The University of Virginia loaded up their 200 medley relay to open the 2025 Women’s NCAA Championships on Wednesday night, and the swimmers delivered as expected.
The Cavaliers quartet of Claire Curzan, Alex Walsh, Gretchen Walsh and Maxine Parker combined for a time of 1:31.10, breaking the NCAA, U.S. Open and American Record of 1:31.51 set by UVA’s squad in 2023.
Curzan gave the Cavaliers a slight lead on the opening leg, and then the Walsh sisters both produced the fastest split on their respective legs to give Parker a massive advantage going into the final 50, as Virginia ultimately won by 1.90 seconds.
Stanford snagged 2nd in 1:33.00, while Louisville rounded out the top three in 1:33.10.
RACE VIDEO
Courtesy of NCAA Championships on YouTube
Relative to the previous record-setting team, Virginia had vastly different splits this year.
Curzan lost a bit of time on backstroke to Gretchen Walsh in 2023, and Parker gave up more than a second on freestyle to Kate Douglass, but the Walsh sisters were a combined 1.90 seconds faster—the exact same margin they won by—over the middle 100 compared to two years ago.
Split Comparison
| Virginia, 2023 | Virginia, 2025 |
| Gretchen Walsh – 22.77 | Claire Curzan – 23.17 |
| Alex Walsh – 26.30 (49.07) | Alex Walsh – 25.62 (48.79) |
| Lexi Cuomo – 22.10 (1:11.17) | Gretchen Walsh – 20.88 (1:09.67) |
| Kate Douglass – 20.34 (1:31.51) | Maxine Parker – 21.43 (1:31.10) |
| 1:31.51 | 1:31.10 |
Walsh’s 20.88 fly split was the 2nd-fastest of all-time, only trailing the 20.87 she produced during a dual meet in January. It was also faster than all but two freestyle splits in the event: Stanford’s Torri Huske (20.39) and Louisville’s Julia Dennis (20.49).
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