Virginia Logs Nine Podium Finishes at the TYR Pro Swim Series
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – 12 Virginia swimmers competed at the 2024 TYR Pro Swim Series, which happened this week (Jan. 10-13) at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Wednesday, Jan. 10:
Virginia did not have any athletes compete in the distance events on the opening night.
Thursday, Jan. 11:
UVA alum Kate Douglass kicked off the night with a first-place finish in the 100-meter freestyle, matching the Pro Swim Series record set by Sarah Sjostrom with a time of 53.12. Gretchen Walsh also finished second on the podium with a time of 53.64.
Alex Walsh (Sixth overall, 54.55), Maxine Parker (Seventh overall, 54.58), Claire Curzan (10th overall, 54.71), Aimee Canny (14th overall, 55.45) and Reilly Tiltmann (22nd overall, 56.03) also placed in the 100-meter freestyle for the Cavaliers.
In the 100-meter breaststroke, Douglass established a new long course UVA program record in the event after finishing fourth with a time of 1:06.67. She eclipsed her own record of 1:07.07 set at the 2023 Speedo Atlanta Classic. A. Walsh finished in fifth (1:07.70), Ella Nelson came in eighth (1.08.48), Emma Weber was ninth (1:08.31) and Abby Harter finished 18th overall (1:10.00).
Senior Noah Nichols finished fourth in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:00.92.
Tess Howley rounded out the night for the Cavaliers in the 200-meter butterfly with a fourth-place finish. Her time of 2:09.57 set a new long course UVA program record, beating out Jen Marrkand’s record of 2:09.89 set at the 2016 Charlotte Pro Swim Series.
Friday, Jan. 12:
Sophomore Aimee Canny opened up the night for Virginia swimmers with a sixth-place finish in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:59.89. Abby Harter competed in the C Finals of the 200-meter freestyle and finished 20th overall with a time of 2:03.00.
In the 200-meter backstroke, Claire Curzan picked up her first podium finish on the night after finishing first with a time of 2:07.38, dropping 4.13 seconds from her prelim time. Junior Reilly Tiltmann competed in the B Finals, finishing 10th overall after swimming 2:13.83.
Jack Aikins also finished on the podium in the men’s 200-meter backstroke, coming in third place with a time of 1:59.98.
Ella Nelson competed in the A Finals of the 400-meter individual medley but was disqualified due to a stroke violation.
Junior Gretchen Walsh gave Virginia its second first place finish of the night, winning the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 56.78. Curzan also finished on the podium, coming in third with a time of 57.26. Alex Walsh finished fourth (57.59) and Tess Howley finished 17th (59.59) in the 100-meter butterfly.
Saturday, Jan. 13:
Virginia alum Kate Douglass set a new American, US Open and Pro Swim Series record in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:19.30. She broke the previous American record of 2:19.59 set by Rebecca Soni at the 2012 London Olympics. Soni also held the previous US Open record of 2:20.38, which was set in 2009. Douglass also broke the previous Pro Swim Series record of 2:20.77 which was set by Viktoria Gunes in 2015. Douglass now holds the fifth fastest 200-meter breaststroke time ever.
Graduate student Ella Nelson also competed in the 200-meter breaststroke, finishing fourth overall with a time of 2:26.28.
In the 100-meter backstroke, Claire Curzan finished in second with a time of 59.11. For the men, junior Jack Aikins finished ninth with a time of 54.77 in the 100-meter backstroke.
Alex Walsh added another second-place finish in the 200-meter individual medley, finishing with a time of 2:07.63. Senior Abby Harter finished 14th in the event after swimming a 2:19.03.
Douglass returned to the pool for the final event of the 2024 TYR Pro Swim Series and earned another spot on the podium after finishing third in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 24.67.