Virginia women cruise, California men clinch 2026 ACC titles

Dominance and drama collided at the 2026 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships.

Virginia’s women swam with commanding control, stamping their imprint on nearly every race and locking up another ACC crown. On the men’s side, California edged past Stanford in a much closer battle for the conference title.

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Here are the main takeaways from this year’s ACC swimming and diving championships.

Virginia women stay dominant in post-Walsh era

After five straight NCAA titles, there was no doubt the Virginia women would continue to succeed in 2026. However, there was a question whether they would continue to dominate without Alex and Gretchen Walsh.

Virginia and head coach Todd DeSorbo reminded the rest of the NCAA that the Hoos are still the most dominant force in collegiate swimming.

The Cavaliers opened competition posting the second-fastest time in NCAA history in the 800 freestyle relay, surpassing a Stanford quartet that featured Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel back in 2017.

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It seemed like the meet was over before it even started as the Virginia women had extended a sizable lead after the first full day of swimming competition, winning three out of the four swimming events. They again posted the second-fastest swim in history, this time in the 200 freestyle relay, trailing only themselves from the 2024 ACC Championships.

Olympic medalist Claire Curzan is the Hoos’ X-factor as she threw down an NCAA record in the 200-yd back, stopping the clock in 1:46.09. Curzan also clocked the second-fastest 100-yd backstroke in NCAA history, behind only Gretchen Walsh. Curzan was named the ACC most valuable swimmer of the meet after winning four gold medals.

Anna Moesch has had a major breakout season. This week, she became just the fourth woman to break 1:40 in the 200 freestyle. The sophomore is now just six-tenths of a second off Missy Franklin’s legendary NCAA record of 1:39.10 set back in 2015.

Overall, the Virginia women racked up 11 total titles en route to their seventh straight ACC championship. This team has young stars, suffocating depth, and will enter the NCAAs as the clear favorite for a sixth straight national title.

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California tops Stanford on the last day of competition

The California men are 2 for 2 as members of the ACC, but this year it came down to the last day of competition.

The Bears locked up the 2025 title early on, winning the meet by over 200 points, but it was a different story in 2026.

Stanford and Cal faced off in a seven-round heavyweight battle. Through a full week of competition, there was little separation.

Relay scoring was almost dead even between the two and the Cardinal outscored the Bears in diving; it was the points gained from individual swimming events that secured the win for the defending champs.

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California’s Yamato Okadome led the way, winning three gold medals in the 100-yd breast, 200-yd breast and 400-yd medley relay.

The Bears didn’t win the meet because of total titles, as California won only four individual and relay events overall. Stanford also won four and the North Carolina State men won seven ACC titles, but lacked the complete team that California brought to Atlanta.

The California men were second at last year’s NCAA championships and will look to compete for another top-three spot in March.

New stars emerge

Although seniors like Stanford’s Torri Huske and Lucy Bell found success, winning nine ACC medals, the conference has turned over a new leaf.

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Underclassmen found continued success throughout the week filling up championship finals and winning half of the ACC individual titles.

Freshmen and sophomores won a staggering 16 individual events. In comparison, they collected only seven wins in 2025.

Seven freshmen finished in the top eight in the men’s 500-yd freestyle, and NC State freshman Max Carlsen won it. The lone fifth-year, Cal’s Eduardo Oliveira de Moraes, was fourth.

Carlsen also won the 1,650-yd freestyle, and UVA sophomore and U.S. Olympian Katie Grimes doubled up winning the 500-yd free and 1,650-yd freestyle.

Louisville freshman true freshman Nikita Sheremet posted the second-fastest 18-and-under 100-yd freestyle of all-time, and he’s now tied with NC State’s Kaii Winkler, who placed second in the event this year as a sophomore. Sheremet also won silver in the 50-yd freestyle.

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Moesch, a sophomore, swept the 100-yd and 200-yd freestyles, knocking off Huske in the 100.

Okadome, who was the ACC’s most valuable men’s swimmer of the meet, is just a sophomore as well. Additionally, half of Cal’s 20 athletes who scored points were underclassmen.

The trend continued in diving, as Stanford freshman Ellie Cole and Stanford sophomore Misha Andriyuk swept the platform events.

The ACC is ready to compete with the rest of the country

This week showcased that the ACC is ready to compete for national titles and top-five finishes at the NCAAs in March.

The Virginia women are the standard in collegiate swimming, but Stanford, Louisville, California, and NC State were also impressive.

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The Louisville women knocked off Virginia in the 200-yd medley relay and NC State’s Eneli Jefimova 100-yd breaststroke is now the fastest in the country after this week.

The California women have been in rebuilding mode over the past several years and are now catching stride as they broke a school record in the 200-yd medley relay. Sophomore Mia West also won Cal’s first ACC title in the 200-yd butterfly.

On the men’s side, Texas and Arizona State are going to be tough to catch nationally, but Cal, Stanford, and NC State look ready to race come the end of March.

Stanford’s Henry McFadden posted a top-five time in the country this year in the 200-yd freestyle, and Okadome’s times in breaststroke stack up with the best in the NCAA this season.

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NC State’s 200-yd freestyle relay and 400-yd freestyle relay teams broke the ACC meet and conference record. In the 400-yd freestyle relay they finished four-tenths of a second faster than the SEC champion Florida Gators.

The impressive times in the pool and exquisite diving on the boards set up the ACC for an exciting close to the 2026 season.

Full Team Results

Men

California: 1,154

Stanford: 1,076

North Carolina State: 973

Louisville: 844

Virginia Tech: 715.5

Florida State: 624.5

Virginia: 577.5

North Carolina: 572.5

Notre Dame: 488

SMU: 407

Pittsburgh: 401

Georgia Tech: 357

Miami (FL): 162

Duke: 138

Boston College: 112

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Women

Virginia: 1,410.5

Stanford: 1,039

California: 1,027.5

Louisville: 925

North Carolina State: 851.5

Pittsburgh: 552

North Carolina: 522.5

Duke: 432.5

Virginia Tech: 409.5

Florida State: 371

Notre Dame: 366

Miami (FL): 322

Georgia Tech: 274

SMU: 261

Boston College: 98