CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s swimming and diving team swept the end-of-year major awards the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) announced on Thursday (April 16).

Head coach Todd DeSorbo was named the women’s head coach of the Year, while junior Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) was named the Swimmer of the Year and senior Sydney Dusel (Naperville, Ill.) was named the Diver of the Year. Freshman Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y.) earned Rookie Swimmer of the Year and freshman Jennifer Bell (Pelham, N.Y.) earned Rookie Diver of the Year.

DeSorbo led the Cavaliers to their second ACC title in three years, setting a meet record for highest point score in ACC history at 1,492.5 points. Virginia won six individual events and four of five relays at the conference championships for a total of 10 ACC titles over the four-day competition. The team also earned 36 All-ACC honors at the meet. Eighteen members of the team earned All-America honors from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) as all 18 Cavaliers qualified for the NCAA Championships. Virginia concluded the season ranked second in the CSCAA’s final regular season poll. The Cavaliers’ performance throughout the year and during the ACC Championships earned DeSorbo the title of women’s ACC Swim Coach of the Year.

Madden earned ACC Swimmer of the Year and ACC Swimmer of the Meet honors after winning five conference titles at the ACC Championships. The junior captured individual wins in the 200, 500 and 1650-yard freestyle at the conference championships and helped the 400 and 800-yard freestyle relays to a first-place finish. She scored 96 points at the meet to lead the conference as the top point scorer. Madden was named a five-time 2020 CSCAA All-American after qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 200, 500 and 1650-yard freestyle and being a member of the Cavaliers’ 400 and 800-yard advancing freestyle relay teams. Madden concluded the year with four of her performances ranking in the top 10 in the country as she held the second-best 500-yard freestyle, sixth-best 1650-yard freestyle, seventh-best 200-yard freestyle and seventh-best 200-yard backstroke.

Dusel won the 3m board and placed second on the 1m board at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships to qualify for the national championships in both events. She earned All-ACC honors at the ACC Championships on both boards with a third-place finish on the 1m and 3m. Dusel also scored points for the Cavaliers at ACCs on the platform with an 11th-place finish. The senior led the Cavaliers throughout the season winning eight of 10 dual meet events, including sweeping the springboards against Wisconsin, NC State and North Carolina. Dusel earned CSCAA All-America honors for qualifying on the 1m and 3m board.

Douglass captured five ACC titles and scored 91 points at the conference championships, winning two individual titles and three relay titles. She set an ACC record with her gold medal performance in the 200-yard individual medley before topping the 100-yard butterfly later in the week. The freshman also helped the 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard freestyle relay to wins at the conference championships. Douglass added a third-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke and a second-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay to her performance at the ACC Championships. Douglass concluded the year with the fourth-best time in NCAA history in the 200-yard individual medley in addition to fastest time in the NCAA this season in the 200-yard individual medley, third-fastest time in the 200-yard breaststroke, fourth-fastest time in the 100-yard butterfly and fifth-fastest time in the 50-yard freestyle.

Bell placed third on the 3m board at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships to earn a spot at NCAAs. Her finish on the 3m board also qualified her for the national meet on the 1m board where she finished eighth. She also advanced to the finals at Zones on the platform. Bell earned CSCAA All-America honors for qualifying for the national meet on both springboards. She held the team’s second-best score on the 1m and 3m dive during the season. She also had a strong performance at the Tennessee Diving Invitational, placing eighth on the 3m board and 10th on the platform.

The Cavaliers had 19 first-team VaSID All-State selections and two second-team selections. Virginia had Morgan Hill (Olney, Md. – freestyle, butterfly), Madden (freestyle), Maddie Donohoe (Annandale, Va. – freestyle), Lexi Cuomo (Clifton, Va. – freestyle), Caroline Gmelich (Rumson, N.J. – backstroke), Megan Moroney (Deerfield Beach, Fla. – backstroke), Ella Nelson (Nashville, Tenn. – breaststroke, individual medley), Alexis Wenger (Detroit, Mich. – breaststroke), Abby Richter (Henderson, Nev. – butterfly), Douglass (individual medley), Dusel (diving), Bell (diving) and all five relays picked for first-team honors. Kyla Valls (Miami, Fla. – freestyle) and Jocelyn Porter (Cornelius, N.C. – diving) earned second-team honors.

2020 VaSID University Division Women’s Swimming & Diving All-State Team
Coach of the Year – Todd DeSorbo, Virginia
Swimmer of the Year – Paige Madden, Virginia
Diver of the Year – Sydney Dusel, Virginia
Rookie Swimmer of the Year – Kate Douglass, Virginia
Rookie Diver of the Year – Jennifer Bell, Virginia

All-State First Team
Free – Morgan Hill, Virginia
Free – Paige Madden, Virginia
Free – Maddie Donohoe, Virginia
Free – Lexi Cuomo, Virginia
Free – Bonnie Zhang, James Madison
Back – Caroline Gmelich, Virginia
Back – Megan Moroney, Virginia
Breast – Ella Nelson, Virginia
Breast – Alexis Wenger, Virginia
Fly – Morgan Hill, Virginia
Fly – Abby Richter, Virginia
IM – Kate Douglass, Virginia
IM – Ella Nelson, Virginia
Diving – Sydney Dusel, Virginia
Diving – Hope Byrum, James Madison
Diving – Jennifer Bell, Virginia
200 Free Relay – Virginia
400 Free Relay – Virginia
800 Free Relay – Virginia
200 Medley Relay – Virginia
400 Medley Relay – Virginia

All-State Second Team
Free – Kyla Valls, Virginia
Free – Julianna Jones, James Madison
Free – Joelle Vereb, Virginia Tech
Free – Megan Bull, William & Mary
Free – Colleen Donlin, Liberty
Back – Payton Keiner, Liberty
Back – Hannah Gouger, Richmond
Breast – Jacquee Clabeaux, George Mason
Breast – Jessica Schellenboom, Liberty
Fly – Joelle Vereb, Virginia Tech
Fly – Morgan Whaley, James Madison
IM – Mikayla Herich, Liberty
IM – Maggie Purcell, Richmond
Diving – Teagan Moravek, Virginia Tech
Diving – Jocelyn Porter, Virginia
Diving – Faith Anderson, James Madison
200 Free Relay – Liberty
400 Free Relay – Liberty
800 Free Relay – William & Mary
200 Medley Relay – Liberty
400 Medley Relay – Liberty