2025 W. NCAA Previews: Virginia Women Look to Pick Up More Wins in 200/400 Free Relay

2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• March 19-22, 2025
• Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center — Federal Way, Washington
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• Start Times: Prelims: 10 AM ׀ Finals: 6 PM (Pacific Daylight Time)
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Women’s 200 Free Relay

• NCAA Record: 1:23.63, Virginia (Nocentini, G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Parker), 2024
• U.S. Open Record: 1:23.63, Virginia (Nocentini, G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Parker), 2024
• American Record: 1:23.87, Virginia (Douglass, G. Walsh, L. Cuomo, A. Walsh), 2023
• 2024 NCAA Champion: 1:24.05, Virginia (Nocentini, G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Parker)

This relay has belonged exclusively to Virginia for the last three years, and they will be going for a fourth straight win in this event at this year’s championships.

After setting the NCAA record in 1:23.63 at the ACC Championships last year, the UVA women went just a smidge slower at NCAAs to win the event in 1:24.05. They have already been faster than this NCAA winning time this year, swimming 1:24.03 at last month’s ACCs. UVA has a history of performing better at the ACC Championships than the NCAA Championships in this relay in particular.

Split Comparison

The biggest factor on these relays is the performance of the Walsh sisters. If Gretchen Walsh can dip back under 20, and Alex Walsh drops into the 20s like she did in 2024, we could easily be looking at a new NCAA record.

Claire Curzan has replaced Jasmine Nocentini, who graduated after last season, and she is stepping into the role easily, splitting faster at ACCs than Nocentini went on the NCAA record relay.

It is unclear, however, if all four of these athletes will swim the relay. Gretchen Walsh has already confirmed that she will not be swimming the 800 freestyle relay at this year’s Championships, so we can count on her performance. If UVA wants to go after all-five relay titles, they might have to sacrifice some NCAA records by moving swimmers around, particularly to fill the 800 freestyle relay.

The Cavaliers aren’t hurting for other sprint freestylers. Anna Moesch currently sits in fourth on their team at 21.84 individually, and she has been 21.29 on a relay at the Tennessee Invitational. It would not be unreasonable to see her make an appearance on this relay in place of Curzan, A. Walsh, or Maxine Parker, nor would it slow the relay down. Moesch might also swim on the 800 freestyle relay, but she only swam two relays at the ACC Championships (200 medley and 400 free), so she has space for two more.

Last Year’s Podium

The Cardinals finished 2nd last year, and they are well-known for their sprint freestyle prowess, and they are currently the closest team to the UVA women, coming in at 1:25.52 individually. This is still a second-and-a-half back, but they are about half-a-second ahead of third place Texas.

Their time also comes from the ACC Championships, where they had the same breakdown of three athletes in the 21-second range and one athlete in the 20s. Caroline Larsen led off in 21.71. Julia Dennis went 2nd in 20.78 and handed it off to Gabi Albiero who split 21.60. Ella Welch brought them home, swimming 21.43. All four of these women will likely swim on this relay again at NCAAs, as this is their fastest relay and their best chance of taking down UVA.

Louisville was also the runner-up at last year’s meet, coming in at 1:25.47, a time they have already beaten this season.

The Longhorns sit in 3rd, matching their finish from last year, and are a ways back from catching Louisville or UVA in this event.

Their seed time of 1:25.90 comes from the 2025 SEC Championships, where they won the event as one of just two relay wins. It seems likely they will swim the same four swimmers at the NCAA Championships later this week: Grace Cooper (21.87), Emma Sticklen (21.07), Abby Arens (21.77), and Ava Longi (21.19).

As this was one of their better relays, and one of their highest relay seeds, it is not likely that these four athletes will change positions. They were the bronze medalists last year to Virginia and Louisville and we could be looking at the same podium this year, but there are a few other teams that have a chance of finding their way.

Other Teams to Watch:

Stanford comes in just two tenths behind Texas with the 1:26.08 they went at ACCs. They are kind of a wild card on this relay because they have to consider what relays they want to Torri Huske on. Huske opted for this relay over the 400 freestyle relay at ACCs.

It would not be surprising to see her take over a spot on the 400 freestyle relay instead of this one. They are coming in as the 7th seed in that relay, just two seconds back of the 2nd seed Michigan. Huske has been 45.98 in the 100 free on a relay this season, and Stanford’s slowest split at ACCs came in at 48.60 (though that was the leadoff. The slowest relay start came in at 47.86, still almost two seconds). Without Huske, the 200 free relay would suffer, but they will have a hard time moving up further than 3rd even with her.

Michigan comes in at 5th seed with their 1:26.13, Alabama sits in 6th at 1:26.35, and Tennessee is 7th in 1:26.49.

Michigan is bolstered by Lindsay Flynn’s 21.11 performance at the Big-12s which will be huge in keeping them ahead of the other teams, and potentially passing Stanford, who they are only a few hundredths behind.

Alabama had an incredibly strong performance at the SEC Championships, finishing ahead of Tennessee at 1:26.35. They did not have any standout swims, but their athletes were incredibly consistent, all coming within .15 seconds of each other in their splits.

Tennessee also did not have any standout swims, but their leadoff leg Camille Spink had kind of a rough swim. She touched in 21.46, which was more than two tenths slower than the 21.23 she went earlier in the session to win the 50 freestyle. If she drops those two tenths, or more, at NCAAs, Tennessee could make a case to pass Michigan, and maybe even find themselves in medal position. She has also been 20.91 on the relay before from a relay start, which would be huge in moving up in their placements. Josephine Fuller has also been about two tenths faster than her SEC split of 21.77 with the 21.60 she went at the Tennessee Invite.

NC State is the final team who will race in the last heat, swimming 1:26.52 at the ACC Championships. Their relay order seems relatively safe, with their top four 50 freestyle relay swimmers appearing on the relay.

SwimSwam’s Picks

Dark Horse: USC

Just like in the 200 medley relay, USC has not had the fastest year in the 200 medley relay, coming into the meet in 16th place with the 1:27.65 they went at the Texas Hall of Fame Invite. At last year’s NCAA Championships, they finished 4th in the event in 1:26.47, and they are returning every swimmer from that team of Caroline Famous (21.71), Minna Abraham (21.59), Anicka Delgado (21.62), and Vasillissa Buinaia (21.55). USC could find themselves back in the top eight this year, especially if they repeat their performance from last year.

Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay

• NCAA Record: 3:05.84, Virginia (Douglass, A. Walsh, Parker, G. Walsh), 2023
• U.S. Open Record: 3:05.84, Virginia (Douglass, A. Walsh, Parker, G. Walsh), 2023
• American Record: 3:05.84, Virginia (Douglass, A. Walsh, Parker, G. Walsh), 2023
• 2024 NCAA Championships: 3:05.89 (Nocentini, A. Walsh, G. Walsh, Parker)

It feels like we are writing the same words over and over again when it comes to this UVA women’s team. Just like almost every other relay at this meet they are coming into the 400 freestyle relay as the heavy favorites. Their ACC winning time of 3:05.93 is almost three seconds faster than any other team has been this season, and even with the consideration of potential relay changes, they are still likely to come in pretty far ahead of the rest of the field.

Nothing is certain though, and early takeoffs can throw a wrench in the plans of even the best teams. This is where the other teams will be waiting to swoop in.

Last month, Virginia won ACCs by almost four seconds over Louisville. Claire Curzan led off in 46.74. Anna Moesch swam 2nd in 46.80. Alex Walsh split 47.46, and Gretchen Walsh brought them home in 44.93.

Walsh’s 44.93 was the fastest split in history, and the first female split ever under 45 seconds. Curzan and Moesch also went new personal fastest splits on this relay. Alex Walsh was the only swimmer who added, swimming 47.46 on the relay, which was almost a second slower than hse went on the same relay at last year’s NCAA Championships where she split 46.54. If she goes even close to this time at this year’s meet, the Cavaliers would absolutely shatter their previous NCAA record.

The Challengers

Michigan sits in 2nd place overall at 3:08.89, which they went at the Big 10 Championships. Again, they had a huge anchor leg from Lindsay Flynn helping them immensely, with her coming in at 46.70. She was not the only fast swimmer on this relay, however.

Stephanie Balduccini swam 47.66 on the leadoff leg, and Brady Kendall split 47.58 in 2nd. Kendall handed it off to Claire Newman who split 47.15 for 3rd before Flynn took the water.

Balduccini’s best time in the event is 47.04, more than half-a-second faster than her split at Big Tens. This would drop the relay to 3:08 low. Kendall also has a faster split. At last year’s NCAA championships, she split 47.14 on this relay, about four tenths faster which drops Michigan into the 3:07s. If they go 3:07, they would comfortably finish 2nd overall.

After Michigan, there are a trio of 3:09 400 relays. Tennessee sits in 3rd at 3:09.02, Texas in 4th in 3:09.26, and Louisville in 5th at 3:09.71.

The spot for the 3rd place relay is going to be a fight, but right now it looks like it should go to Tennessee.

Brooklyn Douthwright led off this relay for the Vols in 47.97, but she has been half-a-second faster at 47.44. Camille Spink’s 46.01 was her fastest split ever, as was Julia Mrozinksi’s 48.00. Josephine Fuller has also been faster than the 47.04 she went anchoring the relay with the 46.83 she went at last year’s SEC Championships.

Texas is two tenths back of Tennessee at 3:09.26 with Erin Gemmell (47.38), Emma Sticklen (47.55), Lillie Nesty (46.82), and Abby Arens (47.51). They finished 10th at last year’s NCAAs, coming in at 3:11.51, so a 3rd place finish would be a huge jump for them. The only swimmer who returns on their relay is Erin Gemmell who is almost a second faster than the 48.01 she went leading off the relay last year.

Louisville was 3rd last year in 3:09.08, and they only lost one member of their relay, Christiana Regenauer. Regenauer was replaced by Caroline Larsen who went 47.58 on the third leg, which was only seven tenths off the leadoff leg Regenauer went at last year’s NCAA Championships.

Julia Dennis has seen significant improvement as well, swimming 46.77 at the ACC Championships, which was a drop from the 47.24 she went at NCAAs.

Other Contenders

NC State, Stanford, and Indiana round out the top eight in 3:10.00, 3:10.71, and 3:10.77 respectively.

NC State didn’t have any swimmers under 47 at the ACC Championships, but Erika Pelaez was just over that threshold at 47.09. At last year’s NCAAs, NC State finished 12th overall, but they have gained a ton of help from their freshman duo of Pelaez and Leah Shackley.

Stanford’s 6th seed is subject to change based on the personnel they choose to put on the relay, particularly if Torri Huske chooses to swim it. If Huske swims it, she would help vault Stanford into the potential top-three. If Huske doesn’t swim it, they will likely go a similar time as they went at the ACC Championships, where they finished 4th. Only Anna Shaw had a slower split than her fastest, leading off in 48.60 which was about half-a-second off her best of 48.14 from March of 2021.

Indiana was 8th at last year’s Championships, and they are coming in seeded in the same position at a very similar time to what they went last year. Their fastest split at Big Tens was Kristina Paegle’s 46.80 on the anchor leg. Anna Peplowski has also been about six-tenths faster than the 47.82 she went leading off the relay with her 47.18 she went leading off this relay last year.

SwimSwam’s Predictions

Dark Horse: Florida

Last year’s runner-up is coming into this year’s meet seeded 10th overall. They graduated Isabel Ivey, who had their fastest split at last year’s championships, coming in at 46.26. Ivey was replaced by freshman Addison Reese, who went 48.36 at SECs. The rest of the relay is the same, however, and Micayla Cronk and Bella Sims both went faster last year. It will be hard to repeat their 2nd place performance with two 48 second 100s, but they could find their way into the top eight.