Huske (20.66), Curtis (20.74), and Spink (20.98) Highlight The Fastest 50 Free Field Ever

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
• Preview Index
• Psych Sheet
• Live Stream
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – Finals

• NCAA Record: 20.37 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• American Record: 20.37 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• U.S. Open Record: 20.37 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• Championship Record: 20.37 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• 2025 NCAA Champion: Gretchen Walsh, Virginia – 20.49
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Times: 21.63/21.89

Top 8:

1. Torri Huske (STAN) — 20.66
2. Sara Curtis (UVA) — 20.74
3. Camille Spink (TENN) — 20.98
4. Eva Okaro (TEX) — 21.05
5. Julia Dennis (LOU) — 21.15
6. Liberty Clark (IU) — 21.25
7. Brady Kendall (MICH) — 21.33
8. Anna Moesch (UVA)– 21.37

In the second to last individual race of her NCAA career, Torri Huske once again displayed her special ability to get her hand on the wall first, dropping 0.26 seconds to claim victory in the 50 free. After taking the win against Curzan in the 100 fly last night, Huske defeated a Cavalier (Curtis) by a tenth of a second for the 2nd time in 2 days. That’s the first national title for Huske in this event, as she’s opted for the 200 IM in all three of her previous NCAA Championships.

Splits Comparison

Huske’s previous best was set while leading off Stanford’s 200 free relay at last year’s NCAAs. The difference maker this time around was her improvement in the first 25, as she dipped under the 10 second barrier. In fact, Huske’s opening split was just 0.04 seconds slower than Walsh’s when Walsh set the NCAA record.

Top 10 Performers – 50 Free

1. Gretchen Walsh – UVA : 20.37 (2025 NCAAs)
2. Torri Huske – STAN: 20.66 (2026 NCAAs)
3. Sara Curtis – UVA: 20.74 (2026 NCAAs)
4. Maggie MacNeil – LSU: 20.79 (2023 NCAAs)
5. Kate Douglass – UVA: 20.84 (2022 NCAAs)
6. Claire Curzan – UVA: 20.85 (2026 NCAAs)
7. Camille Spink – TENN: 20.87 (2026 SECs)
8. Abbey Weitzeil – CAL: 20.90 (2019 Minnesota Invite)
9. Erika Brown – TENN: 21.03 (2020 SECs)
10. Eva Okaro – TEX: 21.05 (2026 SECs)

Virginia’s Sara Curtis also made history with a time of 20.74 by becoming the #3 performer. She shaved 0.19 seconds off the PB of 20.93 that she posted to claim the top seed this morning, becoming the second freshman in history to dip below the 21 second barrier and the fastest freshman ever. To get on the leaderboard, Texas’ Eva Okaro also posted a new best while Indiana’s Liberty Clark broke Simone Manuel’s 17-18 NAG.

All-Time Fastest NCAA Freshmen Women: 50 Yard Free

1. Sara Curtis, Virginia, 2026 — 20.74
2. Gretchen Walsh, Virginia, 2022 – 20.95
3. Eva Okaro, Texas, 2026 — 21.05 
4. Liberty Clark, Indiana, 2026 — 21.25
5. Simone Manuel, Stanford, 2015 – 21.32

Huske and Curtis also break the stranglehold Gretchen Walsh has on the all time top performances list, as Huske’s swim comes in as the #8 fastest performance in history while Curtis’ swim ties Walsh’s time from 2024 ACCs as the #10 performance in history.

To put into perspective of just how fast this field was, here are the following times for 8th place the past 6 years:

• 2026: 21.37
• 2025: 21.83
• 2024: 21.74
• 2023: 21.71
• 2022: 21.68
• 2021: 21.96

Tonight marked the first time there were three swimmers under 21; the last time there was more than one swimmer under that barrier was at NCAAs in 2023, when Maggie MacNeil bested Gretchen Walsh for the win 20.79 to 20.85.

Huske is set to face off against Curtis yet again tomorrow night in the 100 free, along with top seed and another Virginia Cavalier, Anna Moesch.