Thomas Heilman & Maximus Williamson: UVA’s Lane 8 Titles & The Tattoo Promise | Episode 297
5/15/20261 hr 3 min
The UVA Men’s team has officially arrived. We are joined by the powerhouse freshman duo of Thomas Heilman and Maximus Williamson to recap a historic NCAA season that saw the Virginia men jump into the Top 10. Maximus takes us behind the scenes of his legendary 200 Freestyle win from Lane 8 (and the secret tattoo deal he made with Todd DeSorbo), while Thomas breaks down the "stacked" 100 Butterfly final and the intense rivalry and camaraderie at the heart of the Cavalier culture. We dive into the controversial NCAA "No B-Final" format, the reality of swimming relays in the morning, and how this "best recruiting class ever" is handling the massive expectations of the UVA shadow. From 1v1 snipers-only video games to "drippiest coach" awards and chasing Gretchen Walsh's 100 fly times in practice, this episode covers the grit and the fun behind the rise of UVA Men’s Swimming.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsBrian Lundquist· Host0:00
The UVA men, they're getting better. They made some strides. We kind of expected that it was gonna come at some point, but there was also a lot of expectation on this team and this program for a number of years, uh, largely because of the success that the women's program has had, that surely the men are going to be on the same level at some point. And with such huge expectations of this recruiting class, with Maximus and Thomas Hileman as part of that, a huge part of that, maybe the best ever, some were saying, expectations were high and I think we can finish the year saying, "Okay, they've delivered and they're moving in the right direction." Coming out of that huge shadow from the women's team, led by Thomas and Maximus here. Maximus, two amazing individual swims, winning titles in the 200 free and 200 IM. 200 free from lane eight, by the way. And then Thomas having an amazing 100 fly time and a stacked field, getting fourth, and then having a great race with Ili in the 200 fly, getting second. So these guys not only delivered, but I think exceeded expectations, and they're only freshmen, as most of us know. But if you didn't, now you know. Welcome to Social Kick. I'm Brian Lundquist. We got a partial crew. Luke's been having fun at the Fort Lauderdale Open, so he's traveling back and missed another pod, but he promises he'll be back on the next one. But that's okay, 'cause we got Dr. John Mullin, and we've got a duo from UVA, Thomas Hileman, Maximus Williamson. What's going on, boys? How are you?
Thomas Heilman· Guest1:26
Hey, guys. Thanks for having us.
Brian Lundquist· Host1:29
Returning guests,