Madden, Douglass Set Records at Double Dual Meet Friday
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Senior Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) and sophomore Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y.) each set a school record on the second day of competition (Nov. 20) at the Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tenn., at the team’s double dual meet against Tennessee and Alabama.
Madden set a school record in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:42.39. Her performance topped the UVA record mark of 1:42.46 set by Leah Smith at the 2017 NCAA Championships. Additionally, Madden won the race and captured the top time by nearly three seconds.
Douglass recorded her third UVA record at the meet, surpassing her prior school record time in the 100-yard butterfly twice during the day’s competition. She swam a time of 50.18 during the prelims before going 49.73 in the finals to win the event. Her time also set a Jones Aquatic Center record.
After two days of competition, the No. 4 Virginia women’s swimming and diving team leads No. 9 Tennessee 139-117 and No. 11 Alabama 163-89. The No. 17 Cavalier men are tied with No. 12 Tennessee at 127-127, while UVA trails No. 13 Alabama 128-115.
Women’s Meet
The women’s 200-yard medley relay team of senior Caroline Gmelich (Rumson, N.J.), junior Alexis Wenger (Detroit, Mich.), Douglass and freshman Alex Walsh (Nashville, Tenn.) recorded a time of 1:34.35 to win the event by over three seconds. The relay time was the second fastest in program history. Douglass recorded a 21.95 50-yard butterfly split, the fastest all-time butterfly split for the women’s 200-yard medley relay, joining Kelsi Dahlia (Louisville) as the only other female to go under 22 seconds for the relay split.
Sophomore Ella Nelson (Nashville, Tenn.) also posted a first-place finish during the competition, pacing the 400-yard individual medley. Nelson dropped six seconds off her preliminary time to finish the event in 4:05.02. Freshman Sophia Wilson (Guildford, England) placed fourth in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:14.03.
Virginia had three swimmers finish in the top five of the 100-yard breaststroke as Walsh finished the race in second place with a time of 59.02. Wenger followed in third place with a time of 59.12, while freshman Anna Keating (Vienna, Va.) placed fourth with a time of 59.32. Walsh’s time ranks third in program history, while Keating’s performance ranks fourth.
Freshman Abby Harter (Broadlands, Va.) and junior Jessica Nava (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) competed alongside Douglass in the 100-yard butterfly. Harter swam a time of 51.73, fifth-fastest time in program history, to place third in the event as Nava recorded a time of 52.11 to place fifth.
Gmelich went 52.10 in the 100-yard backstroke for second place as senior Kyla Valls (Miami, Fla.) added to Madden’s performance in the 200-yard freestyle with a fifth-place finish and a time of 1:46.50.
On the 1m board, senior Jocelyn Porter (Cornelius, N.C.) and sophomore Jennifer Bell (Pelham, N.Y.) lead the Cavaliers with a fourth and fifth-place finish, respectively. Porter recorded a score of 266.70, while Bell captured a score of 261.65 in the finals.
Men’s Meet
Virginia recorded a 1-2 finish in the 400-yard individual medley as the Cavaliers capture four of the event’s top five times. Junior Casey Storch (Great Falls, Va.) posted a time of 3:45.71 to record the fastest time at the meet, while sophomore Sean Conway (Round Hill, Va.) swam a time of 3:47.50 for second. Sophomore Daniel Gyenis’ (Herndon, Va.) time of 3:54.30 was the fourth fastest of the night, while freshman Tanner Hering’s (Greensboro, N.C.) time of 3:54.85 was fifth.
The Cavaliers again captured a 1-2 finish as sophomore Jack Wright (Wexford, Pa.) and senior Samuel Schilling (Excelsior, Minn.) paced the 200-yard freestyle. Wright’s time of 1:34.88 won the event as Schilling touched moments later with a time of 1:35.38.
Sophomore Max Edwards (Winston-Salem, N.C.) captured the third-fastest time in the 100-yard butterfly with a 46.75. Sophomore Josh Fong (Moorestown, N.J.) also finished in the top five, going 47.23 for fourth place.
Senior Keefer Barnum (Louisville, Ky.) recorded a third-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke. He finished the event with a time of 52.56.
Edwards again found himself in the finals of an event as he finished third in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 46.94. He swam a time of 46.70 during the preliminary races to record the fifth-fastest time in program history. Freshman Will Cole (Prospect, Ky.) placed fourth with a time of 47.19. He ranks 10th on UVA’s all-time list.
Virginia also captured a second-place finish from the 200-yard medley relay team. Cole, Barnum, Edwards and freshman Matthew Brownstead (Port Matilda, Penn.) reached the wall with a time of 1:24.90, which ranks third all-time at UVA.
Quote From Todd DeSorbo
“This team just continues to impress me and gets better every day,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “Yesterday was good, today was great! Two of our program’s fastest relays ever to start off the night included Kate Douglass with the fastest 50 butterfly split ever. The teams started off hot and never let off the gas. Tons of energy, great racing and discipline by our teams. The swimmers and divers are competing smart, executing races well and finishing strong. We’ve so many highlights it’s hard to list them all but I have to mention Paige Madden breaking a big time school record from Olympic medalist Leah Smith in the 200 free and again Kate Douglass setting the program record in the 100 fly. There were quite a few more highlights, but I’m most excited about this team’s commitment to excellence in and out of the pool. These ladies and gentlemen will be hard to beat in championship season in February and March.”
Next
The Cavaliers will conclude the double dual meet against Tennessee and Alabama tomorrow with prelims beginning at 10 a.m. and finals starting at 6 p.m. The platform will begin at 2 p.m.