30! Virginia repeats as women’s swimming and diving national champs

Junior Kate Douglass and sophomore Alex Walsh combined for six individual event wins to lead the Virginia women’s swimming & diving team to its second consecutive NCAA championship on Saturday night at the McAuley Aquatic Center.

The Cavaliers won 11 events, taking four of the five relays and seven individual events. UVA set five American records and three UVA records on the way to its second title in program history. Joining Douglass and Walsh with an individual title was freshman Gretchen Walsh.

“This team never ceases to amaze me and exceeds every expectation we ever would have had for them,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “This is better than we ever could have hoped for. This team is unreal. They blow my mind. Every one of them, they are my heroes. They do it for each other, push each other every day and hold each other accountable. They do it for the rest of the team in the stands, their parents, our alumni. It is just an amazing group of women that are the strongest women I have ever been around.”

UVA finished with 551.5 points, the most since Stanford won with 593 points in 2018. Texas was second (406) and Stanford was third (399.5).

Douglass closed out a stellar NCAA meet with her third American record in three individual events. Douglass won the 200-yard breaststroke in a record setting 2:02.19. She swept her three events and set records in all three.

Alex Walsh completed her triple with a win in the 200-yard butterfly on Saturday night. She finished with a UVA record time of 1:50.79 to cap off the individual events.

Gretchen Walsh won her first individual NCAA title with a UVA & pool record time of 49.05 in the 100-yard freestyle.

Douglass, Alex Walsh, freshman Reilly Tiltmann and Gretchen Walsh, respectively, capped off the championship with an American/US Open and NCAA record in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:06.91.

Junior Maddie Donohoe finished sixth in the 1650-yard freestyle. She finished in 15:55.14 for the third-fastest time in UVA history.

Tiltmann placed fifth in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:49.63, the second-fastest time in UVA history.

Junior Ella Nelson finished fourth in the 200 breast with a time of 2:05.51 and sophomore Anna Keating was eighth in 2:07.10. Her time of 2:06.89 in prelims was a personal-best. Senior Alexis Wenger took 11th in 2:06.53, a personal-best time and the fourth fastest all-time at UVA.

Sophomore Abby Harter placed 11th in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:53.38, a personal-best and the fourth fastest in UVA history.