At the Sunshine State Conference Championships on Saturday, three-time defending NCAA DII team champion Nova Southeastern broke the Division II record in the women’s 200 freestyle relay.
The quartet of graduate student Zsofia Kurdi (23.01), sophomore Kristina Orban (22.33), sophomore Maxine Egner (22.39), and senior Maya Esparza (22.31) stopped the clock at 1:30.04, eclipsing the previous record of 1:30.05 by one-hundredth of a second. The Sharks were under record pace the entire race against Queens’ 1:30.05 from the 2018 Division II Championships.
Side-By-Side Splits Comparison
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New NCAA Record — 1:30.04 (Nova Southeastern, 2025 Sunshine State Conference Championships)
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Old NCAA Record — 1:30.05 (Queens NC, 2018 NCAA Championships)
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| Swimmer | Split | Swimmer | Split |
| Zsofia Kurdi | 23.01 | Alex Marshall | 23.21 |
| Kristina Orban | 22.33 (45.34) | Kyrie Dobson | 22.31 (45.52) |
| Maxine Egner | 22.39 (1:07.73) | Wonda Dollmayer | 22.36 (1:07.88) |
| Maya Esparza | 22.31 | Shelly Prayson | 22.17 |
Kurdi’s leadoff was faster than the 23.09 she swam to take 5th in the individual 50 free.
Orban, the reigning D2 Champion in the 200 free, came in just under two-tenths faster than her 22.52 flat-start best and nearly four-tenths faster than the 22.71 she clocked to win the individual event on Friday.
On the third leg, Egner went over half a second better than the 22.94 she swam to take fourth in the individual event, which marked her first time breaking the 23-second barrier.
Esparza closed nearly half a second quicker than the 22.77 she swam to take 2nd in the individual event; her personal best remains the 22.73 she clocked at the Kelliane Nagy Fall Frenzy Invite in November.
The Sharks placed third in this event at last year’s championships but are the defending champions in both the 400 and 800 free relays. They currently lead the Division II rankings in the 400 free, 800 free, and 200 medley relays, while sitting 9th in the 400 medley relay.
This marks the second Queens record Nova Southeastern has broken this season. At a tri-meet in January against Barry and Florida Southern, those same four swimmers took down Queens’ 2018 NCAA record in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:17.92, shaving 0.12 off the former mark of 3:18.04. They will have the opportunity to lower their own 400 free relay record to conclude the conference meet on Sunday evening.
Tampa currently leads the conference meet with 816 points after two days, with Nova Southeastern in second with 696 points, over 100 behind. Nova Southeastern is looking to reclaim the conference title after falling to second last year but, more importantly, will be chasing a four-peat at the NCAA Division II Championships next month. According to the Swimulator, their top-end depth gives them a 68-point cushion over Tampa, making them a slight favorite to defend their title.
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