Bryn Greenwaldt Scorches 21.1 50 Free Split; Sara Curtis Posts 21.9 Flat-Start In UVA Debut

Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are competing in an exhibition meet today, September 27, at Navy’s Lejeune Hall in Annapolis, Maryland. The competition is currently underway and can be followed on Meet Mobile under “USNA v UVA.”

Results from Meet Mobile show a 200 freestyle relay where the Cavalier women put all of their newcomers together on one squad. The team consisted of freshman Sara Curtis, junior Melissa Nwakalor, freshman Sylvia Roy, and graduate student Bryn Greenwaldt.

Curtis led off in 21.97, Nwakalor logged 21.96 on the second leg, Roy produced 22.56 on the penultimate split, and Greenwaldt anchored in a scorching 21.13. They stopped the clock in a final time of 1:27.62, and notably did wear technical suits.

Curtis’ time now ranks her as the 10th-quickest woman in UVA history, erasing Lauren Perdue‘s 22.01 from 2011 out of the top ten and making the entire list sub-22 territory. See the full rankings below:

1. Gretchen Walsh – 20.37 (2025)
2. Kate Douglass – 20.84 (2022)
3. Jasmine Nocentini – 21.10 (2024)
4. Claire Curzan – 21.11 (2025)
5. Caitlin Cooper – 21.54 (2018)
6. Maxine Parker – 21.61 (2024)
7. Lexi Cuomo – 21.61 (2023)
8. Morgan Hill – 21.68 (2019)
9. Anna Moesch – 21.84 (2024)
10. Sara Curtis – 21.97 (2025)

Greenwaldt made history last March, competing at the Division II NCAA Championships for both swimming and track and field. She became an All-American in both sports on the same day after finishing 8th in the high jump and less than an hour later placing 8th in the 100 free. She also holds the Division II record after swimming 21.92 in prelims, becoming the first Division II swimmer to break the 22-second barrier. She went on to win the NCAA title in finals with a 22.09.

Curtis is a native of Italy and has never raced in short course yards before. At the World Championships last July, Curtis, who also holds the Italian record in the 100 free (53.01), took 9th in the 50 at 24.48 after breaking the Italian record (24.41) in prelims. She took 8th in the 100 with a 53.41. She also anchored Italy’s mixed 4×100 medley relay, swimming 52.88 to help her country to a 6th-place finish in the event, and led off the women’s 4×100 free relay in 53.29 en route to a 7th-place finish in that event.

Nwakalor spent her freshman and sophomore seasons at the University of Richmond and has two years of eligibility remaining. As a freshman, Nwakalor swam to lifetime best times at the 2024 Atlantic-10 Championships. She earned the conference title in the 50 free with a 22.78 but was slightly faster in prelims with a 22.55.

She made huge strides as a sophomore and defended her title in the 50 free with a 21.98, marking a new Atlantic-10 conference record. She also added a conference title in the 100 free, posting a lifetime best of 48.78. After earning an invite to the 2025 NCAA Championships, Nwakalor finished 24th in the 50 free in 22.01. She also placed 70th in the 100 free in 49.48.

Roy is a freshman backstroke specialist but a solid sprint freestyler as well, as she owns a best of 22.57 in the event, though her 52.53 in the 100 back is her clear primary event. She also boasts bests of 49.13 in the 100 free and 1:56.43 in the 200 back.

The relay swim today is especially encouraging for the Cavaliers’ end of season hopes, as they graduated two of four legs from last year’s NCAA title-winning squad. Louisville looks to be their biggest rival again, graduating just one leg while adding freshman Julie Mishler, who owns a 21.62 flat start.

At NCAAs last year, UVA’s now-graduated Gretchen Walsh led off with a 20.37 to tie her own NCAA record. Claire Curzan followed in 21.18, Maxine Parker (21.56) held strong on the third leg, and Anna Moesch (21.34) closed for a 1:24.45 title-winning relay.

With Curzan and Moesch returning, and Curtis and Greenwaldt now in the mix, Virginia once again looks like the team to beat.

Look for a full dual meet recap on SwimSwam by weekend’s end.