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
- Psych Sheet
- Live Results
Women’s 100 Freestyle
- NCAA Record: 44.71 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2025)
- US Open Record: 44.71 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2025)
- American Record: 44.71 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2025)
- 2025 NCAA Champion: Gretchen Walsh, Virginia – 44.71
The 100 freestyle was one of the highlights during conference season with seven of the top 25 performers all-time coming on February 21, 2026, the final day of the 2026 ACC, SEC, and Big Ten Women’s Championships. The event will be absent of the fastest in history for the first time in four years as Gretchen Walsh swam a 44.71 at last year’s meet to set new NCAA, US Open, and American Records.
With only an ‘A’ final, it looks as if another seven of the top 25 performers all-time could make history in order to make the single final. With such a tight field, prelims success will be key to sneaking in. This is an event where the absence of the ‘B’ final will really be felt, with such a strong field that has gotten so much faster in the last year.
The Sub 46 Club
Gretchen Walsh is on her own in the sub-45 club, but Anna Moesch and Torri Huske are members of the sub-46 club that will be competing in the meet this year. The two were in a head to head battle earlier this year at ACCs and Moesch earned the win there.
Moesch enters as the fastest seed with a 45.71, a time that she swam to win the ACC title last month and had a strong final 25 to get ahead of Huske who touched narrowly behind in a 45.79. Neither had been sub-46 prior to this season as Huske entered the year with a 46.01 that she swam for 2nd at the 2025 NCAA Championships behind Walsh. Moesch’s best time coming into the season was a 46.76 that she swam at 2025 ACCs.
The two have set themselves up as the favorites, although they are followed close behind by numerous athletes. Both Huske and Moesch are also familiar with each other at the international level as both swam on the US women’s 4×100 free relay this past summer. Moesch split a 53.80 during prelims on the 3rd leg of the relay while Huske anchored the relay to gold in finals with a 52.88.
Just off of making the sub-46 club was Camille Spink of Tennessee who swam t0 a 46.01 in her win at the 2026 SEC Championships last month. Spink rounds out the top returners from last year as she was 3rd at 2025 NCAAs in a 46.68. Spink had a huge SEC Championships that also included titles in the 50 free and 200 free.
Fresh To The Big Stage
Besides the top three returners, the next three seeds will all be new to the NCAA Championships. Virginia’s Sara Curtis blasted a 46.03 at ACCs and has already transitioned well to short course yards after arriving from Italy in the fall. Curtis will look to join Moesch and continue the Virginia dominance, especially in the sprint freestyles. She, alongside Moesch, was already a part of the 400 free relay that swam to an NCAA record at ACCs.
Also looking to make waves for the first time at the big dance is Indiana’s Liberty Clark. Clark had not focused on swimming full-time until arriving at Indiana as she also played volleyball during high school. Her full-time focus on swimming has paid off so far as she enters as the #5 seed with a 46.22. She arrived at Indiana with a lifetime best 48.48 and dropped from her best time at five meets this season, with her final time coming at the 2026 Big Ten Championships when she broke Maggie MacNeil’s meet record.
Rounding out the three new arrivals is Eva Okaro who, like Curtis, has also adjusted to SCY well after arriving from England. Okaro finished 2nd behind Spink in the individual 100 free at SECs with a 46.77 but led off the Texas 400 free relay with a best time 46.41 which enters her as the #6 seed.
Returning ‘A’ Finalists
Louisville’s Julia Dennis made huge strides in the 100 free as a junior last season and was 8th in the final with a 47.41 but was faster in prelims with a 47.11, a lifetime best at the time. Dennis continued improving this season and swam a lifetime best 46.76 at the Eddie Reese Showdown in January. She has been at the core of Louisville’s sprint group for the last four years and will look to cap off her NCAA career on a high note.
The Big Ten returns two ‘A’ finalists with Stephanie Balduccini of Michigan and Minna Abraham of USC attempting to make the top eight once again. Balduccini hit a lifetime best 46.98 at midseason during the CSCAA Dual Meet Challenge. She was a bit off of that with a 47.20 at Big Tens last month, but was off her best times in all of her individual events. Balduccini had a great taper last year so head coach Matt Bowe seems to have dialed in on what she needs at the end of the season.
Abraham did not compete at Big Tens last month, due to personal reasons, but appears on the psych sheet for NCAAs. She is tied as the 11th seed with a 47.01 but has a lifetime best 46.95 that she swam for 5th at last year’s meet. If all is well, Abraham looks to make another ‘A’ final.
How Important The Morning Shall Become
Without the ‘B’ final, the morning is going to be about the details. A few of the top seeded swimmers had big swims in finals but if they are able to do so in prelims, they make a strong case to make the final.
Caroline Larsen of Louisville enters as the #8 seed right behind Dennis. Larsen’s entry time of a 46.82 came from a lead off swim during Louisville’s 400 free relay at ACCs. She was only a 47.69 in prelims of the 100 free which earned her a spot in the ‘B’ final before she won the ‘B’ final in a 47.22.
Alabama’s Cadence Vincent also had a bit slower swim in prelims at SECs, with a 47.53 in prelims before blasting a 47.06 in finals for a lifetime best. Vincent was 10th last year in a 47.49 in the final after a 47.49 in prelims so she has improved this year but will need to post another big swim if she looks to make the top eight.
The same goes for Ohio State’s Rachel Bockrath, who was 2nd in prelims at Big Tens in a 47.68 before swimming a lifetime best 47.01 in finals.
SwimSwam’s Picks:
| Place | Swimmer | School | Season Best | Lifetime Best |
| 1 | Torri Huske | Stanford | 45.79 | 45.79 |
| 2 | Anna Moesch | Virginia | 45.71 | 45.71 |
| 3 | Camille Spink | Tennessee | 46.01 | 46.01 |
| 4 | Sara Curtis | Virginia | 46.03 | 46.03 |
| 5 | Liberty Clark | Indiana | 46.22 | 46.22 |
| 6 | Julia Dennis | Louisville | 46.76 | 46.76 |
| 7 | Eva Okaro | Texas | 46.41 | 46.41 |
| 8 | Stephanie Balduccini | Michigan | 46.98 | 46.98 |
Darkhorse Pick
Darcy Revitt (Washington State) – Revitt returns to NCAAs after making the meet a year ago as a freshman. She has had a strong sophomore campaign and enters as the #18 seed with a 47.45 which she swam to win the Mountain West title. She swam a 48.11 at the 2025 Mountain West Championships before swimming a 48.06 at 2025 NCAAs, so she had success dropping after conference last year. Revitt trains under sprint coach Austin Pillado at WSU, who notably arrived after most recently spending time at Arizona State,
I guess I’d pick Torri too, 200 IM should be a guaranteed win so the fact that she’s choosing the 100 fly probably means that she has more to give. But I think this is the same reasoning I had last year for picking Alex Walsh in the 200 fly since the 200 breast would’ve been an easy win and she still lost. Either way should be a good race
Huske is more proven and is probably a small favorite, but Mosech can pull it off. Think Curtis has a high ceiling here and could challenge the top two if she has a strong meet.
Imo this might be the race of NCAAs? It was certainly one of the most compelling races at ACCs to me.
Huske definitely has a stronger track record, particularly of swimming her best in big moments. I don’t doubt she’ll swim another 45-point at NCAAs. I’m really interested to see if Moesch can match that kind of form at NCAAs after looking so strong at ACCs this year. Last year iirc she only PB’ed in the 200 at NCAAs, but she’s clearly figured a lot of things out recently, and the UVA women as a whole are usually dialed in to their NCAA taper.
Also curious to see if Spink or Curtis can sneak under the 46-second barrier. And didn’t… Read more »
Huske is a dog, she’s gonna win
Arghhh still annoyed that B finals were removed
100% agree. I want to watch these women swim whether they are in A or B final, and there is a good chance that some of them won’t place in the top 8. This (awful) decision still blows my mind.
Some of us prefer to only watch the fastest swimming…If you want to watch slow swimming, go to a non-competitive meet. Get over it!
At this level there is only fast and faster. Calling anyone who qualified for this meet allow us a bit ridiculous.
47 low in the 100 free is not slow swimming.
Compared to the men it is very slow.
If women or men swimmers want to showcase this year, they best finish top 8 from prelims.
Can we please stop crying, pouting and kanipshin fitting over the loss of the Banana finals?
top 5 swimswam picks look good
battle for 6,7,8 will be tight!
those finishing 9-16, well no second swim
but they will be a little fresher for their teams 4x100FR
Only if they are on a Top 8 relay (alot are) otherwise those 9+ seeded relays are in that AM session, and you have to rally after you individual swim
Great points! With only the BIG FINAL the athlete will need to be spot on in the am OR just become a cheerer on the bench at night! Only the strong survive – Love it!
This is a tough one. Huske is such an incredible racer and finds a way to get her hand on the wall first. However Moesch has looked a bit better in this event this season. If we’re looking at just this season I’m gonna give the slight edge to Moesch. But Huske could still win it all along
After Paris, there is no way in hell that I would ever bet against Torri Huske in a major competition. Should be a great race though!
Going into this season I thought that Huske would be by far and away the favorite in this event. I certainly didn’t expect it to be this close.
Huske is clutch
I think someone that continuously gets overlooked is Camille Spink. She’s been on fire ever since she was 17 years old at Wave I Trials. I seriously think she’s found her groove and could pull the upset.
I picked her to be 3rd, she is amazing but I can’t see her beating Huske or Moesch
Curtis will probably be third. Doesn’t Spink usually add time at ncaa?
Tennessee taper……..
What do you mean “Tennessee taper”? They tapered pretty darn well at SECs this year. I understand the Texas 2 Step Stumble BUT the LADY VOL machine is gonna surprise you and all the doubters.
That’s the thing, they always go 100% all out for SECs and never leave anything left for NCAAs
Hopefully the issue get fixed soon given they got two insane incoming classes. They’re gonna be dangerous once they’re at their best
You are correct! The teams behind us are always attempting to tear down better teams general and specifically the LADY VOL machine!
Last two years she has added 3-4 tenths. About half the field historically goes PBs with 1 of those 4 going a SB but not a PB.
But…with where she’s starting, she could add a few tenths and still be 3rd, which is what she did last year.
From the ‘data nobody asked for’ department, at the last four NCAA Championships, the 3rd place finisher has added time. There’s kind of a funny pattern that emerges. The top 2 drop time, the mid-pack swimmers are high seed swimmers who added time but were still fast enough to finish mid-pack, and the bottom of the field drops time to get into the A-Final.
I could see Curtis going 45 before Spink.
Curtis is only .02 slower than Spink. It wouldn’t be surprising if she did
Clark has been 45 multiple times on relays too, so I could see her as high as 3 if Curtis and Spink both add also.
Spink is a real comer for sure – I believe she wins the 50 and finishes in the top 4 in this race.
As women continue dropping times, the margins of victory wil be closer in most races.
This year will be exciting.
GO LADY VOLS – VFE.
Spink above huske in the 50? I mean she has been slightly faster this season but idk. Tennessee taper is a thing
Tennessee taper
Not nice from an SEC colleague of sorts! It will be interesting to see how the TN gals perform versus UGA off of SEC swims. No prediction but curious.
It’s hard to predict Tennessee doing anything else but adding time at NCAAs because that’s basically all they’ve done for the past few years except maybe 2024 iirc, especially when you can tell they go all out for SECs like they did this year
In the wise and proverbial worlds of the great philosopher Antanicius “Time will tell”.