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The University of Virginia women have landed another game-changing recruit in the form of Smilte Plytnykaite, a Lithuanian sprinter who holds multiple National Records and is elite in both freestyle and breaststroke.
Plytnykaite, who turned 18 in early January, will join the Cavaliers in the fall of 2026.
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As a sprint freestyler and breaststroker, Plytnykaite fits right into Virginia’s wheelhouse as they’ve managed to develop several swimmers who are strong at both disciplines, namely Kate Douglass, Aimee Canny, Alex Walsh and Jasmine Nocentini (as a transfer).
Plytnykaite, who trains out of the Sostines Sporto Centras in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, owns the National Record in the women’s 100 free in long course, having clocked 54.74 in April of 2023 to lower Ruta Meilutyte‘s decade-old record of 54.94 from 2013.
Plytnykaite also ranks #2 all-time among Lithuanians in the 50 free (25.46), and #3 in the 200 free (2:01.79), 50 breast (31.20), 100 breast (1:07.91) in long course meters. She’s also a member of six different relay teams that hold National Records.
At the 2023 European Junior Championships, Plytnykaite won gold in the girls’ 100 free (55.31), and added a 6th-place finish in the 50 free (25.49) and an 11th-place showing in the 200 free (2:02.23). That came after she made her Euro Junior debut in 2022, placing 9th in the 50 free, 26th in the 100 free and 19th in the 50 fly at the age of 15.
After she was the only Lithuanian woman to compete at the 2023 European Short Course Championships, Plytnykaite made her World Championship debut last February in Doha, placing 45th in the 50 free and 25th in the 100 free.
That led her into the 2024 European Junior Championships, where, racing on home soil, Plytnykaite won gold in the girls’ 50 breast (31.20), claimed silver in the 100 breast (1:07.91), and added a bronze medal after swimming the breast leg on the Lithuanian girls’ 4×100 medley relay.
Most recently, she represented Lithuania at Short Course Worlds in December, setting a new best time in the SC 50 free (24.80) to finish 31st while recording her highest finish in the 200 free, placing 25th.
PLYTNYKAITE’S BEST TIMES
| Event | LCM | SCM |
SCY Conversion*
|
| 50 Free | 25.46 | 24.80 | 22.21 |
| 100 Free | 54.74 | 54.52 | 47.87 |
| 200 Free | 2:01.79 | 1:59.15 | 1:46.83 |
| 50 Breast | 31.20 | 31.36 | 27.20 |
| 100 Breast | 1:07.91 | 1:08.39 | 59.37 |
SCY conversions from LCM.
The Virginia women have been a powerhouse since 2020, and are well on their way to winning their fifth straight NCAA title in March, with Olympic medalists Claire Curzan and Katie Grimes two key additions in 2024-25.
By the time Plytnykaite arrives on campus in the fall of 2026, several of the team’s current stars, such as the Walsh sisters, will no longer be representing the Cavaliers, but there’s a talent-stacked group of recruits set to join the team next season who she’ll have three seasons with, highlighted by mid-distance freestyler Madi Mintenko and breaststroker Raya Mellott.
In UVA’s class of 2026, Plytnykaite strengthens an already-loaded group of swimmers that includes four domestic swimmers ranked in SwimSwam’s Way Too Early recruit rankings: #9 Roos Rottink, #12 Caden Martin, #17 Molly Workman and #20 Alyssa Sagle.
Martin and Workman in particular will serve as good training partners for Pltnykaite as sprint freestylers.
Virginia’s class of 2026 also currently includes breaststroker Sara Czirjak and Andrea Herrera.
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rich get richer! interestingly, the post-walsh uva team seems to be more oriented around mid distance (headlined by mintenko, grimes, canny, gormsen, hartman, hayes, howley) than sprinting so this pickup will help add a bit more depth to the latter group…
I was thinking the same thing! Especially after Canny departs, Smilte seems like such a smart recruit to fill her freestyle and breaststroke sprinting spots (and will probably be called upon to do more pure sprinting, esp in breast) but won’t need to fill any middle-distance role because of Mintenko, Grimes, Hayes, and the like.
Will anyone else win a Women’s NCAA team title OTHER than UVA in the 2020s? This dynasty just has no sign of ending anytime soon
People would have said the same thing about Stanford in the 90s.