ATLANTA (AP) — Virginia junior Claire Curzan finished off a sweep in the backstroke and then helped set an NCAA record in the 400 freestyle relay as the Cavaliers women polished off a sixth straight NCAA swimming and diving championship on Saturday at the McAuley Aquatic Center.
Curzan won the 200-yard back in 1 minute, 46.10 seconds, after winning the 100 on Friday. Curzan set an NCAA record in the 200 on Feb. 21 in the same pool at 1:46.09. Wisconsin sophomore Maggie Wanezek was second and North Carolina State sophomore Erika Pelaez placed third.
Curzan teamed up with Madi Mintenko, Anna Moesch and anchor Sara Curtis to clock a 3:05.26 in finishing off a sweep of all five relays.
Todd DeSorbo has led the Cavaliers to all six of the program’s championships, and all six have come since the 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID-19. Greg Meehan coached Stanford to three straight titles from 2017-19.
Virginia finished with 589 points, easily outdistancing runner-up Stanford’s 380.5. Texas, California and Tennessee rounded out the top five.
Stanford senior Torri Huske edged out a pair of Cavaliers to win the 100-yard freestyle in a program- and venue-record 45.17 seconds. Moesch (45.54), a sophomore, was second, followed by Curtis (45.77), a freshman. Huske also won the event’s 50 free and 100 butterfly, finishing with four career individual titles.
Lucy Bell, another Cardinal senior, clocked the fourth fastest time in program history (1:52.09) to win the 200 IM in her final race. California freshman Teagan O’Dell took second and her sophomore teammate Mia West was third. Bell finishes as a three-time champion.
Texas junior Campbell Stoll won the 200 butterfly in 1:50.26, edging out Indiana freshman Alex Shackell (1:50.40). Michigan’s Hannah Bellard was third.
Stanford freshman Ellie Cole totaled 399.80 points to win platform diving — 56 points clear of the rest of the field.
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