2025 Women’s Division I NCAA Championships: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

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)
• Meet Central
• Official Psych Sheets
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Live Results
• Live Stream

Day 2 Prelims Preview 

Day 2 Prelims Heat Sheet

After an exciting day 1, the second day of the 2025 Women’s Division I NCAA Championships will feature several more exciting races.

Fresh-off of a new everything record in the 200 medley relay, Virginia stars Gretchen Walsh and Alex Walsh will look to make a splash in their first individual swims of the meet. Gretchen Walsh will headline the 50 freestyle prelims with the top seeded time of 20.60. G. Walsh is already the fastest woman in history in the race and is eying the 20-second barrier in the race.

Alex Walsh will take on fellow US Olympian Torri Huske in the 200 IM. Though Walsh is the reigning NCAA Champion in the event, Huske enters as the top seed with a 1:51.46, setting the pair up for a fantastic battle tonight. On the 200 medley relay, both Walsh (25.6 breaststroke) and Huske (20.3 freetyle) threw down the fastest splits in the field for their respective strokes.

The 500 freestyle will open the session with another battle of US Olympians as Texas’ Jillian Cox leads the field over Florida’s Bella Sims. Cox, who has had a fantastic season so far, enters the race with a seed time of 4:30.68 to Sims’ 4:31.06. Stanford’s Aurora Roghair should be in the mix as well, as she helped her team to an NCAA title in the 800 freestyle relay last night.

Team Scores After Day 1:

1. UVA/Stanford- 74
2. —
3. Florida- 60
4. Texas- 55
5. Michigan- 46
6. California- 44
7. Louisville- 42
8. Indiana- 36
9. Tennessee- 34
10. Wisconsin- 30
11. USC- 28
12. NC State- 27
13. ASU- 22
14. Georgia- 12
15. Alabama- 10
16. Ohio State- 8
17. Virginia Tech/Texas A&M
18. —
19. LSU- 4
20. UNC- 2

Day 2 Prelims Schedule

• 500 free
• 200 IM
• 50 free

Women’s 500 Freestyle – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 4:24.06 — Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
• U.S. Open Record: 4:24.06 — Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
• American Record: 4:24.06 — Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
• 2024 NCAA Champion: Bella Sims, Florida – 4:32.47

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Anna Peplowski (Indiana) – 4:33.93
2. Aurora Roghair (Stanford) – 4:34.87
3. Jillian Cox (Texas) – 4:35.84
4. Katie Grimes (Virginia) – 4:36.03
5. Cavan Gormsen (Virginia) – 4:36.15
6. Rachel Stege (Georgia) – 4:36.41
7. Ching Gan (Indiana) – 4:36.97
8. Mila Nikanorov (OSU) – 4:37.01

USC junior Claire Tuggle was out hard in the first circle-seeded heat of the morning, leading Stanford’s Aurora Roghair. After the first 200 yards of the race, however, Tuggle’s early speed caught up to her as she fell of the pace. From there, it was all Roghair as she took control of the lead, throwing down the fastest 4th-100 in her heat (54.97) t0 grow her lead by 1.5 seconds. With controlled strokes, Roghair touched the wall in a 4:34.87 to claim the victory in heat 7. She was followed by UVA’s Cavan Gormsen (4:36.15), which managed to hold off UGA’s Rachel Stege (4:36.41) for the second spot.

Indiana’s Anna Peplowski was right on her best time, throwing down a 4:33.93 for the win in heat 8. The senior led the field from start-to-finish with an explosive first 200 yards (1:45.14), signaling the potential for her to throw down a great time in the individual 200 later in the meet. With some additional competition there to push her on in the final, Peplowski could also be in for a strong swim in finals as her time held up as the fastest of the morning after the final heat. An even bigger shocker in the heat came from defending champion Bella Sims as the Florida Gator struggled in her race, adding almost 8 seconds to her seed time to go 4:38.98. That time will leave Sims on the outside-looking-in for the final as she only finished 17th overall.

In the final circle-seeded heat of the morning, top seed Jillian Cox of Texas held-off UVA freshman Katie Grimes as the pair went stroke-for-stroke over the final 100 yards of the race. Though neither swimmer was close to their season best, both looked controlled throughout the event, potentially hiding cards for the final. Cox touched in a 4:35.84 with Grimes just behind in 4:36.03, sitting in 4th and 5th for the final.

Before the start of the circle-seeded heats, heat 6 saw a great battle between USC junior Justina Kozan, Florida 5th-year Mabel Zavaros, and Stanford junior Natalie Mannion. Down the stretch, the three swimmers were almost even, with all of them hitting the wall in season best times. Kozan managed to hold off the pack, touching in 4:38.00, with Zavaros (4:38.17) and Mannion (4:38.32) coming in just behind. All three swimmers advanced to the B-final with their performances.

Women’s 200 IM – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 1:48.37— Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:48.37— Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
• American Record: 1:48.37— Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
• 2024 NCAA Champion: Alex Walsh, Virginia – 1:49.2

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Torri Huske (Stanford) – 1:51.53
2. Lea Polonsky (California) – 1:51.91
3. Emma Sticklen (Texas) – 1:52.11
4. Alex Walsh (Virginia) – 1:52.37
5. Caroline Bricker (Stanford) – 1:52.77
6. Phoebe Bacon (Wisconsin) – 1:52.86
7. Lucy Bell (Stanford) – 1:53.44
8. Josephine Fuller (Tennessee) – 1:53.72

In the first circle-seeded heat, Texas 5th-year Emma Sticklen took advantage of a strong front-half to claim victory, but had to fend off Wisconsin’s Phoebe Bacon to do so. Sticklen and Bacon, both known for their butterfly and backstroke poweress, went out hard. Sticklen led the field through the butterfly with a 23.45 with Bacon close behind. On the backstroke, Sticklen actually managed to hold on to the lead even further, splitting 27.63 to Bacon’s 28.64. Bacon actually gained time back on the breaststroke with a 32.40 split and attempted to fully close the gap on freestyle. However, she ran out of time as Sticklen hit the wall first in 1:52.11 to Bacon’s 1:52.86, marking season best times for both swimmers.

Defending champion Alex Walsh then headlined the next heat, following a strategy similar to Sticklen’s in her race with the fastest butterfly and backstroke splits in her heat. At the breastroke, it seemed like Walsh, one of the best breaststrokers in the field, might pull away. However, Stanford’s Caroline Bricker was actually the one to move up in the field, dropping a 32.53 split to chip away at Walsh’s lead. Bricker chased Walsh home on the freestyle, closing in 26.88 to Walsh’s 27.56, ultimately just running out of room. In the end, it was Walsh who touched first in 1:52.37, to Bricker’s 1:52.77, good for the fourth and fifth seeds into the final.

Stanford’s Torri Huske saw her first individual race of the meet in the final heat, claiming victory with a 1:51.53 for the top seed into the final. However, it was actually Cal’s Lea Polonsky who made the biggest splash in the final heat of the event as she sliced over 1.3 seconds off of her seed time and lifetime best of 1:53.28 to finish in a 1:51.91 for the 2nd seed. In the same event last year, Polonsky only finished 15th (1:55.27), so this performance marks a huge improvement for her in just a year’s time.

Southern Illinois junior Olivia Herron opened the race with a huge time drop, slicing .75 seconds off of her seed time to finish in 1:56.46 for a new Missouri Valley Conference record.

Women’s 50 Freestyle – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 20.37 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• American Record: 20.37 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• U.S. Open Record: 20.37 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• Championship Record: 20.37 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Gretchen Walsh (Virginia) – 20.44
2. Julia Dennis (Louisville) – 21.25
3. Camille Spink (Tennessee) – 21.34
4. Claire Curzan (Virginia) – 21.44
5. Sophie Yendell (Pittsburgh) – 21.54
6. Cadence Vincent (Alabama) – 21.57
7. Maxine Parker (Virginia) – 21.63
8. Gabi Albiero (Louisville) – 21.63

Michigan’s Stephanie Balduccini and Louisville’s Ella Welch both threw down impressive swims in the early heats of the event, dipping under the 22-second barrier in times of 21.97 and 21.98, respectively. Both swimmers sliced .08 off of their entry times with their swims.

Tennessee sophomore Camille Spink made her first NCAA-A final out of the first circle-seeded heat. Spink posted a time of 21.34 to lead her heat and finish 3rd overall out of prelims, coming only a tenth off of her best time. The performance marks a huge improvement for Spink as she finished 24th in the same race last year. In the same heat, Virginia’s Maxine Parker sliced .12 off of her season best, touching the wall in 21.63 for the 8th seed in the final.

Louisville’s Julia Dennis took home the second seed in the final out of heat 9 as she threw down a 21.25, also coming within striking distance of her best time. Dennis already showed speed on the 200 medley relay, propelling Louisville to 3rd with a 20.49 split on night 1, so she seems primed to swim well in the final. Her Louisville teammate Gabi Albiero hit a season best 21.63 to earn a second swim tonight as the 7th seed as well.

In the final heat of the morning, Gretchen Walsh did what Gretchen Walsh does best: swim fast. The NCAA record holder in the event posted a 20.44 to take the top seed with the 3rd fastest time in history. Walsh’s time only sits 3rd on the all-time list to her two swims from last year’s NCAA Championships (20.41 and 20.37), so expect her to challenge history again tonight. UVA got 3 swimmers into the A-final as Claire Curzan had a strong swim right next to Walsh, dropping a 21.44 for the 4th seed in the final.

Women’s 1 Meter Diving – Prelims

• 2024 Champion: Aranza Vazquez, UNC – 350.50

Round 1/6 Update:

SEC 3 meter champion and 1 meter runner-up, Sophie Verzyl of South Carolina, got off to a strong start, scoring 58.50. Everyone tends to start with a simple and straightforward dive, especially on the 1 meter, so the field vying for finals won’t really whittle down until the middle rounds. It’s very rare to see a miss at the beginning of a women’s 1 meter event. To keep pace to make this championship final, divers will want to shoot for averaging around 50 points per dive.

Round 2/6 Update:

Verzyl slipped down the standings a bit after slightly missing her second dive. She should still be in the hunt for the A final if she hold steady. Reigning champion, Aranza Vazquez has also been solid to this point and remains in the top eight. LSU’s Montserrat Lavenant also used a strong second dive to boost her in the standings and put her in contention for a top eight spot.  Texas’ Hailey Hernandez put up a solid 54.60, keeping her in strong contention for a berth in the championship final. The highest score of the round went to UNC standout freshman, Lanie Gutch with a 61.10, helping her cause to make the A final.

Round 3/6 Update:

South Carolina’s Verzyl now has some work to do to get back into the top after missing her last two dives, only scoring 32.55 in round three.  Florida’s lone diver competing today, Camyla Monroy also missed her dive, earning only 31.50 points. This greatly lowers the Gators’ chances of adding an A final to their tally today.

Round 4/6 Update:

Arkansas’ Maria Sanchez-Moreno has been putting up a solid performance all-around so far and could definitely put some points on the board for the Razorbacks after today. Stanford’s Burch and Moore are putting up solid dives, but have a little bit of room to make up if they want to get into scoring range. Texas’ Hernandez continues to put up great dives and is in prime position to come back for the night session. Virginia’s diver, Elizabeth Kaye has been rock solid and is in good position to add to the Cavalier’s point total. Unsurprisingly, Miami’s two star divers are performing well and will most certainly both appear in this evening’s final.

Round 5/6 Update:

With one round to go, Miami and UNC each look primed to get two divers each into the final, which will be a huge boost to both teams. Texas also appears to have Hernandez all but locked up for a finals spot as long as she has a solid final dive. Currently, UVA’s Kaye sits at 248.50 in 8th place, but Arizona’s Early (247.90) and Texas’ Estudillo (245.50) are right on her tail. The last spot to get into the final will likely come down to who can hit their dive the best. Currently, both of Stanford’s divers and Florida’s Monroy are on the outside looking in, but can potentially sneak into the B final with a stellar final dive.

Round 6/6 Update: 

On the brink of making the A final the previous round, Virginia’s Elizabeth Kaye had a slight miss, which knocked her down to the B final. Texas’ Alejandra Estudillo was able to capitalize as she nailed her last dive and earned her spot in tonight’s championship final. Her teammate, Bayleigh Cranford, also had a massive final dive to move her up over 10 spots into 15th place and scoring in the B final. Camyla Monroy of Florida scored a big 55.80 on her last dive, but it was ultimately not enough to get her into scoring position. Stanford’s Emilie Moore finished 18th, just five points shy of scoring.

Final Standings:

1. Chiara Pellacani (Miami) – 338.80
2. Mia Vallee (Miami) – 323.40
3. Montserrat Lavenant (LSU) – 317.35
4. Lanie Gutch (UNC) – 315.30
5. Aranza Vazquez (UNC) – 314.95
6. Alejandra Estudillo (Texas) – 305.30
7. Hailey Hernandez (Texas) – 305.20
8. Shiyun Lai (Kansas) – 301.85

Thank you to Noah Duperre for his diving coverage.