Members of the UVA women’s swimming and diving team celebrate the Cavaliers’ fifth consecutive NCAA title at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way, Washington. (UVA Athletics photo, Illustration by John DiJulio, University Communications)
The championship streak, which surpasses the men’s soccer dynasty of the early 1990s as the longest in UVA varsity sports history, began in 2021 in Greensboro, North Carolina, but the Wahoos’ reign near the top of the sport stretches further back.
“That moment was probably the breakthrough,” Virginia head coach Todd DeSorbo said earlier this month. “Going into that (NCAA) meet knowing we were going to have a chance to win and having that excitement, and then having it ripped away from you, out of your control, that was when our team was like, ‘OK, well, that sucked, but we’re going to make sure to win next year.’”
DeSorbo saw that determination shine through a difficult period for his student-athletes.
“There were no pools open, there were no weight rooms open, there was no way to train,” DeSorbo said, reflecting on pandemic-related restrictions. “But I think it really motivated them to do everything they could possibly do through that spring and summer, to set themselves up to come back and be in a better place than anybody in the country.”
— Virginia Swimming and Dive (@UVASwimDive) March 23, 2025
[♪ Upbeat Music Plays ♪]
Announcer 1: It’s (Claire) Curzan with the lead at 1:50.
Announcer 2: It’s a new record!
By five one hundredths, she breaks her own record.
Claire Curzan: Just thinking about all my family and teammates in the stands watching, and just wanted to make then proud.
Announcer 3: Well, you did just that. You are the fastest swimmer ever in this event! Claire, congratulations!
Announcer 1: There’s Gretchen. Gretchen Walsh’s race … 44.71, another record swim!
Virginia gets the win. They win it by 2.6 seconds (laughs). Is that all?
Announcer 3: The University of Virginia, you are the NCAA champions in this 4 by 100 relay, but also overall team. There is no better way to end a meet like this.
Alex Walsh: So many girls dream of being a part of a national championship winning team, and the fact that we’ve been able to do it five times in a row is just unbelievable. I’ve had so many of my favorite memories here with these girls. It’s been awesome.
Announcer 3: Virginia Cavaliers, you are national champions in this event and overall. Congratulations, ladies.
[Cheers]
Five rings later, the standard remains.
“It’s pretty amazing,” DeSorbo said following Saturday’s victory. “In my opinion, this is the best dynasty in college sports, period.”
Dynasty Numbers
5 UVA’s latest title represents the first “five-peat” of any UVA varsity sports program in school history, surpassing the men’s soccer team’s streak of four consecutive NCAA titles from 1991 to 1994.
2 UVA women’s swimming and diving is the second ACC program to win five straight NCAA titles, joining UNC women’s soccer, which won nine from 1986 to 1994.
3 UVA is the third women’s swimming and diving program in NCAA history to win five consecutive championships, joining Stanford University (1992 to 1996) and the University of Texas (1984 to 1988).
1 Alex Walsh, a member of all five of UVA’s NCAA title teams, is the only swimmer ever to win an individual title in five separate NCAA championship meets.
48 Total number of career individual and relay NCAA championships departing sister duo Alex (23) and Gretchen Walsh (25) have won.
35 UVA now has 35 NCAA championships across all sports.
83 Since 2021, UVA swimmers have set 83 American records.
124.5 UVA’s average margin of victory in its five NCAA championships. UVA was 127 points better than runner-up Stanford in its latest conquest.
