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.

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

TEAM INFORMATION

STORYLINES

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