Virginia Hosts Virginia Tech In Two-Day Meet
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will open the new year hosting Virginia Tech in a dual meet at the Aquatic and Fitness Center. The Cavaliers will face the Hokies on the diving boards on Friday (Jan. 15) at 4 p.m., before the two swim teams face off on Saturday (Jan. 16) at 11 a.m.
Admission to Virginia home swimming and diving meets is not open to the public.
How To Follow
Fans can watch the action on ACCNX. The links for both Friday and Saturday’s broadcast and for live results are available at VirginiaSports.com. Results will also be available on Meet Mobile, while updates throughout the competition will be provided on the team’s official Twitter account (@UVASwimDive).
The Rankings
• The Cavaliers enter the meet with the women ranked No. 2 nationally and the men ranked No. 10, according to the latest poll released from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA)
• The women’s team leads the ACC in the national rankings while the men’s team is the second-highest ranked team in the league
• Virginia Tech is ranked 15th on both the men’s and women’s sides according to the CSCAA
Against Virginia Tech
• Under Todd DeSorbo, the women’s team enters the weekend competition with a 3-0 record against the Hokies
• The men’s team is 1-2 against Virginia Tech, falling at both road meets while winning the 2018-19 matchup at home
• The two teams have gone head-to-head during the regular season every year since 2012-13
Pacing the NCAA
• The Cavaliers have 12 swimmers with at least one time that ranks inside the NCAA’s top-10 this season with seven of those athletes posting a time inside the top five
• Sophomore Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y.) leads the nation in four events, holding the top time in the NCAA in the 50-yard freestyle (21.42), 100-yard freestyle (46.86), 100-yard butterfly (49.73) and 200-yard individual medley (1:50.92)
• Senior Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) ranks first in the 200-yard freestyle (1:43.39) and 500-yard freestyle (4:33.09), in addition to ranking second nationally in the 1650-yard freestyle (16:01.93)
• Freshman Alex Walsh (Nashville, Tenn.) holds the third fastest 200-yard breaststroke (2:06.72) and third fastest 200-yard individual medley (1:54.47)
• Sophomore Ella Nelson (Nashville, Tenn.) ranks in the top five in two events with the third-fastest time in the 400-yard individual medley (4:05.02) and the fifth-best time in the 200-yard individual medley (1:54.72)
• Junior Alexis Wenger (Detroit, Mich.) ranks fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke (58.69), while freshman Abby Harter (Broadlands, Va.) ranks fifth in the 200-yard butterfly (1:53.73)
• Freshman Matt Brownstead (Port Matilda, Pa.) leads the men’s team with the fourth-fastest time in the NCAA in the 100-yard freestyle (42.03)
In the Records
• Douglass enters the meet with two ACC records after recording a time of 21.42 in the 50-yard freestyle and a time of 1:50.92 in the 200-yard individual medley in the team’s double dual meet against Tennessee and Alabama
• Additionally, Douglass set the UVA record in the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly at the competition
• Madden also set a UVA record at the double dual meet against Tennessee and Alabama, topping the Virginia 200-yard freestyle record set by Leah Smith
• Brownstead concluded 2020 with pair of program records swimming Virginia’s all-time fastest performance in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle
• Virginia rounded out 2020 with its men’s 400-yard freestyle relay team of Brownstead, senior Sam Schilling (Excelsior, Minn.), sophomore August Lamb (Charlottesville, Va.) and sophomore Jack Wright (Wexford, Pa.) setting the program record with a 2:49.84
Hoos Making Headlines
• Douglass was named to the U.S. National Team for her performance in the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. Toyota Open
• Douglass captured a time of 57.43, third-fastest time at the meet and sixth-fastest time in the world so far for the 2020-21 season
• Her time is also the third-fastest time by an American for this season
• Douglass joined teammate Alex Walsh on the national team, who was named to the national team in the 200-meter backstroke and 200-yard individual medley earlier this year
• The UVA pair will also swim alongside former Cavalier Leah Smith and incoming Hoos Emma Weyant and Gretchen Walsh
The Hokies
• Virginia Tech ranks 15th on both the men’s and women’s side of the CSCAA’s latest poll
• Chase Travis leads the women’s team with the NCAA’s 10th-fastest time this season in the mile
• The men’s team is led by Antani Ivanov who ranks sixth in the 200-yard butterfly
• The Virginia Tech men’s team defeated Duke in a dual meet in November while the women’s team tied with the Blue Devils
The Graduating Class
• The Cavaliers will celebrate 10 graduating student-athletes this weekend
• The women’s team will honor Caroline Gmelich (Rumson, N.J.), Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.), Jocelyn Porter (Cornelius, N.C.) and Kyla Valls (Miami, Fla.)
• The men’s team will recognize fourth-years Keefer Barnum (Louisville, Ky.), Tristan Gess (Lakewood, Colo.), Matthew Otto (Newark, Del.) and Samuel Schilling (Excelsior, Minn.) and third-years Nico Ferrara (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Connor Killion (Hauntingdon Valley, Pa.)
• Since 2018, the women’s team has won two ACC titles, while the men’s team has placed inside the top three every season during that span
• The four female student-athletes have 13 individual performances that rank in the top-10 all-time at UVA with Madden holding the UVA record in the 200-yard freestyle
• The graduating athletes from the women’s team have produced four individual ACC titles and helped capture six relay titles
• The men’s graduating members hold 12 individual performances on UVA’s all-time top-10 list, with Barnum holding a pair of program records
• Combined, the UVA graduating class has a total of 31 All-America honors
• Additionally, the 10 graduating UVA student-athletes hold a combined total of 13 All-ACC Academic Team honors and 23 ACC Honor Roll honors