Ultra Swim Swimmer of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based swimmer who has proven themselves over the past month. As with any item of recognition, Swimmer of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one athlete whose work holds noteworthy context – perhaps a swimmer who was visibly outperforming other swimmers over the month, or one whose accomplishments slipped through the cracks among other high-profile swims. If your favorite athlete wasn’t selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.
Stanford’s Lucy Bell closed out her senior year with a bang at the Women’s NCAA Championships, winning two individual titles and adding a runner-up finish to earn Ultra Swimmer of the Month honors.
Bell, who won the first two conference titles of her career in February at the ACC Championships, setting new best times en route to victories in the 200 breast (2:02.67) and 400 IM (3:59.11), followed up by setting lifetime bests across the board at NCAAs.
The 21-year-old opened the meet in the 400 IM, knocking four-tenths off her month-old personal best time in 3:58.72 to place 2nd behind Michigan’s Bella Sims (3:58.08).
Prior to the ACC Championships, Bell’s best time in the 400 IM stood at 4:01.13, set in November, meaning she dropped nearly two and a half seconds in just over a month.
The following day, Bell defended her title in the 200 breast, clocking 2:02.38 to comfortably win the final over Virginia’s Aimee Canny (2:03.09) and chip three-tenths off her best time and Stanford record from ACCs.
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The performance moves her up to #3 on the all-time performers list, sitting just over a second shy of Kate Douglass‘ all-time record.
All-Time Performers, Women’s 200 Breaststroke (SCY)
- Kate Douglass (Virginia), 2:01.29 – 2023
- Alex Walsh (Virginia), 2:02.07 – 2024
- Lucy Bell (Stanford), 2:02.38 – 2026
- Lilly King (Indiana), 2:02.60 – 2018
- Aimee Canny (Virginia), 2:02.97 – 2026
Bell wrapped up her individual NCAA career by rolling to the title in the 200 IM, using a blistering 31.28 breaststroke split, the fastest in the field by well over a second, to book the victory in a time of 1:52.09. That improved on her previous best of 1:52.47, set in the 2025 NCAA final when she placed 6th.
Her 57 individual points tied Virginia’s Claire Curzan for 2nd at the meet, only trailing Stanford teammate Torri Huske, who scored the maximum 60 points after sweeping her individual events.
Bell’s Progression In NCAA Events
| Event | Pre-Season PB | Pre-NCAA Season-Best | NCAAs |
| 200 Breast | 2:04.28 | 2:02.67 | 2:02.38 |
| 200 IM | 1:52.47 | 1:52.50 | 1:52.09 |
| 400 IM | 4:00.24 | 3:59.11 | 3:58.72 |
In addition to her individual performances, Bell also contributed on three of Stanford’s relays.
She anchored their 400 free relay in 47.48, placing 2nd to hold off Texas and solidify Stanford’s runner-up position in the team standings. Bell also split 1:42.43 on Stanford’s 6th-place finishing 800 free relay, and added a 56.47 breast leg, the second-fastest in the field, on the Cardinal’s 9th-place finishing 400 medley relay.
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