2026 Women’s NCAA Division I Championship: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

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
  • Prelims: Day 1
  • Finals: Day 1

Day 2 Prelims Heat Sheet

We have already experienced an exciting and action-packed day of swimming at the 2026 Women’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, and yet in reality, we haven’t even really started, as today sees the first of our preliminary events.

As a reminder, this morning’s events will be different than previous editions in both how many swimmers advance to finals as well as which events are swum today. This morning kicks off with the 100 fly, before moving to the 400 IM, 200 free, and 100 breast. All four events in the past had occurred on day 3 of the meet, but now they, along with early heats of the 200 free relay, really get things going. With only eight swimmers earning a 2nd swim, expect the morning to be fast, as those swimmers ranked in the top 16 are desperately looking to place in the top eight, and those out of the top 16 are looking to bump off those ahead of them and finish 9th-16th, places that will earn points directly based on this morning’s results.

The 100 fly, one of the marquee events of the whole meet, sees Torri Huske and Claire Curzan as the top seeds. Once teammates at Stanford, Huske and Curzan, now with UVA, are entered with seed time more than a second clear of the rest of the field. However, things start to get tighter behind them, as Alex Shackell and Gigi Johnson are tied for 3rd at 49.95 and by the luck of the draw, Shackell has been seeded to swim next to Huske in the final heat.  It’s not just those four to watch, however, as the field is littered with swimmers poised to make their name in the event. Mizuki Hirai, Tessa Giele, Sara Curtis, and Eva Okaro are all already established stars for their nations in international competitions, but the quartet will be looking to make a name for themselves for their schools in the NCAA.

The 3rd longest event on the schedule, the 400 IM, is naturally not the fastest race, but it is one of the most exciting as each new stroke brings forth the swimmer’s strengths and weaknesses. Top seed Bella Sims, who has already made a name for herself in the NCAA but with Florida, will be looking to do the same now with Michigan. One of four swimmers seeded under 4:00, Sims will have to contend with her former club teammate UVA’s Katie Grimes as well as a pair of Stanford Cardinal, Lucy Bell and the defending champion Caroline Bricker. Both Bell and Bricker are great breaststrokers, so while they may appear out of the race after the backstroke, don’t count them out.

Having the 200 free the morning after the 800 free relay is a new phenomenon, so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out, but based on the relay results, we should be expecting fireworks. Top seed Anna Moesch produced the fastest 200 free relay split of all time, going 1:39.03, with the 2nd seed Minna Abraham producing the 9th fastest time (1:40.25), and yet those times were overshadowed by Liberty Clark. The first year from Indiana, who is seeded 3rd in the event, had a lifetime best of 1:40.84, but produced the 3rd fastest time ever, going 1:39.70 leading off the Hoosiers’ relay last night. She wasn’t alone in cutting massive amounts of time as Nikolett Pada led off Texas’s runner-up relay in a new school record of 1:40.30, a 1.06-second improvement upon her 4th-seeded 1:41.36.

The final individual event of the morning, the 100 breaststroke, sees a trio of international stars. Estonia’s Eneli Jefimova, who swims for the NC State Wolfpack, is the event’s top seed, coming in with a 56.77, but is just .10 clear of Florida sophomore Anita Bottazzo, who represents Italy internationally. While the pair are the only two under 57.00, all eyes will be on Louisville’s Anastasia Gorbenko who has been turning heads left and right ever since she arrived on campus. Last night, Gorbenko split 25.44 on the 200 medley relay, the 3rd fastest split of all time, so expect the Israeli Olympian to be out fast.

We end the morning on a fast note, with the early heats of the 200 free relay concluding the swimming portion of the session. 1-meter diving prelims are also slated to begin this morning. Alabama comes in as the 9th seed, but certainly will be looking to emulate both Texas and Tennessee, who yesterday put up morning swims that were fast enough to earn a podium spot amongst the top 8. Speaking of Texas, the Longhorns are the 10th seed and will hope to repeat yesterday’s feat.

Women’s 100 Fly – Prelims

• 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:

1. Claire Curzan (UVA) – 49.20
2. Torri Huske (STAN) – 49.38
3. Alex Shackell (IU) – 49.95
4. Gigi Johnson (STAN) – 50.28
5. Campbell Stoll (TEX) – 50.49
6. Mizuki Hirai (TENN) – 50.50
7. Miranda Grana (IU) – 50.68
8. Annie Jia (CAL) – 50.77

Scored 9-16th:

9. Felicia Klintemar (AKR) – 50.89
10. Tessa Giele (ALA) – 50.91
11. Erika Pelaez (NCSU) – 50.98
12. Carly Novelline (UVA) – 51.03
13. Sara Curtis (UVA) – 51.13
14. Lilou Ressencourt (CAL) – 51.30
15. Ella Welch (LOU) – 51.32
16. Sydney Gring (PITT) – 51.33

NC State’s Lily Christianson won the first heat in 51.76. The sophomore was out in 24.01, before coming home in 27.75 to cut .51 off her seed time of 52.27. Her time did not last long atop the leaderboard, or at least not alone as Beatriz Bezerra, a first=year from Florida equaled her mark of 51.76. Bezerra too the race out faster going 23.79, but was a little slower on the last 50, going 27.97.

Emulating the jumping skills and speed of Zippy the kangaroo, Felicia Klintemar of Akron cut nearly half a second off her seed to take over the top of the leaderboard, setting a new best of 50.89, the first sub-51.00 time of the morning and with only the circle seeded heats remaining, the sophomore has an outside chance of sneaking into scoring range.

Heat 4, the first of the circle seeded heats saw Gigi Johnson pull through the field and take the heat win in 50.28. Johnson was out in 23.46, trailing Duke’s Tatum Wall, but the Stanford senior used a strong 26.82 last 50 to move up into the top spot on the leaderboard. While she was .33 off her seed and Campbell Stoll was .14 off her seed, the heat’s top two seed touched 1st and 2nd in the heat and will be hoping that their times of 50.28 and 50.49 are fast enough to make the A-final.

Claire Curzan wasted no time in heat 5, taking the race out in a blistering 22.68 and never looked back as she closed in 26.52 stopping the clock in 49.20, not only our first sub-50 time, but also a full second ahead of Johnson’s top time. While Curzan added .73 to her seed, her seed was fast enough to survive the add, but Miranda Grana’s add of .70 puts the Hoosier in much more danger, as her 50.68 currently ranks her 4th with one heat remaining.

Torri Huske and Alex Shackell were a little more conservative over the first 50 as the pair opened in 22.74 and 22.96 respectively. The two, swimming out of lane 4 and lane 5 were soon separated from the field with the pair joining Curzan under 50, with the Stanford senior going 49.38 and the Indiana first-year going 49.38.

Annie Jia of California was the lone swimmer who placed among the top 8 to drop time, going from her seed of 50.83 to 50.77. This drop combined with all the adds of swimmers above the Cal first-year moved her up from the 14th seed to 8th, earning a second swim, and valuable points for the Golden Bears, who were hurt in the team race last night with a relay DQ.

Akron’s Felicia Klintemar went from the 26th seed all the way up to 9th, a move matched by Lilou Ressencourt who jumped from the 31st seed to 14th.

Note: The Live Results page shows Felicia Klintemar and Tessa Giele as the 1st and 2nd alternates, but I could not find any mention in the schedule changes about alternates, and the scoring sections says 9-16th will score from prelims results, so it seems unlikely, that even if there was a medical scratch that Klintemar and Giele will swim.

Women’s 400 Individual Medley – Prelims

• 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:

1. Ella Jansen (TENN) – 4:00.24
2. Bella Sims (MICH) – 4:01.07
3. Lucy Bell (STAN) – 4:01.52
4. Teagan O’Dell (CAL) – 4:01.78
5. Rosie Murphy (UCLA) – 4:02.22
6. Katie Grimes (UVA) – 4:02.46
7. Aimee Canny (UVA) – 4:03.20
8. Caroline Bricker (STAN) – 4:03.65

Scored 9-16th:

9. Emily Brown (TENN) – 4:04.09
10. Leah Hayes (UVA) – 4:04.12
11. Emily Thompson (STAN) – 4:04.74
12. Campbell Stoll (TEX) – 4:04.99
13. Hannah Bellard (MICH) – 4:05.36
14. Justina Kozan (USC) – 4:05.42
15. Mary Macaulay (UNC) – 4:05.61
16. Reese Tiltmann (IU) – 4:06.02

Heat 2 saw some confusion as only 5/8s of the heat dove into the water in their attempts to chase down Hannah O’Leary’s 4:12.45 from the first heat. The heat was called back and was swum after heat 3, a heat which saw UNC junior Mary Macaulay employ some outside smoke to win the race from lane 8. Entered with her PB of 4:08.08, Macaulay sliced 2.47 seconds off that time to post the fastest time of the morning of 4:05.61 a time that would have placed 12th last year in prelims.

Her time from heat 3, survived heat 2, which was swum after heat 2, but it did not survive heat 4, the first of the circle seeded heats. Texas’s Campbell Stoll lead at the halfway point, making the turn to breaststroke in 1:56.27, however her lead of 1.15 over Leah Hayes disappeared over the breaststroke as the UVA sophomore touched first at 3:06.65, .18 ahead of Stoll and .61 ahead of her teammate Aimee Canny. Canny, who opened up UVA’s 800 free relay last night in 1:41.68, pulled herself to be dead even with Hayes at the 350 yard mark and used a 27.37 last 50 to pull herself in the lead, hitting the wall in 4:02.35.

The defending champion Caroline Bricker was well back at the halfway mark and didn’t have the greatest breaststroke splits, as she hit the 300-yard wall at 3:08.10, a time more than 3 seconds slower than her time from last year. The Stanford Cardinal did move her way through the heat and pulled her way past both Hayes and Stoll to touch 2nd in the heat at 4:03.65.

Heat 5 was a fast affair as Tennessee’s Ella Jansen picked up where she left off from yesterday and continued to shed seconds. The sophomore, who chopped half a second off her 200 free PB in yesterday morning’s 800 free relay, attacked the 400 IM. She was 1:53.90 after the backstroke and was 3:04.34 at the 300, both of which were more than two seconds faster than the previous heats best splits. She didn’t let up her pace closing in 55.90 to cut 1.73 from her best time to overtake the top time with her result of 4:00.24. Behind her, last year’s 3rd place finisher Lucy Bell used her 1:06.83 100 breaststroke split and her 56.66 last 100 free to pull herself through the field with the Stanford Cardinal touching in 2nd place with a time of 4:01.52. Her time was .7 ahead of UCLA’s Rosie Murphy, who dropped 1.86 from her seed to move up from the 11th seed to sit with her 4:02.22 in 3rd on the leaderboard, with one heat remaining.

Michigan’s Bella Sims squared off against her club teammate UVA’s Katie Grimes in the last heat. Sims was 1:53.08 at the 200-yard mark, the fastest swimmer to the halfway point in the whole field. She remained so after the breaststroke, where she split 1:10.60, but from there she appeared to slow, perhaps trying to save some strength for tonight, as she closed in 57.39 to touch first in the heat and 2nd overall at 4:01.07. Behind her was California first year Tegan O’Dell, who was the 13th seed, but with a 2.61 second drop secured herself the 4th seed overall, continuing Cal’s strong taper from the 100 butterfly. Grimes, last year’s 4th place finisher touched just .26 back of O’Dell as the Cavalier just ran out of room to run her down.

As compared to last year 8th place this morning was 1.20 seconds faster, while 16th this morning was 1.27 seconds faster.

Women’s 200 Free – Prelims

• 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:

1. Nikolett Padar (TEX), 1:41.00
2. Anna Moesch (UVA), 1:41.05
3. Liberty Clark (IU), 1:41.29
4. Mia West (CAL), 1:41.57
5. Claire Weinstein (CAL), 1:41.59
6. Madi Mintenko (UVA), 1:41.61
7. Minna Abraham (USC), 1:42.22
8. Camille Spink (TENN), 1:42.28

Scored 9-16th:

9. Stephanie Balduccini (MICH), 1:42.44
10. Nicole Maier (USC), 1:42.87
11. Carmen Weiler Sastre (VT), 1:42.91
12. Erin Gemmell (TEX), 1:42.92
13. Kennedi Dobson (UGA), 1:42.97
14. Gigi Johnson (STAN), 1:43.24
15. Lillie Nesty (TEX), 1:43.31
16. Cavan Gormsen (UVA), 1:43.46

After last night’s fireworks, one can be forgiven if they were saddened to not see any sub-1:41 times, yet this morning’s prelims times were still blistering fast. While not equal to her 1:39 from last night, Indiana first-year Liberty Clark, who broke Missy Franklin‘s National Age Group record in the event won her heat, the first of the circle seeded heats in 1:41.29. She managed to hold off a pair of fellow first years. Claire Weinstein of Cal tried her best and despite a sub-26 last 50 was unable to close the gap to Clark, touching in 2nd at 1:41.59. Weinstein did however pass fellow first-year Madi Mintenko in the last few inches, with the UVA first-year touching in 1:41.61.

Heat 5 saw California’s Mia West take the win from lane 3. The 8th seed, West has continued California’s good morning as the sophomore dropped .17 off her seed to post a new PB of 1:41.57, the 2nd fastest time of the morning. Touching behind her was Minaa Abraham, at 1:42.22 and Stephaine Balduccini at 1:42.44. The pair of juniors, both added more than a second to their seed and sit dangerously at 5th and 6th on the leaderboard.

The last heat was a fast affair but it was not Anna Moesch who touched first, but rathe Nikolett Padar. The Texas first year, cut .36 off her see to stop the clock at 1:41.00. While not a PB as she as 1:40.30 last night the Hungarian native will have earned herself and Texas lane 4 tonight. Behind her was Moesch, by the slimmest of margins, with just .05 separating the pair. Touching 3rd in the heat was Tennessee’s Camille Spink’s whose 1:42.28 sneaks into the final as the 8th seed.

Spinks time continues the trend of swimflation, as it is nearly a full second faster than last year’s 8th place prelims times. Cavan Gormsen’s 16th place time of 1:43.46 was also much faster than last year as it took a 1:44.18 to score points.

Women’s 100 Breaststroke – Prelims

• 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:

1. McKenzie Siroky (TENN) – 56.93
2. Anita Bottazzo (FLA) – 57.34
3. Eneli Jefimova (NCSU) – 57.41
4. Anastasia Gorbenko (LOU) – 57.52
5. Emma Weber (UVA) – 57.76
6. Joleigh Crye (CIN) – 57.90
7. Piper Enge (TEX) – 57.92
8. Maria Ramos Najji (OSU) – 57.95

Scored 9-16th:

9. Kaelyn Gridley (DUKE) – 58.22
10. Letitia Sim (MICH) – 58.35
11. Lucy Thomas (STAN) – 58.49
12. Eleni Gewalt (ARIZ) – 58.53
13. Zoe Skirboll (UVA) – 58.57
14. Mia Cheatwood (LOU) – 58.79
15. Mackenzie Lung (FRES) – 58.89
16. Chloe Braun (UCSD) – 58.98

Earning lane 4 with a strong morning swim will be Tennessee’s McKenzie Siroky. The sophomore, who entered the meet as the 4th seed with a time of 57.62 was the lone swimmer to break the sub-57 second barrier as she posted a new personal best of 56.93. Siroky was off the blocks quick getting the 1st wall in 11.98, the lone sub-12 time and she hit the halfway point in 26.48, leading the top seeded Eneli Jefimova. The NC State first-year was 27.06 at the 50 before closing in 30.35 to stop the clock at 57.41, a time fast enough to secure the 3rd seed for tonight’s final.

Sandwiched between the two in the leaderboard and taking lane 5 tonight is Florida’s Anita Bottazzo. The sophomore was out in 26.67 in the penultimate heat before coming home in 15.67 to stop the clock at 57.34. Slated to be standing to her left on the blocks tonight is fellow sophomore Anastasia Gorbenko. The Louisville Cardinal, who produced the 3rd fastest 50 breaststroke split of all time last night was out in 27.10 and closed in 30.42 to stop the clock at 57.52.

The top 8 swimmers all had time under 58.00 as Maria Ramos Najji of OSU was the last to earn a spot in the final as her 57.95, a new PB by 58.00. Last year 8th place in prelims was 58.30, while 16th place was 58.93. This is the lone individual event of the morning where the times to final/score were slower than they were last year.

Women’s 200 Free Relay – Early Heats

• 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

Top 8:

1. Texas (Okaro, Nesty, Mehraban, Gemmell) – 1:26.42
2. Alabama (Vincent, Jones, Giele, Rosendale) – 1:26.62
3. Arizona (Bottom, Kondraskaite, Sheikhalizadehkryam, Wozniak) – 1:27.33
4. LSU – 1:27.65
5. Texas A&M – 1:27.82
6. Northwestern – 1:27.86
7. Auburn – 1:27.96
8. Wisconsin – 1:28.42

The Texas quartet of Eva Okaro, Lilly Nesty, Lucy Mehraban and Erin Gemmell set the time to beat in the 200 free relay combining for a 1:26.42, a season best by .20. Okaro led off in 21.66, a little off her seed time in the individual 50 of 21.26, before turning things over to Nesty (21.60), Mehraban (21.40) and Gemmell (21.76). The Longhorns were seeded 10th overall, so have guaranteed themselves at least two points better than their seeding and continues their run of success in the relays from yesterday.

Alabama slipped one spot falling from the 9th to 10th seed, adding .23 to their seed time of 1:26.39. Cadence Vincent led off in 21.66, equaling Okaro’s mark but the Crimson tide trailed from that point with Emily Jones (21.69), Tessa Giele (21.60) and Charlotte Rosendale (21.67) bringing them home to touch in 1:26.62.

Texas’s Mehraban had the fastest flying split of 21.40 with Arizona’s Julia Wozniak going 21.42 to anchor her team to a 3rd place. Auburn’s Lora Komoroczy was also 21.42 on the team’s 2nd leg but a pair of 22 mids saw the Tigers slip back finishing 7th in a time of 1:27.96.

Texas A&M had the biggest jump of the morning dropping .64 from their seed to move from 23rd to 5th this morning, meaning they can finish no worse than 13th in event. Swimming out of lane 1 in the 2nd heat, Senior Kaitlyn Owens opened in 22.18 before handing things over to Ella McQuinn (21.76), Eloise Williamson (21.96) and fellow senior Reagan Sherrard (21.92), with the quartet stopping the clock at 1:27.82.