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Kate Douglass has been a revelation in the sport of swimming in recent years. She has exceeded expectations and has dropped impressive performances now and then.
From winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics to gold medals at the 2022 World Championships in Melbourne, Kate Douglass has come a long way. The 2023 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships began yesterday and is set to continue until March 18, 2023. The competition will be held at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center–Knoxville, Tennessee.
The swimmers will compete in a 25-yard pool. On day one, 200 medley relay and 800 free relay events were contested. In the 200-yard medley relay event, a total of 24 teams competed. Virginia was represented by Gretchen Walsh, Alex Walsh, Lexi Cuomo, and Kate Douglass.
During the 200-yard medley relay, it felt like Virginia might be defeated in the event, but their swimmers didn't think so. When Gretchen Walsh and Alex Walsh completed their split, Virginia were slightly behind. But Lexi Cuomo and Kate Douglass ensured that Virginia wins the 200-yard medley relay. Lexi's split was 22.10 and Kate's split was 20.34.
Kate Douglass' split was the fastest relay split ever, according to Swimming World Magazine. Lexi was 0.39 faster than her split at the ACC Championships last month. Virginia clocked a time of 1:31.51 to emerge victorious in the 200-yard medley relay.
NC State, represented by Katharine Berkoff, Heather MacCausland, Kylee Alons and Abby Arens, finished in second place by clocking a time of 1:32.42. Only Virginia and NC State were able to break the 1:33 during this relay. Following NC State, Team Texas finished in third place.
Team Texas was represented by Olivia Bray, Anna Elendt, Emma Sticklen, and Grace Cooper. Texas clocked a time of 1:33.22. Nyah Funderburke, Hannah Bach, Katherine Zenick, and Teresa Ivan, representing Ohio State, finished in fourth place by clocking a time of 1:33.93.
Louisville finished in fifth place by clocking a time of 1:34.37. Louisville was represented by Abby Hay, Cecilia Viberg, Christiana Regenauer, and Gabi Albiero. Team Florida, who finished in ninth place, was disqualified for a false start.
Kate Douglass and her teammates open up after their victory in the 200-yard medley relay
Kate Douglass and her teammates spoke after emerging victorious in the 200-yard medley relay, according to Swimming World Magazine. Kate said,
"This is my favorite relay because it is the first race. I was really excited for the race. I always feel really fresh in the water. I hit my turn right and hit the finish right. It was just a good race altogether. This was the first time we had been faster in this race at NCAAs. Usually ACCs is the fastest. That gave us a lot of confidence for this meet."
Lexi Cuomo contributed to Virginia's victory with a split of 22.10. Speaking after their victory, Lexi said,
"I was trying to channel the energy from the team into my swim. I am usually pretty aggressive. It was a little closer than I was planning, but I was happy to have a good swim."
Gretchen Walsh stated that she and her teammates had put in a lot of work to get to this point. Virginia will be looking forward to winning a third consecutive national title this week after their dominant performances in 2021 and 2022.
