3-peat! UVA Swimmers Establish Dynasty With Latest Championship

March 19, 2023
The UVA Women's Swim and Dive team with their coaches posing together with their NCAA championship trophy

Members of the national champion UVA swimming and diving team celebrate with coaches and others following their third straight title. (Photo by Matt Riley, UVA Athletics)

The University of Virginia women’s swimming and diving team established a dynasty Saturday when it won a third consecutive national title.

The top-ranked Cavaliers, led by coach Todd DeSorbo and Olympians Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh, dominated the NCAA championship meet in Knoxville, Tennessee, outscoring the second-place finisher University of Texas by 127 points.

UVA swept all five relay races and added six individual NCAA championships.

The four-day event featured several highlights, including Douglass’ historic performance in the 200-yard individual medley on Thursday. The senior became the first woman to ever finish the race in under 1 minute and 50 seconds. Her time of 1:48.37 set an American and NCAA record.

On Wednesday, Douglass anchored a UVA team – featuring Walsh, her sister Gretchen Walsh, and Lexi Cuomo – that set an American and NCAA record for the fastest time in the 200-yard medley relay.

The championship included more than just team members in the pool. President Jim Ryan and Athletic Director Carla Williams splashed down to help celebrate the historic win.

This is national championship No. 32 for the UVA athletics department. DeSorbo’s program matches the men’s soccer program (1991 to 1994) and the men’s tennis program (2015 to 2017) as the only programs in school history to win at least three straight national titles.

Find more about the historic Cavalier swimming championship at VirginiaSports.com.

Media Contact

Kristin Thurman

Article Information

December 22, 2024