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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Day 1 Finals Program
Well swimming fans, we have made it to the final women’s meet of the NCAA season. The Women’s NCAA Championships start tonight with the 200 medley relay and the 800 free relay. This will be our first glimpse at how the teams might perform the rest of the week.
Tonight’s Schedule
- 200 Medley Relay
- 45 Minute Break
- 800 Free Relay
Who hit their tapers? Who struggled to find their footing after their conference championship meets? How are certain athletes feeling, and what can we expect to see the rest of the week?
We will also get insight into what teams are planning to do for relays with their top swimmers. This will be particularly telling for Virginia, who is the top seed in all five relays. Tonight could either show they are going for it, or we will likely see them drop one of the two relays this evening. Alex Walsh will be our litmus test in the 200 medley relay. If she appears on the medley, they likely aren’t stacking the 800 free relay. If she doesn’t we know for sure they are going for five.
Speaking of Virginia, among the athletes we will be watching to see what we can expect the rest of the week is multi-time NCAA Champion and record holder Gretchen Walsh.
It is important to note, this is not the end-all-be-all of the meet, and teams that have negative performances tonight can bounce back, and the same is true in the other direction.
We will be on record watch in the 200 medley relay, and potentially the 800 free relay, although that is unlikely if Gretchen Walsh does not swim. In January, Walsh split 20.87 on the fly leg of the medley at UVA’s dual meet with Virginia Tech. If all their swimmers are on tonight, they could crush their own record.
Other swimmers to watch include Camille Spink from Tennessee, who will likely make an appearance on the 800 freestyle relay, Bella Sims from Florida, also an 800 freestyle swimmer, and Torri Huske from Stanford, who could swim on either or both relays for the Cardinal.
Women’s 200 Medley Relay
NCAA Record: 1:31.51 — Virginia (G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Cuomo, Douglass) (2023)Championship Record: 1:31.51 — Virginia (G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Cuomo, Douglass) (2023)American Record: 1:31.51 — Virginia (G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Cuomo, Douglass) (2023)U.S. Open Record: 1:31.51 — Virginia (G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Cuomo, Douglass) (2023)- 2024 Champion: Virginia (G. Walsh, Nocentini, Novelline, Parker) — 1:31.58
Top 8 Finishers:
- Virginia- 1:31.10**New Everything Record**
- Stanford- 1:33.00
- Louisville- 1:33.41
- California- 1:33.54
- Florida- 1:33.92
- NC State/Texas- 1:34.00
- ASU- 1:34.54
It seems like Virginia is not going for all five relays, but they are making the most of this decision by starting off the meet with an NCAA record in the women’s 200 medley relay.
Claire Curzan led off for the Cavaliers at 23.17, with a very long finish, coming in only about a tenth of the rest of the field. She handed the relay off to 5th year Alex Walsh, who went 25.62 on the breaststroke leg, a time which ties for the 9th fastest 50 breaststroke split in history, the fastest Walsh has ever been.
Gretchen Walsh swam the fly leg, splitting a blistering 20.88, which was the 2nd fastest split in history, only behind her 20.87 from UVA’s dual meet with Virginia Tech in January. She now holds the top five splits of all time, and six of the top 10 times. If Gretchen had swam this split on the freestyle leg, only two swimmers would have been faster, Torri Huske and Julia Dennis.
Maxine Parker brought the UVA women home in 21.43 to finish first, four tenths under the previous NCAA Record of 1:31.10.
The rest of the event was fast too. Stanford finished 2nd in the event, finishing in 1:33.00, more than a second faster than their seed time of 1:34.05 from the ACC Championships. Annika Parkhe led them off in 24.23, and handed it off to Lucy Thomas, who split 25.71 on the breaststroke (with a 0.00 reaction time). Gigi Johnson swam the fly leg in 22.67. T
he biggest split on the Stanford relay was Torri Huske swimming 20.39 as the anchor leg. This time is just two-hundredths back of Maggie MacNeil‘s 10th all-time split of 20.37 from the 2023 NCAAs.
Louisville had a massive swim, moving up from 11th overall seed to 3rd place. They came in seeded at 1:34.55, and finished tonight more than a second faster at 1:33.41 with their team of Abby Karl (24.05), Caroline Larsen (26.28), Gabi Albiero (22.59), and Julia Dennis (20.49). The splits for Albiero and Dennis in particular were huge in moving them up in the rankings and are excellent signs for later in the meet.
Texas was seeded 2nd in the event, and they dropped back to tie 6th overall with NC State, coming in at 1:34.00. This was only about two tenths slower than they went at SECs last month, but the rest of the field got significantly faster. The only swimmer who went faster tonight than they did at SECs was Piper Enge, who split 26.42 at SECs and 26.33 tonight.
Tennessee also had a rough swim, dropping from 6th to 13th overall, and adding a little over a second. All four of their legs were off their splits from SECs, with the first three coming in around three-tenths slower. Mona McSharry anchored the relay again, and she was only three-hundredths slower at 21.88 from the 21.85 she went last month.
Fastest Splits Tonight:
- 50 Backstroke: Claire Curzan (UVA)- 23.17
- 50 Breaststroke: Alex Walsh (UVA)-
- 50 Fly: Gretchen Walsh (UVA)- 20.88
- 50 Free: Torri Huske (STAN)- 20.39
Women’s 800 Freestyle Relay
- NCAA Record: 6:44.13 — Virginia (G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Canny, Curzan) (2025)
- Championship Record: 6:45.91 — Stanford (Manuel, Neal, Eastin, Ledecky) (2017)
- American Record: 6:45.91 — Stanford (Manuel, Neal, Eastin, Ledecky) (2017)
- U.S. Open Record: 6:44.13 — Virginia (G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Canny, Curzan) (2025)
- 2024 Champion: Florida (Sims, Ivey, Weyant, Cronk) — 6:48.59
Top 8 Finishers:
- Stanford- 6:46.98
- Virginia- 6:51.29
- Florida- 6:53.41
- Texas- 6:53.49
- Michigan- 6:53.63
- Tennessee- 6:53.87
- USC- 6:54.45
- Indiana- 6:55.14
The Stanford women were on a mission in that final, and they absolutely destroyed the rest of the field en route to the first upset of the meet. The touched more than four seconds ahead of the rest of the field in 6:46.98, beating UVA and ruining their chances of five relay titles in one meet. Only 18 people out of the 525 that filled out the Pick’ems form chose Stanford to win that relay.
The Cardinal women were not out in first place, but they were the only team with multiple 1:41 splits. Sophomore Caroline Bricker led them off in 1:41.73, a best time by almost an entire second from her 1:42.56 from the beginning of February. This is the 5th fastest time in the NCAA this season, but she is not swimming the event this week. Aurora Roghair went 2nd in 1:41.89 to pull Stanford into first overall. Lillie Nordmann went 3rd in 1:41.16, which was the 2nd fastest split in the field. Finally, Kayla Wilson anchored the relay in 1:42.20, the only Stanford athlete to go over 1:41, but it was still the fastest anchor split in the field. Torri Huske was not on this relay, which means we can expect to see her on the 200 free, 200 medley, and 400 free relays.
UVA got off to a rough start, touching in 5th after the first leg. Alex Walsh split 1:43.04, about a second-and-a-half slower than she went on the third leg at the ACC Championships where she went 1:41.87. Aimee Canny went 2nd in 1:42.48, about four tenths slower than the 1:42.03 she went last month. They finished off with two freshman, Anna Moesch and Katie Grimes, who were both new additions to the ACC relay. Moesch split 1:42.80 and Grimes came home in 1:42.97, ultimately helping Virignia finish 2nd overall.
Bella Sims led off Florida’s relay in 1:42.55. She was out to an incredibly fast start, splitting 48.93 on the first 100 to flip first before dropping back to 4th overall.
Michigan’s Stephanie Balduccini had the fastest lead-off leg, coming in at 1:41.29. Indiana’s Anna Peplowski split 1:40.97 on the 2nd leg for the Hoosiers, showing just how exciting the 200 freestyle race will be on Friday.
Other 1:41 splits came from USC’s Minna Abraham splitting 1:41.92 on the leadoff leg and Cal’s Lea Polonsky, who went 1:41.42 in the 2nd position.
Team Scores After Day 1:
- UVA/Stanford- 74
- —
- Florida- 60
- Texas- 55
- Michigan- 46
- California- 44
- Louisville- 42
- Indiana- 36
- Tennessee- 34
- Wisconsin- 30
- USC- 28
- NC State- 27
- ASU- 22
- Georgia- 12
- Alabama- 10
- Ohio State- 8
- Virginia Tech/Texas A&M
- —
- LSU- 4
- UNC- 2
2024 200 Free final vs. tonight:
Sims 1:40.90 – 1:42.55
Peplowski 1:40.97 – 1:40.97 (swing)
Abraham 1:41.96 – 1:41.92
Canny 1:42.33 – 1:42.48 (swing)
Stepanek 1:42.92 – 1:44.04
Wilson 1:43.23 – 1:42.20 (swing)
Spink DQ – 1:43.99 (swing)
Doughtwright 1:42.75 – 1:43.50
Gemmell 1:43.05 – 1:43.39
Balduccini 1:43.10 – 1:41.29
Roghair 1:43.21 – 1:41.89 (swing)
Bricker 1:41.73 leading off
Grimes 1:42.97 anchoring
Weyant 1:44.47 swimming third
Regardless, I’m having a difficult time extrapolating Bell’s 25.71 Br split to the 400 IM.
Lucy Thomas is not Lucy Bell
stanford is going to have a tough choice between whos going to swim the 400 medley leg! bell has a faster pb but thomas appears to have a hot hand (and presumably has a higher ceiling as a natural sprinter)
they should be able to decide after the 400 IM and 100 Br on friday right? though agree that thomas probably has a higher ceiling, since i assume bell has been focusing on mid-distance for her 200 br/400 im lineup
Tennessee in 9th place overall when they should at least be top 5
They typically are fast at SECs and add a decent amount of time at NCAAs. They don’t seem to have figured out how to double taper.
Seeded to be in 3rd after the two relays – down 28 points – could be a disastrous meet
I think this goes to show that without Gretchen UVA are simply mere mortals. Alex and Claire and others are also very fast but nobody can complete with a relay Gretchen is on. Next year will be very interesting!
The University of Virginia won a national title in 2021 without G. Walsh.
But had Kate Douglass who was basically the same thing compared to most NCAA caliber swimmers.
Even more encouraging than Stanford’s hot start is the fact that they left Huske off the 800FR, which indicates that they’re saving her for the other three relays and therefore intend to stick around for the entire meet.
roghair might be the new favorite for the 500
will be very interesting! aurora seems to have figured out how to swim the 200 — out with much more controlled speed and able to come back faster than usual
out of her contenders, only bella and katie seem “off form” atm. i guess well see tomorrow if erik was able to shield jillian from the taper issues impacting the majority of the texas women…
bella still went a PB in the 50 back though, so sorta all over the place. maybe training more for backstroke? grimes not terribly off form really, and she hasnt really come down to the 200 yet this year (at least in college)
i think i still lean cox for the 500 right, but who knows.
my real take is prelims may get wild
agree that prelims will be wild
i hope im wrong but i dont rly think a 50 back is indicative of her form in a 500 — i was pretty concerned by bellas inability to back up from the double and how badly she faded in the back of the 200..
#TrustinErik
Rowdy acting like the Stanford team had a 0% shot of winning is ridiculous and demeaning as if they have not had one of the most successful mid-distance groups in the country this year
in his defense he was probably referencing how swimswam pegged stanford at 5th behind ut and uf
Alex was nearly a second and half slower than her pb, Aimee was slower than her flat start pb from a month ago, and Katie was slower than her flat start pb from 2023 😬
Only Anna stepped up…
peplowski looking good for that 200 free title rn
Balduccini had the fastest overall time here if you consider relay X flat
It would not have mattered with the time Stanford put up. Look on the bright side, Virginia’s result beats fourth place from last year.
TBF Grimes was .07 slower than her flat start PB from 2023 – least she was in the ballpark.