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Virginia sweeps Virginia Tech at home dual meet

Chris Graham

uva logo blueThe Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams defeated Virginia Tech on Saturday as the Cavalier swimmers closed the two-day meet against the Hokies at the Aquatic and Fitness Center.

The No. 2 Virginia women’s swimming and diving team defeated No. 15 Virginia Tech 202.5-96.5, while the No. 10 Cavalier men’s team defeated the No. 15 Hokies 161-137.

The Cavaliers won 23 events throughout the day, including sweeping both relay events. Eight different female swimmers and five male swimmers won an individual event at the competition.

Women’s Meet

The Cavaliers won 13-of-14 races on Saturday. Sophomore Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y.) led the team with three individual wins and one relay win, going 53.35 in the 100-yard backstroke, 48.80 in the 100-yard freestyle and 1:57.05 in the 200-yard individual medley.

Douglass was the leadoff swimmer for the 200-yard medley relay team as she and teammates freshman Alex Walsh (Nashville, Tenn.), senior Caroline Gmelich (Rumson, N.J.) and sophomore Lexi Cuomo (Clifton, Va.) finished first with a time of 1:38.85.

Sophomore Maddie Donohoe (Annandale, Va.) picked up a pair of wins with a time of 4:51.44 and 9:54.66 in the 500 and 1000-yard freestyle, respectively.

Junior Alexis Wenger (Detroit, Mich.) won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:00.53 as freshman Anna Keating (Vienna, Va.) won the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:13.34.

Virginia also topped both butterfly events with sophomore Lexi Cuomo (Clifton, Va.) going 53.39 in the 100-yard butterfly and freshman Abby Harter (Broadlands, Va.) going 1:58.95 in the 200-yard butterfly.

Freshman Alex Walsh (Nashville, Tenn.) went 1:47.90 to win the 200-yard freestyle as senior Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:54.70.

The Cavaliers closed the meet with the 400-yard freestyle relay team of senior Kyla Valls (Miami, Fla.), Cuomo, freshman Quinn Schaedler (Austin, Texas) and Madden finishing first with a 3:21.10.

Men’s Meet

Senior Matthew Otto (Newark, Del.), junior Justin Grender (Cincinnati, Ohio) and freshman Matt Brownstead (Port Matilda, Pa.) paced the men’s team as all three Cavaliers won a pair of individual events.

Otto won the 1000-yard freestyle in a time of 9:16.91, before following up the performance with a time of 1:57.72 in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Grender swept the backstroke events going 47.68 in the 100-yard backstroke and 1:43.96 in the 200-yard backstroke, while Brownstead recorded a time of 19.99 in the 50-yard freestyle and a time of 43.91 in the 100-yard freestyle.

Senior Keefer Barnum (Louisville, Ky.) swam a time of 54.33 in the 100-yard breaststroke, while sophomore Sean Conway (Round Hill, Va.) went 1:48.10 for the top time in the 200-yard individual medley.

The Cavaliers also won both relays as Grender, Barnum (Louisville, Ky.), sophomore Max Edwards (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Brownstead finished first in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:27.40 and Brownstead, Grender, sophomore August Lamb (Charlottesville, Va.) and sophomore Jack Wright (Wexford, Pa.) finished first in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:55.55.

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham, the king of "fringe media," is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019, and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].