Virginia Defeats Tennessee, Alabama in Double Dual Meet
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams closed a double dual meet against Tennessee and Alabama on Saturday (Nov. 21) at the Jones Aquatic Center, defeating both teams in the meet and setting three school records on the final day of competition.
The No. 4 Virginia women’s swimming and diving team defeated No. 9 Tennessee 219-168 and No. 11 Alabama 235-147, while the No. 17 Cavalier men’s team defeated the No. 12 Volunteers 206-178 and the No. 13 Crimson Tide 189-182.
UVA set three school records during the day’s performance as sophomore Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y.) and freshman Matthew Brownstead (Port Matilda, Pa.) topped the Cavalier standard in the 100-yard freestyle and the men’s relay team of Brownstead, senior Samuel Schilling (Excelsior, Minn.), sophomore August Lamb (Charlottesville, Va.) and sophomore Jack Wright (Wexford, Pa.) set a record in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Douglass surpassed the UVA 100-yard freestyle mark twice during the final night of events, capturing her fourth Virginia record in three days. The sophomore recorded a time of 47.10 to win the 100-yard freestyle, before going 46.86 as the leadoff swimmer of the 400-yard freestyle relay. Douglass’ performance topped the prior record time of 47.46 set by Morgan Hill in 2018. Douglass also set an ACC and UVA record in the 50-yard freestyle and 200-yard individual medley and a school record in the 100-yard butterfly earlier in the week.
Brownstead topped a 10-year-old UVA record with his performance in the 100-yard freestyle. The first-year recorded a time of 42.03 to win the event by over half a second. Scot Robison held the prior UVA mark with a time of 42.21 that he set at the 2010 ACC Championships. Brownstead also captured a school record in the 50-yard freestyle earlier in the meet.
Virginia closed the three-day competition with the men’s 400-yard freestyle relay team of Brownstead, Schilling, Lamb and Wright capturing a time of 2:49.84 to set a UVA record and meet record. The quartet topped the prior UVA record mark of 2:50.83 from 2019 by almost a second.
Women’s Meet
The Cavaliers recorded the top-three times in the 200-yard breaststroke. Sophomore Ella Nelson (Nashville, Tenn.) went 2:07.19 to win the event, while freshman Anna Keating (Vienna, Va.) finished with a time of 2:07.26 for second place and junior Alexis Wenger (Detroit, Mich.) finished with a time of 2:07.79 for third. The swim by Keating and Wenger ranks fifth and sixth, respectively, in Cavalier history.
Virginia added a 1-2 finish in the 200-yard butterfly to the night with freshman Abby Harter (Broadlands, Va.) and junior Jessica Nava (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) placing first and second, respectively. Harter recorded a time of 1:53.73, third-fastest time in program history, while Nava swam a time of 1:54.36, fifth-fastest time in program history.
The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Douglass, freshman Alex Walsh (Nashville, Tenn.), sophomore Lexi Cuomo (Clifton, Va.) and senior Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) captured the fastest time of the night and fourth-fastest time in school history with a 3:11.43 in the event. Douglass’ leadoff swim of 46.86 set a school record in the 100-yard freestyle.
Madden also finished second in the mile, swimming a time of 16:01.93 as sophomore Maddie Donohoe (Annandale, Va.) recorded a career-best time of 16:08.05 to finish third. Donohoe’s swim ranks ninth all-time in program history.
Senior Caroline Gmelich (Rumson, N.J.) recorded a time of 1:56.78 in the 200-yard backstroke to finish third in the event.
Senior Jocelyn Porter (Cornelius, N.C.) recorded a career-best performance on the platform to lead the Cavaliers with a fourth-place finish. Porter recorded a score of 243.70 to capture the fifth-best score in program history.
Men’s Meet
Virginia went 1-2-3 in the mile as sophomore Jack Walker (Charlotte, N.C.) recorded a time of 15:13.81 to win the event. Sophomore Daniel Gyneis (Herndon, Va.) covered the 1,650 yards in a time of 15:16.27 as senior Matthew Otto (Newark, Del.) finished with a time of 15:18.21.
Senior Keefer Barnum (Louisville, Ky.) captured a first-place finish at the meet in the 200-yard breaststroke. He recorded a time of 1:54.36 to win the event.
Junior Justin Grender (Cincinnati, Ohio) placed second in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:41.98 as sophomore Josh Fong (Moorestown, N.J.) placed second in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:43.76. Fong’s time in the 200-yard butterfly ranks seventh in UVA history.
Wright competed alongside Brownstead in the 100-yard freestyle, swimming a time of 43.20 to place third overall. His time ranks sixth in program history.
Quote From Todd DeSorbo
“Another great day for our programs with a strong showing at the finals tonight,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “Our teams finished off the weekend the same way we started, maybe better than we started, and that’s what we talked about, performing at a high level for six straight, tough sessions. The women were dominate from start to finish and showed why they are one of the best teams in the country. We are a very well-rounded, deep team and our youngsters are developing nicely, guided by some great upper-class leadership. Our breaststroke quartet in the 200 tonight was unreal. It’s the best group of breaststrokers in the country. Kate Douglass broke our school record twice today in the 100 (free) and our 200 butterflyers showed off a bit as well. The relays put a stamp on a great weekend.
“The men took some major steps forward this weekend by overcoming close to a 60-point deficit, between being short-handed in diving and skipping out on a relay, to win both meets. The meet with Alabama came down to the last relay and I was proud to see our men step up for the team and pull off the win. Jack Walker, Matt Brownstead, Keefer Barnum and Josh Fong, among others, came through big time in their individual races. I couldn’t be prouder and more excited for the future.”