2024 Tennessee Invite
- November 19-22, 2024
- Where: Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center — Knoxville, Tennessee
- Start Times: 10 am ET prelims/5 pm ET finals
- Psych Sheets
- Results on Meet Mobile: “2024 Tennessee Invitational”
- Live Stream
- Day 1 Finals Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Recap | Day 2 Finals Recap
- Day 3 Prelims Recap | Day 3 Finals Recap
- Day 4 Prelims Recap | Day 4 Finals Recap
Claire Curzan has officially cemented her place in the pantheon of the Virginia women’s swimming dynasty, breaking the NCAA, U.S. Open, and American Records in the 200 yard backstroke on Friday evening in Knoxville. Her record-breaking performance is the program’s 60th American Record since 2021 (men and women combined).
She swam 1:46.87, which broke the previous fastest-ever time that was done by her former Stanford teammate Regan Smith at the 2019 Cary Sectionals meet. The runner-up in that meet was a 14-year-old Curzan.
Curzan’s Friday night swim also broke the NCAA Record that was set by Wisconsin’s Beata Nelson at the 2019 NCAA Championships in Austin.
Splits Comparison:
| Beata Nelson | Regan Smith | Claire Curzan | Claire Curzan | |
| 2019 NCAAs | 2019 Cary Sectionals | 2024 Tennessee Invite | 2023 Pac-12s | |
| Previous NCAA Record | Previous US/US Open Record | New Best Ever | Previous PB | |
| 50y | 25.24 | 25.05 | 25.22 | 25.45 |
| 100y | 27.20 | 26.49 | 26.77 | 27.01 |
| 150y | 27.44 | 27.59 | 27.30 | 27.24 |
| 200y | 27.36 | 28.03 | 27.58 | 27.73 |
| Total Time | 1:47.24 | 1:47.16 | 1:46.87 | 1:47.43 |
Curzan didn’t go out as fast as Smith or close as fast as Nelson, but as is so often the cast in these 200 yard races, her third 50 made the difference. That has always been the strength of her 200 back, including in her previous best time from 2023.
This is Curzan’s first big taper meet representing Virginia’s varsity squad. Her previous best time was done at Pac-12s in her one season at Stanford before redshirting last season to prepare for the Olympic Trials. She finished 3rd in the 200 back, 4th in the 100 fly, and 8th in the 100 back at those Trials, missing the Olympic Team in this event by just .07 seconds.
Incidentally, she broke the Virginia Record of 1:49.35 that was set by Courtney Bartholomew in 2015 and the ACC Record of 1:48.43 set last season by NC State’s Kennedy Noble.
Curzan set the record in a head-to-head battle with her teammate Gretchen Walsh, who on Thursday set the NCAA, American, and U.S. Open Records in the 100 fly. Walsh’s 2nd-place time of 1:48.18 also cleared the old Virginia and ACC Records and would have won the NCAA title last season. In a race she doesn’t swim very often (only five times coming into this meet, to be exact) she is now the #9 performer all-time in the event.
Race Video:
She was training with UVA when she missed the Olympics
Claire is AWESOME! I’m glad she escaped from Stanford. It’s too bad they cost her making the Olympics. This is a another example, of many, of why you don’t go to Stanford if you have serious international goals.
this is the only scy swim in recent months to make Gretchen seem normal
Awesome, impossible to root against someone like Claire!
What NCAA records DONT the Cavaliers have at this point? Hard to deny they are the best all around team ever at this point. Congrats, Todd + team! The dynasty reigns
800 Free Relay
200 Free
500 Free
1660 Free
100 Breast
400 IM
They have a decent shot at the relay at ACCs, and they’ll lead off with G. Walsh, who’ll take aim at the 200 free record.
And A. Walsh will be going after Eastin’s 400 IM record.
It might take Grimes a few years to get the 500 record, but she’ll have plenty of competition (Cox, Sims, others).
No one anywhere is touching the 1650. The 100 breast is also out of reach for now.
I wonder if Nocentini could’ve gone for the 100 breast record if she had been able to stay another year (or come to Virginia earlier). Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine she would be capable of a 56.0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0om3AswVqU
Any chance we can see a video of this?
Race video here https://youtu.be/c0om3AswVqU?feature=shared