Virginia Concludes Day Three of NCAA Championships in Eighth Place
Results (Finals) | Results (Prelims)
AUSTIN, Texas.- The Virginia women’s swimming and diving team concluded action on the third day of the NCAA Championships on Friday (March 22) at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, advancing three individual swimmers into the top heat of the finals.
After today’s events, Virginia moves into eighth place with 128 points. California leads the team standings with 328 points. Stanford is in second place with 299.5 points, while Michigan is in third with 233 points.
“The women had one of the best days of my coaching career today, really showing how far they’ve come,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “Paige (Madden), Morgan (Hill) and Alexis (Wenger) all had huge improvements this year to land in their first ever (individual) championship finals at NCAAs. Our medley relay finished in the top eight compared to finishing 15th last year. These women have done a great job so far. We are excited about tomorrow as we are in a great team battle to beat our ninth-place finish from last year. The future is bright.”
Junior Morgan Hill (Olney, Md.) finished seventh in the 100-yard butterfly, setting a school record with a time of 50.84. She captured her 11th career All-America honor to rank 17th in program history for most All-American accolades, tying with redshirt junior Megan Moroney (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) who also picked up her 11th career accolade with a performance in the consolation finals of the 200-yard freestyle.
Sophomore Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) reached the finals of the 200-yard freestyle where she finished fifth overall. Madden swam a career-best time of 1:43.03, earning All-America honors. Her time ranks third in school history as she dropped almost a second off her entry time (1:43.96) during the day’s competition.
In the 100-yard breaststroke, freshman Alexis Wenger (Detroit, Mich.) finished sixth overall, capturing her first individual All-America honor. She swam a time of 58.64 in the finals.
Additionally, the 200-yard medley relay team of sophomore Caroline Gmelich (Rumson, N.J.), Wenger, sophomore Anna Pang (London) and sophomore Kyla Valls (Miami, Fla.) finished eighth. The four swam a time of 1:36.16 to finish with All-America honors in the event. Gmelich’s 50-yard backstroke split time was the fastest in the top heat of the finals as she led the Cavaliers with a time of 23.85.
Moroney also advanced to the finals, competing in the consolation finals of the 200-yard freestyle. She placed 16th overall and swam a time of 1:45.03, earning honorable mention All-America in the event. She earned the national honor for the 11th time in her career.
The Cavaliers will conclude the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships tomorrow with events beginning at 10 a.m. ET. The team will compete in the 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke, 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard freestyle. The platform will begin at 12:15 p.m.