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
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- Psych Sheet
- Live Stream
- Live Results
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WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – Finals
- NCAA Record: 44.71 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2025)
- American Record: 44.71 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2025)
- U.S. Open Record: 44.71 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2025)
- Championship Record: 44.71 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2025)
- 2025 NCAA Champion: Gretchen Walsh, Virginia – 44.71
- 2025 8th/16th Prelims Times: 47.37/47.88
Top 8 Finishers
- Torri Huske (STAN) — 45.17
- Anna Moesch (UVA) — 45.54
- Sara Curtis (UVA) — 45.77
- Liberty Clark (IU) — 46.11
- Camille Spink (TENN) — 46.28
- Mary-Ambre Moluh (CAL) — 46.30
- Cadence Vincent (BAMA) — 46.87
- Julia Dennis (LOU) — 47.02
When Gretchen Walsh graduated from the University of Virginia last year, there were murmurs that such a loss would be impossible to recover from. Those narratives have been proven wrong all season long, but now, here at NCAAs, they’ve officially been silenced. Virginia put their sprint depth on full display tonight by going 2-3 in the 100 free, and making history individually while doing so.
Italy’s Sara Curtis, who became the fastest freshman ever in the 50 free last night with a time of 20.74, ran it back today by eclipsing Gretchen’s freshman record once again, this time in the 100 free. Curtis had already been faster than Walsh’s mark this morning, swimming a 46.00 to claim the second seed behind teammate Anna Moesch.
Split Comparison
| Split | Sara Curtis, 2026 NCAAs | Gretchen Walsh, 2022 NCAAs |
| 50 | 22.16 | 22.10 |
| 100 | 45.77 (23.61) | 46.05 (23.95) |
All-Time Fastest Freshman, 100 Yard Freestyle:
- Sara Curtis, Virginia, 2026 — 45.77
- Gretchen Walsh, Virginia, 2022 — 46.05
- Simone Manuel, Stanford, 2015 – 46.09
- Liberty Clark, Indiana, 2026 — 46.11
- Taylor Ruck, Stanford, 2019 – 46.76
Meanwhile, Moesch made history as well by becoming the fastest sophomore in history, besting Gretchen’s mark of 45.61.
Split Comparison
| Split | Anna Moesch, 2026 NCAAs | Gretchen Walsh, 2023 NCAAs |
| 50 | 21.93 | 21.72 |
| 100 | 45.54 (23.61) | 45.61 (23.89) |
Top 5 Performers in History – 100 Free
- Gretchen Walsh, Virginia – 44.71 (2025)
- Torri Huske, Stanford – 45.17 (2026)
- Anna Moesch, Virginia – 45.54 (2026)
- Simone Manuel, Stanford – 45.56 (2015)
- Sara Curtis, Virginia — 45.77 (2026)
Moesch and Curtis are now the third and fourth fastest performers in history, and will return to the pool tonight for the 400 free relay; they’ll look to challenge the NCAA record of 3:05.30 they set just last month.
She also won best interview of the meet, when Beisel asked her what she had learned at UVA and she said, “English, I hope.”
She made such a great choice to come to UVA. She’s gonna have an incredible collegiate career!
and likely on track to rep Italy at LA28, too…
Well she did represent us already in Paris as a teen, so it would be no surprise…