2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships
- Wednesday, March 18 – Saturday, March 21, 2026
- McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
- Defending Champions: Virginia (5x)
- Championship Central
- Preview Index
- Psych Sheet
- Live Stream
- Live Results
- Live Recaps
Day 2 Finals Heat Sheet
It is time for the day two finals session of the 2026 Women’s NCAA Championships, and we are in for an exciting evening.
There will be just five heats of swimming tonight, along with six rounds of diving, which will split between two parts of the session with rounds one to three occurring after the 400 IM final, while rounds four to six will dive after the 100 breast final before the relay.
The evening will open with the 100 butterfly, where Claire Curzan and Torri Huske are the top two seeds, just two tenths apart during prelims. Curzan swam 49.20 to lead Huske’s 49.38. Indiana freshman Alex Shackell will be seeded 3rd in 49.95.
In the 400 IM, last year’s champion Caroline Bricker just squeaked into the final, qualifying 8th in 4;03.65. Tennessee’s Ella Jansen had the top time in prelims of 4:00.24, and she will be trying to hold off Michigan’s Bella Sims, Stanford’s Lucy Bell, and Cal’s Teagan O’Dell along with Bricker and Katie Grimes who are all major threats.
The women’s 200 freestyle will run after the first three rounds of diving, and it is one of the most anticipated events of the meet. Last night’s 800 freestyle relay saw a few huge relay splits, including Indiana freshman Liberty Clark swimming 1:39.70 to lead off their relay. This swim was just two hundredths faster than Virginia sophomore Anna Moesch‘s seed time of 1:39.72. When adding athletes like Nikolett Padar, Claire Weinstein, and Minna Abraham, this could be the first women’s 200 freestyle heat in history to see multiple sub-1:40 swimmers.
Tennessee’s McKenzie Siroky was the fastest 100 breaststroker in prelims, and the only swimmer to break 57 seconds, touching in 56.93 for the top seed. She leads Anita Bottazzo, Eneli Jefimova, and Anastasia Gorbenko. Only Gorbenko has not previously been under the 57 second barrier.
The meet will wrap up with the 200 freestyle relay where the Virginia women are continuing their campaign to win all five relays. They are the top seeds by more than a second over Stanford, coming in at 1:23.75 to Stanford’s 1:25.14. Texas was the top team in prelims, swimming 1:26.42, and they will be watching to see if they finish in the top eight tonight.
Women’s 100 Fly – Final
- NCAA Record: 46.97 – Gretchen Walsh, UVA (2025)
- U.S. Open Record: 46.97 – Gretchen Walsh, UVA (2025)
- American Record: 46.97 – Gretchen Walsh, UVA (2025)
- Championship Record: 46.97 – Gretchen Walsh, UVA (2025)
- 2025 NCAA Champion: Gretchen Walsh, UVA – 46.97
- 2025 8th/16th Prelims Times: 51.02/51.35
Top 8 Finishers
- Torri Huske (STAN) — 48.49
- Claire Curzan (UVA) — 48.55
- Alex Shackell (IU) — 49.82
- Gigi Johnson (STAN) — 50.06
- Annie Jia (CAL) — 50.34
- Mizuki Hirai (TENN) — 50.56
- Campbell Stoll (TEX) — 50.61
- Miranda Grana (IU) — 51.11
After finishing 2nd in the event in 2022, 3rd in 2023, and 2nd in 2025, Stanford senior Torri Huske finally earned the gold in the women’s 100 butterfly, touching in 48.49 to beat Virginia’s Claire Curzan by just six hundredths.
Curzan jumped out to an early leag, splitting 22.35 on the first 50 to turn five hundredths ahead of Huske’s 22.35. The pair was about six tenths ahead of Indiana’s Alex Shackell, who swam 22.91 on the opening 50.
Huske outsplit Curzan on the 3rd 25, touching in 12.72 to turn in 35.12 at the 27 mark, two tenths ahead of Curzan, who split 13.00 to turn in 35.35.
The final 25 saw Curzan make up a bit of ground, splitting 13.20, but it was not enough to catch Huske who split 13.39 to grab the event win.
Huske added about two tenths from the 48.26 she swam at the ACC Championships last month, while Curzan added a tenth from her 48.47, also from the ACC Championships.
Shackell was the only other swimmer in the final to drop under 50 seconds, splitting 26.91 to touch in 49.82, about four tenths off her lifetime best 449.49 from December of 2023.
There were three freshmen in the top eight this year, with Cal’s Annie Jia finishing 5th in 50.34 and Tennessee’s Mizuki Hirai finishing 6th in 50.56.
Women’s 400 Individual Medley – Final
- NCAA Record: 3:54.60 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
- American Record: 3:54.60 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
- U.S. Open Record: 3:54.60 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
- Championship Record: 3:54.60 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
- 2025 Champion: Caroline Bricker, Stanford – 3:57.36
- 2025 8th/16th Prelims Times: 4:04.85/4:07.29
Top 8 Finishers
- Bella Sims (MICH) — 3:58.05
- Lucy Bell (STAN) — 3:58.72
- Teagan O’Dell (CAL) — 3:59.43
- Ella Jansen (TENN) — 3:59.59
- Katie Grimes (UVA) — 4:00.56
- Caroline Bricker (STAN) — 4:02.23
- Rosie Murphy (UCLA) — 4:03.55
- Aimee Canny (UVA) — 4:05.16
Michigan junior Bella Sims led wire-to-wire in the women’s 400 IM, touching in 3:58.08 to win by six tenths over Stanford’s Lucy Bell, who finished 2nd in 3:58.72. Sims becomes Michigan’s first individual NCAA Champion since 2021 when Maggie MacNeil won the 100 free and 100 fly and Olivia Carter won the 200 fly.
Sims jumped out to an early lead, splitting 53.39 (24.69/28.70) on the butterfly leg to be the only swimmer sub-54 seconds in the event, touching almost a second ahead of Cal’s Teagan O’Dell, who split 54.15 in 2nd.
On the backstroke, Sims extended her lead, splitting 59.36 (30.32/29.04) to turn in 1:52.75, which was a a second-and-a-half faster than Katie Grimes, who turned 2nd in 1:54.13.
The breaststroke saw some of the field start to come back on Sims, who was 1:09.70 (34.74/24.96). Bell had a huge leg, splitting 1:05.38, jumping from 6th to 2nd. O’Dell was1:09.43 to maintain her position in 2nd overall.
On the freestyle, the top three finishers had nearly identical splits. Sims was the fastest at 55.63 (28.17/27.46), touching in 3:58.08, six hundredths off the 3:58.02 she swam at the CSCAA Dual Meet Challenge in November and a little more than a second off her lifetime best of 3:56.59 from December of 2022.
Bell split 55.79 to finish 2nd in 3:58.72, a four tenth drop from the 3:59.11 she swam at the ACC Championships.
O’Dell came home in 55.75 to touch in 3:59.43, a five second drop from her lifetime best of 4:04.39 that she swam at the ACC Championships. She came into college with a best of 4:05.22 from November of 2024.
Tennessee’s Ella Jansen also broke 4:00 for the first time, touching in 3:59.59 to drop two seconds from her pre-meet best of 4:01.61 from the 2025 SEC Championships
Women’s 1-Meter Diving Final — Rds 1-3
Top 8 After Three Rounds
- Sophie Verzyl (SCAR) — 174.20
- Chiara Pellacani (MIA) — 170.80
- Elna Widerstrom (MINN) — 161.70
- Camyla Monroy (FLOR) — 158.50
- Margo O’Meara (MIA) — 155.05
- Bayleigh Cranford (TEX) — 151.75
- Shiyun Lai (KANS) — 150.40
- Desharne Bent-Ashmeil (TENN) — 150.20
Women’s 200 Free – Final
- NCAA Record: 1:39.10 – Missy Franklin, Cal (2015)
- American Record: 1:39.10 – Missy Franklin, Cal (2015)
- U.S. Open Record: 1:39.10 – Missy Franklin, Cal (2015)
- Championship Record: 1:39.10 – Missy Franklin, Cal (2015)
- 2025 NCAA Champion: Anna Peplowski, Indiana – 1:40.50
- 2025 8th/16th Prelims Times: 1:43.24/1:44.18
Top 8 Finishers
- Anna Moesch (UVA) — 1:39.23
- Liberty Clark (IU) — 1:39.88
- Nikolett Padar (TEX) — 1:40.78
- Minna Abraham (USC) — 1:41.66
- Madi Mintenko (UVA) — 1:41.67
- Camille Spink (TENN) — 1:41.72
- Mia West (CAL) — 1:42.00
- Claire Weinstein (CAL) — 1:42.59
Swimmers keep chipping away, but Missy Franklin‘s 200 free NCAA record will stand for another season. Virginia sophomore Anna Moesch earned the top spot in the 200 freestyle, stopping the clock in 1:39.23, the 2nd fastest performance in history in the event.
This swim also marked the first time two swimmers have been under 1:40 in the same heat of the event, with Indiana’s Liberty Clark also dipping under the barrier, touching in 1:39.88 to grab the silver medal, just slightly off the 1:39.70 she swam last night.
Texas freshman Nikolett Padar and Anna Moesch had the exact same opening 50 split of 23.49, turning jus three hundredths ahead of Liberty Clark‘s 23.52 in 3rd.
Moesch maintained her lead through the next 50, splitting 25.52 on the 2nd 50 to turn in 49.01, three tenths ahead of Padar’s 49.30 and nearly five tenths ahead of Clark’s 49.47.
Moesch and Clark both descended the final three 50s with Moesch splitting 25.25 on the 3rd 50 and a blistering 24.97 on the final 50, which was faster than she came home last night.
Clark split 25.34 on the 3rd 50 and 25.07 on the final 50 to pass Padar for 2nd overall.
Padar was 25.72/25.76 on the final 100, touching in 1:40.78, which was just four tenths off the 1:40.30 she swam last night.
Women’s 100 Breaststroke – Final
- NCAA Record: 55.73 — Lilly King, Indiana (2019)
- American Record: 55.73 — Lilly King, Indiana (2019)
- U.S. Open Record: 55.73 — Lilly King, Indiana (2019)
- Championship Record: 55.73 — Lilly King, Indiana (2019)
- 2025 NCAA Champion: Alex Walsh, Virginia – 56.49
- 2025 8th/16th Prelims Times: 58.30/58.93
Top 8 Finishers
- Eneli Jefimova (NCST) — 56.30
- McKenzie Siroky (TENN)/Anita Bottazzo (FLOR) — 57.00
- —
- Anastasia Gorbenko (LOU) — 57.56
- Piper Enge (TEX) — 57.76
- Maria Ramos Najji (OSU) — 57.99
- Emma Weber (UVA) — 58.21
- Joleigh Crye (CINC) — 58.59
NC State’s Eneli Jefimova was the only swimmer in the 100 breaststroke final to break 57 seconds, and she was way under the mark, touching in 56.30 to become the 3rd fastest performer in history in the event.
Jefimova was out in 26.67, turning a little more than a tenth behind Anita Bottazzo, who was 2nd in 26.52 and four hundredths behind McKenzie Siroky‘s 26.63 in 2nd.
On the 2nd 50, Jefimova split 14.69/14.94 to touch in 29.63, passing both Siroky and Bottazzo and being the only swimmer to come in under 30 seconds on the final 50.
Siroky split 30.37 on the 2nd 50 to make up ground on Bottazzo, who split 30.48. The two swimmers tied for the silver in 57.00. Siroky’s lifetime best is the 56.93 she swam in prelims, and she came into the meet at 57.27 from the 2025 SEC Championships. Bottazzo’s best stands at 56.87, which she swam in October.
Women’s 1-Meter Diving — Final Rounds 4-6
Top 8 Finishers
- Chiara Pellacani (MIA) — 345.70
- Sophie Verzyl (SCAR) — 345.45
- Bayleigh Cranford (TEX) — 320.65
- Camyla Monroy (FLOR) — 318.25
- Desharne Bent-Ashmeil (TENN) — 313.50
- Margo O’Meara (MIA) — 311.80
- Elna Widerstrom (MINN) — 303.95
- Shiyun Lai (KANS) — 299.05
The final three rounds of the women’s diving event were exciting. South Carolina’s Sophie Verzyl was in the lead by a little more than three points coming into the round over reigning champion Chiara Pellacani of Miami
Pellacani had a very strong final three rounds to end up winning the event in 345.70, just 0.25 points over Verzyl’s 345.45 in 2nd place.
Texas junior Bayleigh Cranford finished 3rd in 320.65, jumping up from 6th overall after the first three rounds.
Women’s 200 Free Relay – Final Heat
- NCAA Record: 1:23.63 – Virginia (Nocentini, G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Parker), 2024
- American Record: 1:23.87 – Virginia (Douglass, G. Walsh, Cuomo, A. Walsh), 2023
- U.S. Open Record: 1:23.63 – Virginia (Nocentini, G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Parker), 2024
- Championship Record: 1:24.05 – Virginia (Nocentini, G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Parker), 2024
- 2025 Champion: Virginia (G. Walsh, Curzan, Parker, Moesch) – 1:24.45
- 2025 8th/16th Times: 1:27.00/1:28.01
- Current Leader: Texas (Okaro, Nesty, Mehraban, Gemmell) — 1:26.42
Top 8 Teams
- Virginia (Curzan, Greenwaldt, Moesch, Curtis) — 1:24.11
- Stanford (Olasewere, Huske, Johnson, Thomas) — 1:25.57
- Indiana (Clark, Paegle, Hoeper, Shackell) — 1:25.67
- Michigan — 1:25.92
- Cal — 1:26.10
- Tennessee — 1:26.25
- Texas — 1:26.42
- NC State — 1:26.45
Louisville — Disqualified
UVA is three-for-three in relays so far this meet. They swam the 200 freestyle relay in 1:24.11, coming in more than a second ahead of the rest of the field with Stanford finishing 2nd in 1:25.57.
Claire Curzan led off in 20.85, which makes her the #4 performer in history in the event. She held a half-second lead over Stanford’s Annam Olasewere, who was 21.56 on the first 50 and Indiana’s Liberty Clark, who split 21.27.
Bryn Greenwaldt split 21.75 on Virginia’s 2nd leg, giving up about a second to Stanford’s Torri Huske, who was 20.58 on Stanford’s 2nd leg. Kristina Paegle also made up some ground on Virginia, splitting 21.00. This gave Cardinal a half-second lead over Virginia with just two swimmers remaining, and the Hoosiers a three tenth lead.
Anna Moesch swam 3rd, splitting 20.96 to move Virginia back into the lead by just two hundredths over Stanford, who had Gigi Johnson split 21.44. Grace Hoeper was 22.05 for Indiana.
Freshman Sara Curtis had a monster anchor leg for UVA at 20.55, giving them a commanding victory with her exceptional final 25 and underwaters.
Stanford’s Lucy Thomas split 21.99 to hold off Indiana’s Alex Shackell, who split 21.35. Stanford finished 2nd in 1:25.57, a tenth ahead of Indiana, who finished 3rd in 1:25.67.
The Louisville women originally finished 2nd, touching in 1:25.37 before they were disqualified for a false start on anchor Ella Welch. Despite their DQ, they remain in the same overall position. They currently sit in 8th with 79 points, which is 49 points behind Indiana’s 128. While the 34 points from finishing 2nd would have helped them extend the gap between NC State, who sits just three points back at 76, it would not have put them ahead of Indiana.
Top 10 Teams After Day 2
- Virginia — 249
- Texas — 183
- Stanford — 173
- Tennessee — 158.5
- Cal — 133
- Michigan — 132
- Indiana — 128
- Louisville — 79
- NC State — 76
- Florida — 62.5
This has honestly been the most boring viewing experience for me watching from home. Not sure if the audio is off, but I cannot hear the crowd at all.
That, and I can’t hear the announcing of the names during walkouts. I feel like not having a consolation heat takes away the build-up of anticipation for the championship final.
Normally, I look forward to watching this meet every year. Now, I’m probably not going to be watching the rest of the meet. See you guys next year, I hope.
Irony is hard subject to master, kudos for trying.
Bring back the Consolation Finals (“B” finals) and the Awards Presentations. In addition, at least two relays (1-8, 9-16 seedings) should be contested in the evening session.
The current format needs to go.
I attended tonight. I expected to be disappointed with the format but that was not the case at all. Other than all the publicity I wouldn’t have known I was missing races compared to the prior method.
And the diving is considerably more interesting in person. You quickly catch the tendencies of each diver, and also how they interact with their coaches. The Canes diving coach blatantly tries to influence the judges via wild screams as soon as the dive is completed. Contrast to the Texas diving coach who was relatively quiet until the final round.
I was rooting for Curzan but expected her to lose narrowly. Torri just has slightly more explosiveness and athletic ability. It’s been… Read more »
Bruh ppl were actually screaming to DQ Virginia? Thats lowk embarrassing cuz she very obviously breaches at 15, just pause the video and u can see it
Glad to know it was a better experience in person I guess… but the schedule is buns
Nice propaganda. Did you get paid per word?
My perspective on being there is different from yours I guess…The B final was interesting in itself, but also served as an appetizer to build for each A final. Now it’s an abrupt change to another event. It doesn’t help that they have no idea how to build for it. We just sit there and watch old YouTube videos on the screen of races from a decade ago, or sometimes a static picture of NCAA signage?
IMO, the loud booing at the reference of the new format on the first night seemed to express a near universal feeling of attendees. I’d guess well under 10% are positive or even neutral on the format change. I haven’t heard a single person… Read more »
NCAA Championships should be the exact same format and production level as Olympic Trials. Yes, should even be Long Course(even if that mean switching from short course after Christmas). And, before anyone says it…the Majors all have Long Course pools. This has to happen very soon!!
I say go SCM. and move the champs 2 weeks earlier to avoid March Madness.
Plus prelim/finals of relays and top 16 at night
Drop diving without be fine with me too.
No prelim finals of relays, so unnecessary
Outside of the top 2 heats (which should be in finals), there won’t be much movement
SCM isn’t happening
And it shouldn’t be moved up
So just keep doing the same things and hope the sport doesn’t die at the collegiate level?
Yeah cuz prelim finals of relays is gonna help…
And I’m not disagreeing with scm but there’s just no chance that’s happening
None of the 200 field would beat Claire in meters. Who cares about yards?
great to see curzan settle back into greatness.
Arthur Albiero the president of the CSCAA who made this meet the way it is and Louisville getting DQed. Somehow these things are related
I would love to know what happened behind closed doors, but I would be willing to bet that Arthur was outvoted. I don’t see him voting to approve any of the changes.
I would like to think so as well. Never heard anything but he is a great guy
I’m so confused at this. Isn’t everyone here furious at the board of directors? Somehow the president of the board shouldn’t be held accountable, but everyone else can be?
Tonight we got what, 5 races in 2 hours?? The casual fans about to be beating down the doors! The app’s gonna crash!
…. diving breaks ….
The washing machine gets a work out.
I don’t see how this boring production is going to bring in more viewers. The races and announcers are great but there is no build-up or hype. Where are the sparks, the smoke, the music, the little kid leading the finals heat out with the event sign? The vibe is off and there are fewer spectators. I’ve followed swimming for decades and I’m bored by the production and new format.
They have cold sparks and LED walk out screen for every finalist today. You are right about lack of energy at the meet
The announcer (Rowdy) stunk! No other way to put it. Prelim guy is 100x better