Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1504727
AUGUST 2023 17 2022-23 IN REVIEW "I was just really excited to get the points for my team, and it was a great race." In her final individual event, Douglass was the sure winner but the time was what was still in question. She had set an Ameri- can record in the 200-yard breaststroke twice during the season. Douglass ended up beating the field by nearly two full seconds, improving the NCAA and American record once again to finish in 2:01.29. "I feel like I kind of left myself a little speechless," she said. "I was very shocked with last year's performance, and coming into this season I had no idea how I could even be better than that. To see myself outdo my performance from last year was crazy, and I'm just speechless." Even though she had an incredible per- formance at the NCAA Championships, Douglass was still hungry for more. She is in the prime of her professional career, looking toward the 2024 Paris Olympics. This summer she competed at the U.S. Phillips 66 Nationals, winning the 200-me- ter individual medley and 100-meter free- style. Just a month later, Douglass grabbed her first World Championship gold medal af- ter winning the 200-meter individual medley in Fukuoka, Japan. "That was a huge honor for me to do it tonight," said Douglass, who overtook Walsh in the final 50-meter freestyle leg to finish in 2 minutes and 7.17 seconds. "I really just wanted to get the gold for Team USA tonight, and I'm so happy I did that." Douglass qualified for the World Cham- pionships in the 200-meter breaststroke, as well as the 200 individual medley and 100 freestyle that she won at U.S. Nation- als. Douglass has really found her niche with the 200 breaststroke the last two years, after winning gold at the Short Course World Championships in December. This slate just goes to show how versatile she really is, qualifying in three different disciplines and with a chance to win in each of those. "I'm trying to improve and have a wider range of events that I could have the pos- sibility of doing really well in the summer," Douglass said. "I want to focus on getting better at long-course racing and other events beside the 200-meter breaststroke." This summer has proven that Douglass can surely make the transition from short course NCAA swimming to long course in- ternational competitions. She closed out her career with 15 NCAA championships and 28 All-America honors, and was two-time Honda Sport Award winner, two-time ACC Women's Swimmer of the Year, two-time CSCAA Wom- en's Swimmer of the Year and two-time Hoos Choice Award Female Athlete of the Year. Her versatility and drive is why fans and students alike voted to put her on the Mount Rushmore of Virginia athletics. " To see myself outdo my performance from last year was crazy, and I'm just speechless." DOUGLASS