Neither Noah Nichols nor Tim Connery seem on the Virginia males’s swimming roster to begin the second semester, and neither is predicted to return to the staff. SwimSwam has reached out to each for remark.
Nichols, the college document holder within the 100 and 200 breaststroke, most lately competed on the staff’s midseason meet, the Tennessee Invitational. There, he swept the breaststroke occasions and completed fourth within the 200 IM, recording season-bests in all three occasions. He was additionally a part of the 400 medley relay staff that swam 3:02.01, breaking this system document and coming five-tenths from the American document set in 2017.
Connery final raced on the staff’s season-opener in opposition to Florida, ending eighth within the short-course meters 100 breaststroke and 100 butterfly.
Nichols was the staff’s high scorer on the 2024 NCAA Championships, incomes 28 particular person factors together with his fourth-place end within the 100 breaststroke (50.93) and sixth-place within the 200 breaststroke (1:50.69). Connery scored 4 factors individually ultimately season’s NCAAs, taking thirteenth within the 200 IM (1:42.60) after setting a program document of 1:41.70 in prelims. Nichols swam on the medley relays at NCAAs (23.05/50.43), serving to the 400 medley relay place Tenth. Connery joined Nichols on the medley relays, swimming butterfly (20.93/45.72) on each. He additionally anchored the 400 freestyle relay to a different Tenth-place end (41.93).
Shedding two NCAA scorers hurts the Cavaliers, who’re in search of a rebound season after ending seventeenth at 2024 NCAAs to choose up momentum earlier than a high-powered recruiting class that features Maximus Williamson and Thomas Heilman arrives on campus in fall 2025. There have been momentum-builders for Virginia, notably from freshmen Spencer Nicholas and David King. Shedding their high breaststroker is a setback for Virginia
Nonetheless, dropping their high breaststroker is a setback for the Cavaliers. Nichols owned the staff’s quickest 100 and 200 breaststroke up to now this season together with his 51.32/1:52.96 from the Tennessee Invitational. With out him on the roster, Jay Gerloff takes over because the staff’s quickest 100 breaststroker this season with a 51.32 and Matthew Heilman’s 1:55.98 is their quickest 200 breaststroke.
Nichols’ Private Bests
- 100 breaststroke: 50.82 (UVA document)
- 200 breaststroke: 1:50.69 (UVA document)
- 200 IM: 1:43.45
Connery’s Private Bests
- 200 freestyle: 1:34.01
- 100 backstroke: 46.14
- 100 butterfly: 45.21
- 200 IM: 1:41.70 (UVA document)
