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APRIL 2021 13 After the third night of competition, Vir- ginia had expanded that scoring total to 344 team points, leading second-place North Car- olina State (241) by more than 100 points. Madden won her second NCAA title in two individual events, placing first in the 200-yard freestyle. She finished in 1:42.35 to best her previous school record of 1:42.39 in the event. Virginia also picked up a pair of second- place finishes. Nelson started the night by taking silver in the 400-yard individual medley in 4:02.33 to improve on her own UVA record and Douglass took second in the 100-yard butterfly in 49.55, also besting her own UVA record. Third-year Alexis Wenger notched a third-place finish in the 100-yard breast- stroke. Wenger clocked a 57.67, becoming the eighth-fastest performer in the history of the event. Entering the final night of competition, UVA had locked up the team win and was ready to add to its impressive haul of titles. Madden closed out her stellar meet with a win in the 1,650-yard freestyle in a ca- reer-best time of 15:41.86. The Cavaliers also picked up two more second-place fin- ishes, with Douglass finishing second in the 100-yard freestyle in a UVA-record time of 46.30 and Nelson placing second in the 200- yard breaststroke with a time of 2:04.35. Madden led the team, and the entire meet, with three individual event wins and noted that packing to return to Charlottesville proved to be a bit of a challenge with all of the new hardware because the Cavaliers earned a total of 44 All-America honors. "We had to load the van and a lot of our girls had trouble fitting the trophies in their suitcases, so we had some big Panera bags and put them in there," Madden said. "I just really wanted to have fun and I think this was just the cherry on top to cap off my col- lege swimming career. It means a lot." UVA had a swimmer qualify for the championship final in every single event and finished with six NCAA title swims (five individual and one relay) on their way to racking up 491 points as a team, well ahead of second-place North Carolina State (354) and third-place Texas (344.5). The Cavaliers became the ninth different school to win the women's swimming and diving national championship and the first from the Atlantic Coast Conference. "It has been a challenging year to say the least for everybody," DeSorbo said. "I am entirely in awe of our women and what they have done. Their discipline to COVID protocols and staying healthy, training at an elite level and competing at an elite level. "I could not have asked for anything more. I am really at a loss for words at what they have accomplished this year." UVA'S INDIVIDUAL NCAA CHAMPIONS Paige Madden — 500 free, 200 free, 1,650 free and 800 free relay Alex Walsh — 200 IM and 800 free relay Kate Douglass — 50 free Ella Nelson— 800 free relay Kyla Valls — 800 free relay Fourth-year Paige Madden led the way for the Cavaliers at the NCAA Championships, winning three individual titles (500 free, 200 free and 1,650 free). PHOTO COURTESY NCAA PHOTOS The Cavaliers racked up a total of 44 All-America honors, five individual national titles and one re- lay championship en route to capturing the first- ever national crown in program and ACC history. PHOTO COURTESY NCAA PHOTOS