Virginia Wins First Home Dual Meet Against Army as Walsh Sisters and Kate Douglass Win Two Each
The University of Virginia swam its first home dual meet of the season Saturday against Army, and fans in Charlottesville were able to see the reigning national champion women’s team in action for the first time. The Cavaliers ended up posting a dominant performance while mostly competing in off events.
Among the stars, Alex Walsh swam the 50 and 100 freestyle, Kate Douglass was entered in the two breaststroke events, and Alex’s younger sister Gretchen Walsh was in the 200 free and 100 fly. All of those swimmers emerged victorious, and Gretchen’s 52.18 100 fly was actually a pool record. Alex Walsh and Douglass both were Olympic medalists for the U.S. in Tokyo, and so was Emma Weyant, but her lone victory Saturday came in the 200 back as opposed to her usual 400 IM or distance free.
The Virginia women ended up taking a convincing 181-89 victory, and on the men’s side, Will Cole swept the backstroke events, and Justin Grender won both butterflys on the way to a 186-94 UVA victory.
Virginia will host the highest-profile dual meet of the college season so far when the University of Texas women and men come to Charlottesville for a two-day affair next Friday and Saturday.
Check out full results from the meet here.
Read Virginia’s full press release below.
The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams defeated Army in a dual meet on Saturday morning at the Aquatic and Fitness Center.
UVA’s women improved to 2-0 on the dual season with a 181-89 win. The Cavalier men (1-1) took the win, 186-94.
FROM HEAD COACH TODD DESORBO
“I was really impressed. We had a hard day of practice yesterday and we wanted to challenge them back-to-back days. We had a lot of people step up in events they don’t typically swim, which was really nice. We wanted to show off their versatility and see what they are capable of. I think it is a good stepping stone into next weekend (against Texas), which will be a big competition for us.
“It makes a world of difference to have the crowd there. It makes the student-athletes happy and it’s good to have a lot of noise before you step up on the blocks.”
WOMEN’S RESULTS
- Virginia’s women picked up 12 first place finishes in the win.
- The Cavaliers opened the dual with a win in the 200-yard medley relay as Alex Walsh, Emma Weyant, Abby Harter and Reilly Tiltmann, respectively, combined for a time of 1:41.95.
- UVA took the top three spots in five events: 200 free, 100 back, 50 free, 100 free and 200 breast.
- Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass both had two individual event wins on the morning. Walsh won the sprint freestyle events (50 and 100 free) and Douglass swept the breaststroke events.
- Gretchen Walsh (200 free), Lexi Cuomo (100 back), Harter (200 fly), Weyant (200 back) and Ella Collins (500 free) each won individual events.
- Ella Bathurst had a pair of second place finishes in the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard breaststroke.
- Gretchen Walsh swam a UVA pool record time of 52.18 in the 100-yard butterfly.
MEN’S RESULTS
- The Cavaliers picked up 10 event wins on the morning.
- UVA’s relay group of Max Edwards, August Lamb, Josh Fong and Konnar Klinksiek won the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 1:29.12.
- Will Cole (100 back, 200 back) and Justin Grender (200 fly, 100 fly) finished with two individual wins.
- The Cavaliers finished one-two-three in three events: 200 fly, 100 free and 100 fly.
- Connor Boyle (50 free), Jack Aikins (100 free) and Scooter Iida (400 IM) each earned their first collegiate wins.
- Tanner Hering finished second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:40.85 and was second in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:07.96).
DIVING
- Lizzy Kaye swept the women’s 3-meter and 1-meter diving events. Kaye scored a 288.98 on the 3-meter and a 285.45 on the 1-meter.
- UVA’s women took the top three spots in both events. Charlotte Bowen was second on both and Maddy Grosz took third in both events.
- Oliver Mills won the 1-meter event with a score of 304.95 on the men’s side.
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