was the distinction between successful a trophy and going house in fifth place with out one.
- For a extra critical breakdown of NC State’s DQ, click on right here.
Clearly, after two consecutive years of being DQed, this can be a power NC State downside (and let’s ignore each single different relay the place NC State did the whole lot legally). The one answer right here could be to tug what USA Swimming did and host a personal relay camp in Raleigh — no media allowed, in fact. It labored for Crew USA final 12 months (did it?), so why not attempt it out for a university staff?
The Wolfpack ladies may spend three days doing completely nothing however relay exchanges. Heck, to make it extra fascinating, they might additionally invite Nice Britain’s males’s 400 free relay as a result of they seemingly want assist in that division as properly. It’ll all be price it in the long run, as a result of something for these relay factors!
NC State has an opportunity to show itself on Thursday within the 200 free relay, the place it has a shot at redemption for its misfortunes each on Wednesday and final 12 months. Perhaps in that 200 free relay, we’ll see a legit 20.3 cut up from Katharine Berkoff…
Amy Tang Does Not Want a Relay Camp
Amy Tang has not been a greatest time within the 50 yard free (flat begin) since December 2019, when she was nonetheless in highschool and went 22.06 at Winter Juniors – West.
However she’s had some really-fast relay splits, and did so once more on Wednesday to anchor Stanford’s Eighth-place 200 medley relay with a 21.23.
Might her four-year drought be over? Stanford actually wants it to be.
The junior is catching a wave of success for the Cardinal, at the same time as their varsity staff has been neutered of its superstars both by way of going professional (Regan Smith), redshirting (Torri Huske), or transferring (Claire Curzan), however whereas the names aren’t as massive, this system goes again to roots and proving that it will possibly develop swimmers. This could possibly be the beginning of a brand new upswing for Greg Meehan and the Stanford ladies.
Is Virginia’s Reign Over???
For the primary time since 2022, the Virginia ladies have *not* received a relay at an NCAA Championship meet. The truth is, they completed fourth, marking their first time lacking a relay podium since 2019 — properly earlier than their reign over the NCAA began.
Clearly, the sky is falling for Todd Desorbo and his crew. What went from for the Cavaliers, although? Did they gamble an excessive amount of once they left Gretchen Walsh off the relay (in any case, UVA’s time from ACCs was two seconds sooner than Florida’s time)? Was it Alex Walsh and Reilly Tiltmann swimming slower splits than final 12 months? Did the aforementioned postseason struggles of Virginia basketball hit the swim staff as properly? Or did Florida, Tennessee, and Stanford merely simply do good?
For the primary time on this article, I’ll be rational right here. Sure, there can be debate in regards to the utilization of Gretchen Walsh, and whether or not it could have been higher to go away her off one other relay as an alternative. However in the long term, this outcome in all probability received’t have an effect on how UVA will fare on the finish of the meet. It’s in a cushty place to four-peat for a title, and one fourth-place end received’t change that. However since everybody loves leaping to conclusions, I’m ready to listen to “washed” jokes all night time.
That being stated, this relay was monumental for the Florida ladies — their first relay win since 2010. Bella Sims and Isabel Ivey have been nice as anticipated, but it surely was Emma Weyant and Micayla Cronk who stepped up massive time on the again half, splitting career-best instances of 1:42.90 and 1:43.02 respectively. The Gators received’t be going away anytime quickly, as they’re projected to complete third on this meet and began issues off with this assertion win. Stanford and Tennessee did very properly too, with each groups dropping considerably from their seed instances.
Tennessee Taper Jokes Are Getting Previous, However The USC Curse Stays
For years, Tennessee was the butt of taper jokes, because the Volunteers traditionally have added important time from SECs over to NCAAs. Final season, the ladies’s staff combated the notion that they couldn’t carry out at NCAAs, ending with 2.5 extra factors than projected. Nonetheless, that wasn’t sufficient for naysayers to query whether or not they’d win a trophy and place fourth as projected this 12 months.
On the primary day of this 12 months’s NCAAs, Tennessee completed within the prime 5 for each the 200 medley and 800 free relay, bettering from their seed in each occasions and ending day one in third place. Freshman Camille Spink has been phenomenal to date (as she’s been all season), main the staff with a 1:42.08 cut up within the 800 free relay. It’s solely been one night time, however clearly Matt Kredich is aware of what he’s doing. Subsequently, I suggest that we put the “Tennessee Taper” jokes to relaxation. Really, that’s too mushy. We must always burn that saying, or blow it up into smithereens.
In the meantime, USC, one other staff identified to underperform at NCAAs, continues that pattern. The Trojans have been one of many hottest rising groups this season and have been lights-out at midseasons, however appeared to have stalled a bit at NCAAs. They added 0.74 seconds within the 200 medley relay and practically three seconds within the 800 free relay, going from the fifth general seed to ending in eleventh for the latter relay. It appeared like this season, USC was lastly able to show the doubters fallacious, however as of now, these doubters are proper. Nonetheless, this staff nonetheless has three extra days to inform us in any other case.