Paige Madden won three individual events to help Virginia clinch the NCAA women's swimming and diving national championship on Saturday, the first title for the Cavaliers and the ACC.
The senior, who was named MVP of the event, won the 500-yard free, 200 free and 1650 free along with one relay title, as the Cavaliers took the crown convincingly with 491 points, 137 points ahead of second-place NC State. Texas (344.5 points) finished in third place. Before Saturday, no ACC swimming and diving team (men's or women's) had placed higher than third overall at the championships.
🏆 We win, we swim 🏊♀️ #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/iu5PmXOFTY
— Virginia Swimming and Dive (@UVASwimDive) March 21, 2021
"I'm so proud of this group," Virginia coach Todd DeSorbo told the school's athletics website. "They have been on a mission all year and just been grinding and excited for it. ... It is an exciting time for our program and our conference. To put someone in the A Final in every single event is pretty impressive."