Results

ATLANTA –  Virginia junior Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) and former Cavalier Leah Smith had stellar performances on the national stage on Thursday (Dec. 5) at the Toyota U.S. Open Championships at the Georgia Tech Campus Recreation Center.

Smith earned her second medal of the week, placing third in the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 4:08.06. Madden was the next swimmer to reach the wall in the A final, dropping over a second from her preliminary time to finish the night at 4:10.53. Smith’s time is the third fastest U.S. 400-meter freestyle time this season, while Madden’s time ranks eighth nationally.

Freshman Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y.) had a strong performance in the C finals of the 200-meter individual medley, setting a UVA record with her swim. She swam a time of 2:12.11 to finish first in the heat and record the fifth-best time of the night in the event. The time ranks seventh in the U.S. for the 2019-20 season.

Freshman Ella Nelson (Nashville, Tenn.) placed third in the C finals of the 200-meter individual medley, recording a time of 2:15.10. Her swim ranks her third all-time in UVA history.

In addition to her performance in the finals, Douglass swam a time of 25.70 in the prelims 50-meter freestyle to capture the Virginia’s third all-time fastest performance in the event. She finished 22nd in the finals with a time of 25.71.

The Toyota U.S. Open Championships will continue with day three of the competition on Friday with preliminary rounds starting at 10 a.m. and final races beginning at 6:50 p.m.