CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Todd DeSorbo saw a UVA swimming program full of untapped potential.
"I knew that the University had the potential to be where we are today. I was confident we could get to this point, I just didn't know how quickly we could do, it's been significantly fast," says DeSorbo, reflecting on his feelings when he accepted the job in 2017.
"Significantly fast" may actually be an understatement. UVA has won 4 straight women's NCAA titles in a row, becoming the first ever ACC team to win a National Championship in the process.
The rapid growth was ignited in part by a highly sought after high school recruit who put her faith in the young coach building a program in Charlottesville.
"Obviously you've got to get talent. It's probably now 6 years ago that Kate Douglass committed here," says DeSorbo, "that class really kind of took our program, that's where it kinda started."
Douglass would go on to dominate the college level, winning 15 NCAA championships between individual and medley races despite COVID wiping out the championships in her first year.
Now coach and pupil reunite on the world stage, hoping to duplicate their success building a national powerhouse at UVA with an international one in Paris.