2022 NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- March 16-19, 2022
- McAuley Aquatic Center, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Georgia (Eastern Daylight Time)
- Prelims 10AM /Finals 6PM
- Short Course Yards (25 yards)
- Live Results
- Championship Central
- SwimSwam Preview Index
Katharine Berkoff of NC State defended her NCAA title in the 100 backstroke en-route to breaking the American, U.S. Open, NCAA and Meet Record in the event. Her winning time of 48.74 seconds establishes her as the first woman to go sub-49-seconds in the event.
| Regan Smith-Previous American/U.S. Open Record (2021) | Beata Nelson-Previous NCAA/Meet Record (2019) | Katharine Berkoff– New American/U.S. Open/NCAA/Meet Record (2022) |
| 23.78 | 23.76 | 23.72 |
| 25.38 | 25.42 | 25.02 |
| 49.16 | 49.18 | 48.74 |
Berkoff was previously the 3rd fastest performer in history with her winning time from the 2022 ACC Championships (49.41). That time was the 4th fastest performance in history and now sits as the 6th fastest performance in history.
The previous American Record and U.S. Open record was held by Regan Smith (49.16), set in 2021 when she was in high school. The NCAA and Meet Record was held by Beata Nelson of Wisconsin (49.18), set at the 2019 NCAA Championships. Nelson’s mark was the American Record until Smith broke it in March 2021.
Last year, Berkoff won the 100 backstroke (49.74) and was the only swimmer to go sub-50 seconds. This year, there were three swimmers that broke the 50-second barrier. Gretchen Walsh of Virginia was 2nd (49.00), which was also faster than the previous American, U.S. Open, NCAA and Meet Records. Walsh is now the 2nd fastest performer in history. Walsh was 1st at the 50 (23.36/25.64), while Berkoff was faster coming home (23.72/25.02). Finishing 3rd was Smith of Stanford, the former American and U.S. Open record holder, touching at 49.96 (23.88/49.96).
Almost exactly 20 years ago, Natalie Coughlin became the first woman to go sub-50 seconds in the 100 backstroke. She posted a time of 49.97 on March 20, 2002 at the 2002 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship.
Updated Top Performers Rankings:
- Katharine Berkoff, 48.74, NC State, 2022
- Gretchen Walsh, 49:00, Virginia, 2022
- Regan Smith, 49.16, 2021
- Beata Nelson, 49.18, Wisconsin, 2019
- Claire Curzan, 49.52, 2022
Updated Top Performances Rankings:
- Katharine Berkoff, 48.74, NC State, 2022
- Gretchen Walsh, 49:00, Virginia, 2022
- Regan Smith, 49.16, 2021
- Beata Nelson, 49.18, Wisconsin, 2019
- Regan Smith, 49.23, Stanford, 2022
- Katharine Berkoff, 49.41, NC State, 2022
Hail to the queen of backstroke!
Did Halloway just cement himself as a top backstroke coach? Much like Ray is maybe THE top breastroker coach in the US at IU.
Braden has now coached World Champions, American and NCAA record holders and a SCM World record holder. All in the 50 & 100 Bk
more likely to be a top underwaters coach
Great to see Berkoff nip at the heels of her dad’s old times. And she doesn’t have the benefit of an entire lap underwater (coming up at the flags).
Kylee mckowen 100 back record is going down
Like your spelling?
Doubtful… using the converter, the top 5 women should all be 56 low or lower in LCM yet none of them are. Remove the two additional turns that NCAA focus on and it doesn’t translate to LCM.
Berkoff time is now faster than Maggie macniel 100 fly record
Pretty cool stuff. Here’s one for the swim nerds — has there ever been another father/daughter combo to both break American records? If so, has it ever happened in the same event?
It helps her start reaction times are always the fastest in the field. .53 tonight
What’s the fastest second 50 for a swimmer who has broken 50? 25.0 is ridiculous!
25.0 has to be it, any faster than that and its even/negative split since most of the sub 50 swimmers aren’t that much below 50.
Regan Smith has a 25.39 second half from her 49.23 at Pac12s in addition to the 25.38 listed above, and Curzan’s back half from her 49.52 PB is 25.54.