UVA Swimmers Impress at the Phillips 66 National Championships

Virginia had a combined 15 podium finishes, set 16 program records, and had four swimmers qualify for the World Championships

Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

It is already well recognized that the Virginia women's swim team is a powerhouse. The Cavaliers have excelled in collegiate competitions, with their most notable feat being winning three-consecutive national championships. UVA swimmers also have found success as individual competitors, and this was put on display at the US Phillips 66 National Championships in Indianapolis.

Virginia will send four swimmers to the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan: Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh, Gretchen Walsh, and Maxine Parker. In addition, associate head coach Blaire Anderson will join Team USA.

While those four swimmers had the greatest success, many other Hoos performed well at the meet. Virginia had 15 podium finishes and set 16 UVA records, 2 US Open records (fastest time on US soil), and 1 American record (fastest time by an American swimmer). Six race times rank in the top 20 all-time in the world, and 14 swims rank in the top 20 all-time in the US. It is clear from these statistics that Virginia swimmers are in the mix with the best of the best, and have continued to etch their names in swimming history.

Kate Douglass won the High Point award after two first-place finishes, a second-place finish, and two third-place finishes. 11 different members of the team qualified for an A final at the meet, which means they swam a top-8 time in the preliminary race. Not only are there a few dominant UVA swimmers, but the team shows great depth.

Here is a rundown of the UVA swimmer results for each day of the meet.

Tuesday, June 27th

In the prelims, Gretchen Walsh set a UVA record in the 100 freestyle, which Kate Douglass broke in a later heat. In the finals, Kate Douglass broke the record yet again, finishing first in the 100 freestyle with a time of 52.57. Douglass was in fourth place at the halfway point, but charged home to take gold. Gretchen Walsh finished third with a personal best 53.14 and Maxine Parker came in sixth at 53.51. Douglass earned an individual spot in the World Championships with her time (the top-2 times in each event qualify), and Walsh and Parker both qualified for the relays.

Wednesday, June 28th

Gretchen Walsh broke a UVA record in her 50 butterfly heats, but then outdid herself in the finals. She set an American and US Open record with a 25.11 time, which was faster than the previous American record by .27 seconds. This is the third fastest time in history, and more than enough to qualify for her first individual event.

Kate Douglass qualified for her second individual event when she came in second place in the 200 breaststroke, breaking a UVA record and finishing in 2:21.22. Anna Keating placed 5th in this event at 2:26.71 and Emma Weber was 6th at 2:27.08. 

Some other Cavalier finishes included Alex Walsh coming in 8th in the 200 freestyle, Noah Nichols coming in 10th in the 200 breaststroke, Reilly Tiltmann finishing 6th in the 200 backstroke, and Jack Aikins finishing 3rd and Braeden Haughey finishing 13th in the 200 backstroke. Tiltmann and Aikins both set UVA records with their times.

Thursday, June 29th

On Day 3, Alex Walsh qualified for Worlds in the 400 individual medley, as she registered a personal best 4:35.46 to take second place. Before this meet, Walsh’s best time was 4:42.14, so this was a significant improvement.

Gretchen Walsh secured another individual event with a second place finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 56.34. Kate Douglass came in right behind her at 56.43, and those times are the second and third fastest times in the world this year.

Emma Weber set a UVA record in the 50 breaststroke prelims and then earned eighth place in the finals with a time of 31.02, while Zoe Skirboll came in 14th place in the event. Gretchen Walsh came in third place in the 50 backstroke with a UVA record 27.54 and Jack Aikins came in eighth place in the 50 backstroke, finishing at 25.18.

Noah Nichols had a swim to remember in the 50 breaststroke. While he just missed qualifying for Worlds, his third place time of 27.30 broke a UVA record from 2001.

Friday, June 30th

Noah Nichols had another third place finish, going sub one minute for the first time and finishing with a UVA record 59.40 in the 100 breaststroke. In addition, former Cavalier Paige Madden came in fourth in the 400 freestyle. Emma Weber had a personal best 1:07.39 to earn fourth in the 100 breaststroke, and Zoe Skirboll came in 15th in the event.

Rounding things out for Day 4, Reilly Tiltmann came in 15th place in the 100 backstroke and Jack Aikins placed eighth in the 100 backstroke for the men’s side.

Saturday, July 1st

On the final day of competition, Kate Douglass set a US Open record of 2:07.09 in the 200 individual medley to qualify for her third event. She broke her teammate Alex Walsh’s record from last year, and Walsh managed to finish second this year at 2:07.89, giving both Hoos a spot in the World Championships. Abby Harter finished 7th with a personal best time.

Gretchen Walsh also qualified for her third individual event, coming in second place in the 50 freestyle with a UVA record time of 24.31. Kate Douglass made the podium but missed qualifying, as she finished at 24.48. Finally, Maxine Parker won the B final and earned 9th place.

UVA qualifiers on Team USA

Kate Douglass: 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter breaststroke, 200-meter individual medley
Maxine Parker: 4x100-meter freestyle relay
Alex Walsh: 200-meter individual medley, 400-meter individual medley
Gretchen Walsh: 50-meter freestyle, 50-meter butterfly, 100-meter butterfly, 4x100-meter freestyle

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In the pressure and chaos of the US Championships, the Cavaliers shone. Many swimmers finished with personal best times, as they peaked when it mattered most. The World Championships will take place in Fukuoka, Japan from July 14th to July 30th. Hopefully the Hoos can bring home some medals in international competition as they represent Team USA. 

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