Pelham Athletes Jennifer Bell and Kate Douglass Commit to University of Virginia

Madeline Bryce, Junior, Co-Web Manager and Associate Features Editor

In a happy coincidence that surprised much of Pelham’s aquatic fanbase, Pelham’s top swimmer and diver have both verbally committed to the University of Virginia. Juniors Kate Douglass and Jennifer Bell, who have both been on Pelham’s varsity swim and dive team and are both All-American athletes, announced their verbal commitments in February and March to UVA’s class of 2023. The Pelhamites will fit in swimmingly with their plethora of accomplishments as Kate competed in the 2016 Olympic Trials in the summer after her freshman year, and last summer represented Team USA in the Junior World Championships, while Jen has won four AAU National Championships, and has competed at USA Nationals six times.

In response to why she chose to dive for the University of Virginia, Jennifer said, “Both of my parents went there so I have been there a million times also because I have a lot of family in Virginia, and I really enjoy their dive team and their academic support. UVA was at the top of my college list.”

Known for its strong Division 1 swimmers and divers, University of Virginia’s fast growing team has already been nearly completed, and both girls are glad to have committed and gotten their decisions out of the way.

“It was a really fun and exciting process getting to know different schools and talking to coaches, and it was really easy to commit to Virginia,” Kate said about the commitment process. “They have a great swim program and academic program, and the campus is very nice.”

Now that the girls have made their verbal commitment, coming up next is their signing of their national letters of intent in the fall of their senior year.