Virginia Swimming | Historic $2.2 Million Reward to Virginia Males’s Swimming Scholar-Athletes Marks Largest in Program Historical past

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Virginia Athletics Foundation (VAF) and Virginia Athletics are excited to announce at the moment (August 5) a historic $2.2 million nameless dedication, representing a $2.7 million complete fundraising influence when coupled with college matching funds, to assist scholarships for UVA’s males’s swimming student-athletes.

This transformational reward marks the biggest single dedication in this system’s historical past and comes at a time of unprecedented momentum for the boys’s group, led by Head Coach Todd DeSorbo. The funding will considerably improve this system’s means to recruit and retain top-tier student-athletes by strengthening scholarship assets.

“We are very grateful for this extraordinary gift,” stated Director of Athletics Carla Williams. “The incredible generosity of this commitment will have an immediate and long-lasting impact for UVA men’s swimming which in turn benefits our entire athletics program. It’s also a powerful endorsement of the trajectory of men’s swimming at the University of Virginia.”

Head Coach Todd DeSorbo, who has constructed this system right into a nationwide contender since taking the helm, echoed the joy.

“This gift couldn’t come at a more pivotal time,” DeSorbo stated. “We’re bringing in what I believe is the best recruiting class in the country, and maybe one of the best in NCAA history. This support will help us continue to build a team that competes for championships and represents the University at the highest level.”

The nation’s top-ranked 2025 recruiting class will arrive in Charlottesville this summer time. Among the standout newcomers are three swimmers ranked within the prime 10 nationally: Thomas Heilman (Western Albemarle HS, Crozet, VA), Maximus Williamson (Southlake, TX), and Nathan Szobota (Richmond, VA). Heilman competed for Team USA on the 2024 Olympics within the 200m and 100m butterfly.

DeSorbo highlighted the depth of the incoming class, which incorporates Thomas Mercer, Blake Amlicke, and Josh Howat, swimmers he stated, “might have been No. 1 in any other recruiting year.” In complete, 12 first years are set to affix this system. “I wouldn’t be surprised if all 12 made our ACC championship team as freshmen,” DeSorbo added. “They’re that good.”

The new class will be a part of a proficient core of returning athletes, together with rising sophomores David King and Spencer Nicholas, who’ve already etched their names into UVA’s report books. As effectively as upperclassman Jack Aikins, a 2025 World Championship Qualifier, and mainstay Sebastien Sergile.

This historic reward strengthens Virginia Swimming ’s long-term sustainability and aligns with a broader dedication throughout Virginia Athletics to safe the way forward for Olympic sports activities by way of scholarships. The Virginia Athletics Foundation continues to prioritize endowment development as a cornerstone of its strategic fundraising efforts.

“This commitment reflects a shared belief in the power of scholarship support to shape lives and elevate our Olympic sport programs,” stated Kevin Miller, Executive Director of the Virginia Athletics Foundation. “It marks a meaningful milestone, not just for men’s swimming, but for the future of Virginia athletics. We are deeply grateful for and inspired by the generosity of this donor.”

To comply with the lead of this beneficiant donor by supporting Virginia males’s swimming scholarships electronic mail Drew Ossakow at [email protected].

For extra details about supporting UVA student-athletes by way of scholarship endowments, go to VirginiaAthleticsFoundation.com.