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22 CAVALIER CORNER KATE DOUGLASS Third-Year • Swimming Kate Douglass went from a national champion to an Olympian to an Olympic medalist in just five months. Her rise caught not only UVA fans' attention, but that of national media and the general public when she represented the United States at the Tokyo Olympics this past summer. Now in her third-year season, the Pelham, N.Y., native helped the Virginia women's swimming and diving team to the program's first NCAA championship, which was also the first for an ACC team. Dur- ing the run, Douglass won an individual title in the 50-yard freestyle and picked up seven All-America honors. She now has 14 All-Amer- ica accolades for her career, five Virginia individual event records, three ACC records, and four individual and seven relay ACC titles. Douglass is a statistics major, with a minor in data science. She holds a 3.53 GPA and is a two-time All-ACC Academic Team honoree. Since she first came to Grounds, Virginia added its 12th school, the School of Data Science. In her four years, Douglass has taken ad- vantage of the opportunity that the school's opening has provided. Between her athletic and academic accomplishments, Douglass has already made herself a household name. The things that she will remember the most, though, are the times she got to spend with her friends and creating a legacy at Virginia. "The whole time, it felt very surreal [at the Olympics] that I was actually there, experiencing things I had only ever seen on TV or Ins- tagram," Douglass said. "Overall, what made the experience so much fun was that I was with a group of girls who I had known for years. I got to live in a suite in the Olympic village with five of my best friends, and the memories we made there I will never forget. "And on top of that, winning the national championship last year with my team was an amazing feeling. It felt great to prove to the swimming world that Virginia was a threat, and that we are starting to build a legacy that will continue for years to come." Douglass will continue to impress with another year and a half left here at Virginia. After that, she's planning to continue to train in Charlottesville for another year and hopefully work toward a master's degree. Once she is done swimming, she plans to work as a data analyst. — Kristin Thurman • Photo by Matt Riley/courtesy UVA Athletics EXCEPTIONAL UVA STUDENT-ATHLETES