In Roman numerals, V represents the number 5. In the Roman Alphabet, V represents both the words “Victory” and “Virginia,” which in women’s NCAA Division I swimming have become almost synonymous over the last half-decade.
While Virginia is certainly in the title hunt next season, the 2025 championship is still the end of a certain era of the dynasty. The team’s big three of Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh, and Gretchen Walsh, maybe unlike any trio of college swimmers we’ve ever seen together, blew our minds almost every time they entered the pool.
In their best events, they obliterated records and rewrote the framework by which all future swims will be measured. In their not-best events, they still blew our minds and sometimes found new best events – who knew the country’s best 50 freestyler and best 200 breaststroker could be the same swimmer?
So while the dynasty has not officially ended, their 5th title feels like a moment to pause and take stock of what they have achieved. Below, the data compares their 5 titles.
By the Numbers: Virginia’s 5 NCAA Championships
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
| Place | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| Points | 491 | 551.5 | 541.5 | 527.5 | 544 |
| Margin of Victory | 137 | 145.5 | 127 | 86.5 | 127 |
| Event Wins | 6 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 |
| NCAA Records | 0 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 4 |
| Relay wins | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Number of Scorers | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 |
Of course this is just a snapshot of the end of the season. It doesn’t fully capture the ACC titles, Olympic medals, World Championships, World Records, records set at non-dual meets, American Records (which the Virginia program has set 83 of in all courses since 2021). It doesn’t account for Virginia owning 13 out of 19 NCAA Women’s records in swimming & diving. It doesn’t account for the thrills and the shivers that the swimmers have given us over the last five seasons.
The Virginia women are still very good. They have a roster of US National and Junior National Teamers, Olympic medalists, and World Championship medalists who are certainly capable of winning an NCAA team title. But Kate, Alex, and Gretchen, as one SwimSwam commenter put it, are a “cheat code.” They’re those transcendent stars who can smooth over a lot of things, who can lift their teammates, and who can will their teams to titles.
They are The Champions, the three-for-five, and a group unlike maybe we’ve ever seen before in collegiate swimming.
I hope we all enjoyed it.
2025 Champions
2024 Champions
Virginia Women 2024 NCAA Champions (photo: Jack Spitser)
2023 Champions
Virginia NCAA Champions (photo: Jack Spitser)
2022 Champions
Virginia Women Celebration (photo: Jack Spitser)
2021 Champions
Virginia 2021 NCAA Team Champions. Courtesy of the NCAA
