GREENSBORO, N.C. –  The Virginia women’s swimming and diving team captured two ACC titles and set two UVA records on the third night (Feb. 21) of the ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving and Men’s Diving Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

The Cavaliers held their lead, concluding day three of the competition with 1,001 points. NC State is in second place with 888 points, while Louisville is in third place with 745.5.

Freshman Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y.) and junior Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) led the Cavaliers during the day as both UVA swimmers recorded their second individual title at the meet. Douglass swam a time of 50.83 in the 100-yard butterfly to post the top time in the event. The win was her fourth overall at the competition. Madden recorded a time of 1:43.18 to win the ACC title in the 200-yard freestyle by over a second. The win was her sixth career championship title and third conference title of the week.

Additionally, Virginia set two school records during the finals. Freshman Ella Nelson (Nashville, Tenn.) set a UVA record in the 400-yard individual medley, capturing a time of 4:04.36 to top the prior Virginia record set by Kaitlyn Jones in 2016 by almost two seconds. ­ Sophomore Alexis Wenger (Detroit, Mich.) topped the UVA standard in the 100-yard breaststroke set by Laura Simon in 2017, swimming a time of 57.91. Both Nelson and Wenger placed second in their respective events.

Three additional swimmers earned a spot on the podium and received All-ACC honors as senior Morgan Hill (Olney, Md.) joined Douglass in the top two of the 100-yard butterfly. Hill recorded a time of 51.12 to place second in the event. Redshirt senior Megan Moroney (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) competed alongside Madden in the 200-yard freestyle, capturing a third-place finish with a time of 1:44.26. Junior Caroline Gmelich (Rumson, N.J.) earned a spot on the podium with a second-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke. She tied her career-best time of 51.88 in the finals.

The women’s team concluded the day with Gmelich, Wenger, Douglass and Hill racing to the wall for a second-place finish and a time of 3:28.17 in the 400-yard medley relay.

In the men’s diving championship, sophomore Walker Creedon (Cary, N.C.) advanced to the finals on the platform. He recorded a score of 347.10 to finish fifth overall in the event. The Virginia men’s team will enter next week’s ACC Men’s Swimming Championships in fifth place with 116 points.

The Cavaliers will conclude the final day of the ACC Championships on Saturday. The preliminary events beginning at 10 a.m. The finals will be streamed on ACCNX with events beginning at 6 p.m.

Meet Notes:
• Madden and Douglass lead Virginia with two individual ACC titles.
• Tonight’s ACC honor is the sixth for Madden, who has captured three ACC titles in this week’s championship.
• Virginia had 12 performances qualify for the A finals on Friday. Creedon also advanced to the finals on the platform.
• Freshman Lexi Cuomo (Clifton, Va.) swam a career best in the prelims of the 100-yard butterfly, recording the third-fastest time in school history at 51.51. She placed fifth in the finals of the event with a time of 51.85.
• Junior Abby Richter (Henderson, Nev.) dropped two seconds off her prelim time to swim a career best in the finals of the 400-yard individual medley. Her time of 4:05.86 ranks second in UVA history behind Nelson’s swim in tonight’s final.
• Junior Kyla Valls (Miami, Fla.) recorded the eighth-fastest time in UVA history in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:44.48. She finished fourth in the finals.

Quote from Todd DeSorbo
“The women kept the momentum rolling today and had a great morning in prelims to set us up for the rest of the day,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “Going 1-2 in the 100 fly to start the night was a big momentum builder, and then Ella Nelson and Abby Richter both going under our school record in the 400 IM was impressive. Paige Madden, Megan Moroney and Kyla Valls took three of the top-four spots in the 200 free, and both Alexis Wenger and Caroline Gmelich finished with podium spots in their respective events. Having Ella Nelson and Alexis Wenger break prominent school records was impressive as well. Our goal is to continue the momentum into the final day tomorrow and try and close this out the way we started.”