NC State vs UVA
- January 23, 2026
- Raleigh, North Carolina — Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center
- SCY (25 Yards)
- Full Meet Results Available on Meet Mobile: “NC State vs UVA”
- Team Scores:
- Women: #1 UVA 181 — #8 NC State 113
- Men: #6 NC State 172.5 — #14 UVA 89.5
The NC State/UVA meet was initially scheduled to be a two-day dual, but it was shortened to just one day due to the winter storm, and the swimmers showed up in a huge way.
The Virginia women and NC State men won sweeping victories with the UVA women breaking 10 pool records and the Max Carlsen breaking two for the NC State men
Women’s Meet Recap
The UVA women broke ten pool records on Friday, led by three swimmers who each broke two pool records.
They opened the meet with a sweep of the top two spots and a pool record in the women’s 200 medley relay. The ‘A’ relay of Sara Curtis (23.32), Emma Weber (26.43), Claire Curzan (22.10), and Anna Moesch (20.82) swam 1:32.67 to come in almost two seconds ahead of their ‘B’ relay’s time of 1:34.47.
Moesch’s 20.82 split on the anchor leg is the fastest she has ever split, marking only her 2nd time under 21 seconds behind the 20.85 she swam at the final CSCAA Dual Meet Challenge meet.
NC State freshman Eneli Jefimova had the fastest breaststroke split in the field at 26.40 on the NC State ‘A’ relay that finished 3rd in 1:34.61.
Virginia also picked up the win and pool record in the 400 free relay. Curtis led off in 47.13. Curzan split 46.45 on the 2nd leg. Madi Mintenko was 47.65 on the 3rd leg, and Moesch anchored in 46.39 to touch in 3:07.62. This was a new season best time for the team, bringing them in just three hundredths behind Stanford’s nation-leading time of 3:07.59.
Claire Curzan had an electric day for Virginia, setting two new pool records in both distances of butterfly on top of her two relay records. She started her morning with a massive time of 1:51.35 in the 200 fly, jumping up to 2nd in the country this season with her 2nd fastest time ever. She led Carly Novelline (1:54.36) and Lana Pudar (1:56.16) to a UVA top-three sweep.
In the 100 fly, she picked up another record, touching in 49.13, a new season best and just off her personal best of 49.02 from the 2025 ACC Championships. This is the 2nd fastest time in the country this season, just two tenths behind Torri Huske‘s 48.90. NC State’s Leah Shackley finished 2nd in 51.27.
Another POOL RECORD for Claire Curzan, this time in the 100 Fly #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/xikJESWUvk
— Virginia Swimming and Dive (@UVASwimDive) January 23, 2026
Katie Grimes also broke two pool records, starting with the 1000 freestyle. She touched in 9:28.49, her fastest collegiate swim in the event, coming in a little under six seconds ahead of teammate Cavan Gormsen‘s 9:34.03 for 2nd. Grimes’ swim is the 4th fastest time in the country this season.
She also won the 500 freestyle in pool record fashion. Her 4:36.04 was a new season best, dropping from the 4:38.07 she swam in October against Virginia. She led a UVA top-three sweep of the event with Gormsen swimming 4:40.85 for 2nd and Bailey Hartman touching in 4:43.01 for 3rd.
Katie Grimes SHATTERS the pool record in the 500 Free #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/BexwB1ZX1u
— Virginia Swimming and Dive (@UVASwimDive) January 23, 2026
Aimee Canny won three events for the Cavaliers, starting with the 200 freestyle, where her 1:42.81 led a UVA sweep with Madi Mintenko finishing 2nd (1:44.54) and Bailey Hartman finishing 3rd (1:45.08). All three have been faster this season. Canny’s time was also a new record.
Canny also set a pool record in the 200 breast, where she swam a new season best 2:06.54 to take two tenths off the 2:06.77 she swam at the Tennessee Invite. This is also a new lifetime best for her, dropping from the 2:06.70 she swam at the 2024 Tennessee Invite. NC State’s Eneli Jefimova finished 2nd in 2:07.67.
Finally, she led another UVA sweep in the women’s 200 IM. She touched in 1:54.77, coming in more than a second ahead of Leah Hayes (1:56.10) in 2nd, Sophia Umstead (1:57.52) in 3rd, and Zoe Skirboll (1:57.98) in 4th.
Sara Curtis and Anna Moesch split the sprint freestyle events and pool records. Curtis broke the 50 free pool record, swimming 21.37 to add about two tenths from her lifetime and season best of 21.18 while Moesch finished 2nd in 21.44.
Sara Curtis with a POOL RECORD in the 50 Free (21.37) #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/iek8eIOiG3
— Virginia Swimming and Dive (@UVASwimDive) January 23, 2026
In the next event, Moesch swam 46.40 in the 100 free to come in two seconds ahead of Madi Mintenko‘s 48.24 for 2nd, taking down yet another Willis R. Casey pool record.
Another POOL RECORD. Anna Moesch takes down the 100 Free record previously held by Kate Douglass #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/i3SgSccZX3
— Virginia Swimming and Dive (@UVASwimDive) January 23, 2026
While Virginia had a very strong meet, NC State still picked up event wins in three of the swimming events and both diving events.
Leah Shackley won both distances of backstroke for the Wolfpack. In the 100, she swam 50.56 to come in eight hundredths ahead of UVA’s Sara Curtis who swam 50.64 for 2nd.
In the 200 back, she touched in 1:49.95 to be the only swimmer under 1:50 in the event. She just missed her season best of 1:49.67 from the NC State Invite, but she came in more than a second ahead of teammate Erika Pelaez, who finished 2nd in 1:51.04.
The women’s 100 breast was won by NC State’s Eneli Jefimova in 58.10, just off her season best 57.67 from the Georgia Tech Dual Meet Tournament in October. UVA’s Emma Weber finished 2nd in 58.67.
Grace Hurley won both diving events for the wolfpack, though UVA does not have a diving program. She scored 287.40 on the 1-meter and 309.23 on the 3-meter.
Men’s Recap
The UVA women did not have a monopoly on the pool records. NC State freshman Max Carlsen had a monster meet that saw him set two new pool records and a new ACC record.
In the men’s 1000 freestyle, Carlsen swam 8:41.12, leading an NC State sweep with teammates Lance Norris swimming 8:50.18 for 2nd and Aaron Davidson swimming 9:00.71 for 3rd. This swim was a new ACC record, taking Norris’s record time of 8:43.60 from January of last year. This is the 3rd fastest time in the country this season, coming in behind Ahmed Jaouadi‘s 8:36.65 for Florida and Zalan Sarkany‘s 8:39.94 for Indiana.
Carlsen also picked up the win and a pool record in the 500 freestyle, touching in 4:11.89, a new lifetime best by nearly three seconds from the 4:14.79 he swam at the 2025 NC State Invite in November. Again, he led an NC State sweep in the event with Mikolaj Filipiak finishing 2nd in 4:20.07, Lance Norris finishing 3rd in 4:23.63, and Kyle Ponsler finishing 4th in 4:24.97.
The NC State men picked up an easy victory over UVA through the rest of the meet. They started with the top time in the 200 medley relay with the team of Hudson Williams (21.09), Arsen Kozhakhmetov (23.85), Aiden Hayes (19.90), and Quintin McCarty (18.38) swimming 1:23.22.
They came in more than a second ahead of Virginia’s 1:24.45 for 2nd. Thomas Heilman swam the butterfly leg of the relay, splitting 19.76, which was the fastest fly split in the field.
The 400 freestyle relay also went their way with Jerry Fox (41.95), Kaii Winkler (41.58), Quintin McCarty (41.57), and Hudson Williams (41.80) swimming 2:46.90.
Besides Carlsen, the NC State men did not have any multi-event winners. The men’s 100 back was a sweep for the Wolfpack with Hudson Williams earning the top time in 45.79 ahead of Quintin McCarty‘s 46.34 for 2nd and Aiden Hayes‘ 46.45 for 3rd.
McCarty led a sweep of his own in the 50 free, swimming 19.35 for the top time by three hundredths over Jerry Fox‘s 19.38 and Drew Salls‘ 19.39 for 2nd and 3rd from NC State.
Kaii Winkler won the 100 free in 42.21, just eight hundredths ahead of teammate Fox’s 42.29, and Hudson Williams finished 3rd in 42.86 for the Wolfpack.
In another top-three sweep, Ian Stutts earned the top time in the 200 breaststroke in 1:57.18, coming in ahead of Arsenio Bustos (1:57.58) and Hudson Schuricht (1:58.92) for 2nd and 3rd.
The 100 breast went to Arsen Kozhakhmetov in 53.28, coming in half-a-second ahead of UVA’s Matt Heilman, who swam 53.74 for 2nd.
The other five individual events went to University of Virginia Swimmers. Maximus Williamson picked up their first win of the meet in the men’s 200 freestyle, swimming 1:32.18, a new season best time to come in three tenths ahead of NC State’s Kaii Winkler.
Williamson also won the 200 IM, swimming 1:42.75 for the top time over NC State’s Daniel Diehl, who was 1:43.41.
Thomas Heilman also picked up two event wins, swimming 1:41.00 in the 200 fly to win by almost three seconds over NC State’s Anton Kochu, and 45.22 in the 100 fly for the win over Aiden Hayes, from NC State.
Thomas Heilman wins the 100 Fly (45.22) #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/5zPajEyIoJ
— Virginia Swimming and Dive (@UVASwimDive) January 23, 2026
Finally, the men’s 200 backstroke went to David King in 1:40.09, almost two seconds ahead of NC State’s Gavin Keogh in 2nd.
David King wins the 200 Back with a time of 1:40.09 #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/E61Sppzh0d
— Virginia Swimming and Dive (@UVASwimDive) January 23, 2026
Neither men’s team has a diving program so there were no men’s diving events.
The one time they dont put maximus in the 100 breast he could have won. Tragic
Meanwhile, Katie Grimes continues to putz around in the 500 FR while K. Dobson sets a personal best time in the aforementioned event.
Only one of the criteria for the University of Virginia to winning another national title was accomplished yesterday:
A. Moesch posting a sub 21.5 in the W 50 FR.
Meanwhile, B. Greenwaldt has yet to post a sub 21.5 in the W 50 FR. M. Mintenko has yet to even match her personal best time in the W 100 FR. The trio of C. Gormsen, K. Grimes, M. Mintenko have yet to post sub 4:35 in the W 500 FR. It would not hurt the cause if B. Hartman joined the party in the W 500 FR.… Read more »
I suppose if you wanted you could look at any other team, like Stanford, Michigan, Texas, Cal, Florida, etc and do the same critique. Isn’t this the dream team at Cal? Are their freshman busting PRs and top times every time out, or do they all suck also? Why not? How about the others? Is Bella a failure? I don’t think so.
In a meaningless dual meet, with plenty of swimmers messing around with events. UVA did ok. This was AT NCState, which some people think has had a strong program for a decade or two. UVA women go in not at peak and set 10 pool records and a goodly number of season bests or PRs. I know you… Read more »
I remember a time when the NCSU women used to challenge the UVA women. Kind of hard to watch now.
Little sensitive, huh. But anyway, the girl seems to be struggling, hopefully Todd gets her right.
Little sensitive, huh. But anyway, the girl’s team seems to be struggling, hopefully Braden gets them right.
I remember a time when Lana Pudar was supposed to be challenging Summer and Reagan in the 2fly. Kind of hard to watch now
Pretty salty, are we? How are Cal’s super frosh doing? Lana is going to be just fine. Folks have little appreciation about how young this UVA team is overall.
The good news is when I watch this UVA men’s team I feel pretty decent about Heilman and Williamson doing well. The bad news is I feel pretty bad about how everyone else is doing
David King looks good too but… zero best times on the men’s side.
I feel like DeSorbo and Behm need to get together and teach each other how to coach the other gender.
This isn’t really fair. Herbie’s been head honcho for a little less than two years. Todd’s been head coach of the guys since 2017….
Why would you expect best times at a January dual meet?
Are we expecting a UVA taper to get him from 1:32 and 1:42 to 1:29 and 1:39?
That seems very reasonable to me. Don’t understand uva men hate. Only team without internationals making up half or more their good swimmers
It’s because they hate the UVa women, because they’re so good, and at this point there’s very little you can say to knock them down a peg, so they have to go after the men.
The mitigating factor is that UVa just puts immensely more effort into marketing their teams and making swimming fun, and the swimming establishment HATES that.
If it was me, I’d try to replicate it, but some old coaches just can’t get out of their own way. Then that mindset bleeds down to their athletes and the cycle starts anew.
😬😬🤭🤭😮💨😮💨
This post is 100% right
From what I can find, Noah Nichols (200 breast), Casey Storch (x2 in the 400 IM), Brendan Casey (1650= 2+ seconds and 400 IM), Zach Fong (200 fly), Robby Gillier (400 IM), Robby Gillier (1650 free) and Matthew Otto (1650 and 400 IM= 2+ seconds) are the only UVA men from 2017-2025 to have gone to NCAAs and dropped more than a second in an event.
Two things can be true at the same time; a team can be built to fail or be average in dual meets season & that same team can be built to score big/bigger at NCAAs.
Recall Michigan men once won NCAAs with seven swimmers & zero divers at the NCAA meet. Also recall Arizona men won an NCAA meet with fewer than 7 scorers. Ringers make the moments at the NCAA meet.
At current UVa men don’t have 5+ ringers each of whom will light up for +30 to +40 individual points each, they don’t have 5+ who add up to lockdown top 5 in all 5 relays. But they do have 2 guys who are likely ~50+ individual point… Read more »
But they should. Sergile, Nicholas, Szobota, King, Heilman, Williamson are all top recruits from their respective classes.
Again, there aren’t good arguments that the top shelf at UVa isn’t extremely formidable. On any given year few programs have a top 2 guys with points expectancy ~50 for individual events. And King has rolled strong since last summer. Nicholas hasn’t tapered to midseason peak unlike his first year. Some other guys can show pop. Taper time is coming.
Said another way, there will always be posters here who feel a need to swing a dead cat around by the tail when triggered. Let’s see how taper time goes.
Wow Max Carlson is really coming into his own. Definitely someone to watch out for when we get to ACCs and NCAAs
Lights out performance from CC
Her body is noticeably stronger and cut. She and Tori and Bella have some battles coming up, and she’s looking really good. It was fun watching her go in the 200 fly. Off event, and she cracks a #2 time.
If there was no diving – How did they start the races?
Ayoooo