Madden, Douglass lead Virginia at Toyota U.S. Open on Friday
RICHMOND, Va. – Senior Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) and sophomore Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y.) led the Virginia men’s and women’s swimming teams at the Toyota U.S. Open at the SwimRVA in Richmond on Friday (Nov. 13). Madden captured the top overall time in the 200-meter freestyle as Douglass set a UVA record in the 50-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly.
Richmond is one of nine sites hosting the Toyota U.S. Open. The meet split across different locations to help ensure safe travel for coaches and athletes as well as limit the number of participants at a single location.
Results from the nine locations will be combined to create a comprehensive report.
Women’s Meet
Senior Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) won the 200-meter freestyle and finished as the runner-up in the 400-meter freestyle to lead the Cavaliers. Her time of 1:57.64 in the 200-meter freestyle was the second-best swim all time by a Cavalier with former Hoo Leah Smith being the only Virginia swimmer to go faster. The UVA senior recorded a time of 4:10.42 in the 400-meter freestyle to win the race in Richmond and narrowly missed having the competition’s top time by four-hundredths of a second as Emma Weyant swam a time of 4:10.38 at the meet in Florida.
Douglass concluded the day with a pair of UVA records, topping the Cavalier mark in the 50-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly. The sophomore captured a time of 24.99 in the 50-meter freestyle to surpass the prior UVA record mark of 25.34 set by Caitlin Cooper in 2017. Douglass’ time was the second-fastest overall swim across the nine competition sites as incoming Cavalier Gretchen Walsh was the only U.S. Open competitor to go faster with a 24.65. Douglass won the event at the team’s competition site in Richmond.
Douglass followed her 50-meter freestyle performance with a Virginia record in the 100-meter butterfly. She recorded a time of 57.43 for the second-best time in the event at SwimRVA and the third-best time overall in the meet. Her time in the event also surpassed the prior U.S. Open Meet record of 57.48 set by Torri Huske in 2019. Kaitlyn Jones held the prior UVA record in the event with a time of 58.88 that she set at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.
In addition to Douglass’ performance in the 100-meter butterfly, freshmen Alex Walsh (Nashville, Va.) and Abby Harter (Broadlands, Va.) finished the competition ninth and 11th, respectively. Walsh’s time of 59.58 ranks third in UVA history, while Harter’s 59.83 ranks fourth. The Cavalier swimmers placed third and fourth at the competition in Richmond.
Walsh also captured a time of 2:14.10, third-fastest time in program history, in the 200-meter individual medley to finish second at the Richmond meet and fourth overall. Sophomore Ella Nelson (Nashville, Va.) placed fourth at the competition site with a time of 2:16.01. Her time ranked her 12th overall and sixth in program history.
Freshman Anna Keating (Vienna, Va.) went 1:09.15 in the 100-meter breaststroke to finish 10th overall and second in Richmond. Her time was 15-hudredths of a second shy of the UVA record held by Laura Simon, placing her second all-time at UVA.
Men’s Meet
Sophomore Max Edwards (Winston-Salem, N.C.) led the men’s team during the day’s events. Edwards recorded a time of 56.47, an Olympic Trial cut and sixth-fastest time in program history, in the 100-meter backstroke to tie for 25th overall and second at the team’s competition site in Richmond.
Sophomore August Lamb (Charlottesville, Va.) led the Cavaliers in the 50-meter freestyle, tying for 20th overall and fourth in Richmond with a time of 22.94. His time ranks fourth in Cavalier history.
Sophomore Sean Conway (Round Hill, Va.) swam a time of 2:04.78 in the 200-meter individual medley to place 22nd overall in the event. His time was the third fastest in Richmond and ranked ninth all time for the Cavaliers.
Freshman Jan Karolczak (Warszawa, Poland) recorded the second-fastest 200-meter freestyle time at the Richmond meet, swimming a time 1:52.24. He finished 31st overall.
Quote from Todd DeSorbo
“We had a lot of exceptional races today, especially when you consider these were the first long course races for our team in over a year,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “Most of our crew were near their lifetime bests with several hitting PBs. We had several women post times that put them in the conversation for Olympic contention. Our men were right at their personal bests as well and that is impressive considering where we are in training at this point in the season. This is a great first step as we move towards peak conditioning for Olympic Trials in June. I’m proud of our squad here for the support they’ve shown each other, the commitment to excellence the last six months and their progress. We are in a great spot. Looking forward to more great racing tomorrow.”
Return to Action
The Toyota U.S. Open will conclude tomorrow with events in Richmond starting at 9 a.m.