By Mark Wild on SwimSwam
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 Preview Index Psych Sheet Live ResultsWomen’s 800 Free Relay
NCAA Record: 6:44.13 – Virigina (G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Canny, Curzan), 2025 American Record: 6:45.91 – Stanford (Manuel, Neal, Eastin, Ledecky), 2017 U.S. Open Record: 6:44.13 – Virigina (G. Walsh, A. Walsh, Canny, Curzan), 2025 Championship Record: 6:45.91 – Stanford (Manuel, Neal, Eastin, Ledecky), 2017 2025 Champion: Stanford (Bricker, Roghair, Nordmann, Wilson) – 6:46.98Last year, SwimSwam thought that Virginia could still hold off the charge of a strong Tennessee team without having to rely upon arguably the greatest short course swimmer of all time, Gretchen Walsh. What we did not expect was Virginia to add over seven seconds to their entry time going from their NCAA record time of 6:44.13 to 6:51.29, a time that still would have won had it not been for Stanford going from a seed time of 6:51.79 to 6:46.98. With Stanford victorious last year and in 2022 and with the 2025 bronze medalist Florida having won the year before, UVA, the most dominate team in the sport and the fastest ever in this event has only won this relay twice in their five-year run of championships, which means that this relay maybe is not as important as others. And yet, UVA looks to be gearing up to make another run at the relay sweep on their hunt for their 6th straight title.
Last year we didn’t predict Stanford winning the event, not did we predict Florida placing 3rd , but we did have 7/8 of the podium in the right area, meaning that while this relay has some large gaps in times, there certainly is room for teams to move up and down a spot or two. And while Stanford and Florida return half of their squad from last year they will be hard-pressed to hold off a rejuvenated Virginia and resurgent programs like Michigan and Cal, who each have reloaded with new talent and will be looking to recapture the top of the podium.
“exile”
Both Stanford and Florida face uphill battles to return to the podium. But of the two, the Stanford Cardinal seem better positioned to do so. Both teams lose key legs to graduation or transfer: Stanford’s Aurora Roghair and Lillie Nordmann have graduated, with Florida’s Emma Wyant having done the same. Bella Sims, who led off Florida’s relay last year in 1:42.55, will be a key player in this relay again, albeit for a different team.
Caroline Bricker (photo: Jack Spitser)
Roghair and Nordmann both split 1:41s last year on the relay, helping the team win in 6:46.98. Junior Caroline Bricker looks likely to return as the lead-off swimmer and Kayla Wilson looks to be a solid bet to return as well. Last year at NCAA’s Bricker let off in 1:41.73 and she looks likely to be close to that time if not faster this go around. This past February, Bricker let off Stanford’s 800 free relay at ACCs in a 1:43.57, while last year she took on the 2nd leg where she split 1:43.03. Wilson on the other hand is more of a question mark.
Last year she anchored the team’s ACC relay in 1:43.06 and a month later sealed there NCAA win in 1:42.20, but this year at ACCs she was a second slower anchoring in 1:44.40. However, she was very close to her individual times as she was 1:43.71 from a flat start in 2025 and was 1:43.97 in 2026. The only troubling issue that her time from 2025 placed 5th while her time from last month ranked her just 11th. Two of the swimmers who beat her this year at ACCs are also Cardinals, with Annam Olasewere and Gigi Johnson finishing 7th and 8th in the A-final with times of 1:43.23 and 1:43.25 respectively. Johnson did swim on Stanford’s 800 free relay, but Olasewere did not. That last spot was taken by Lucy Bell, who split 1:43.31. Bell likely will occupy that spot again as Olasewere’s talents are better suited to the 50/100 free.
First year coach Chris Lindauer has some options to play with. Senior Natalie Mannion is entered individual in the 200 as the 39th seed and was on this relay in 2024, helping the team earn the bronze medal. He could also flip the script call in Torri Huske, who has a team best time of 1:42.26 this season, but that seems unlikely as Huske is one of the best sprint freestylers and butterfliers and seems to be more vital to the 200/400 free relay. Huske was on this relay at the mid-season meet, which gives the team their seed time of 6:51.07, and without her at ACCs the team was 6:54.09. That said, both Bricker and Wilson have plenty of time to drop and if Johnson can be closer to her 1:42.70 from mid-season than her 1:43.11 at ACCs, then Stanford could still be a force to be reckoned with.
Florida, as mentioned above will have to do without both Weyant and Sims. Sophomore Julie Brousseau and Junior Lainy Kruger return, but without Sims’s lead-off speed, the Gator look to be in trouble. The pair, who had flying starts at NCAAs last year of 1:42.72 and 1:43.67 can keep the team in contention for a top 8 finish if the replicate those times, but with their other legs splitting 1:45 highs at SECs the Gators look to be on the outs, especially considering the speed the next few teams have amassed.
“Look What You Made Me Do”
Call it revenge, call it skill, call it whatever you want, but the Virginia women put the disappointment of the 2025 NCAAs behind them in a strong way as they swam the 2nd fastest time ever in the event at the 2026 ACC championships. Taking Gretchen Walsh (1:39.35 flat start) and Claire Curzan (1:40.89 anchor leg) off the relay at NCAA was a gamble, that yielded a runner-up finish as the team of Alex Walsh, Aimee Canny, Anna Moesch and Katie Grimes combined for a time of 6:51.29.
Of their NCAA record holding time team, Canny is the only holdover, which is not only a testament to UVA’s ability to recruit talent, but also to continue to develop their swimmers. Canny led off the relay at ACCs in a new PB of 1:41.25, before handing things over to Madi Mintenko and Cavan Gormsen who both split 1:41s as well, with Gormsen split of 1:41.86, being particularly notable as was 1.6 seconds faster than she had ever been off a flat start. Anna Moesch, who entered college with a PB of 1:43.35 anchored in 1:40.42, 2.4 seconds than she was on the NCAA relay 11 months prior. Her 1:40.42 deserves a lot of recognition as it the 13th fastest split of all time, but perhaps it was overshadowed by her 200 free winning time of 1:39.72, a result that ranks as the 3rd fastest performance of all time, sitting behind only Missy Franklin’s 1:39.10 and G. Walsh’s 1:39.34.
Leg Stanford – 2017 NCAAs Virginia – 2025 ACCs Virginia – 2026 ACCs 1 Simone Manuel – 1:41.41 Gretchen Walsh – 1:39.35 Aimee Canny – 1:41.81 2 Lia Neal – 1:42.15 Alex Walsh – 1:41.87 Madi Mintenko – 1:41.25 3 Ella Eastin – 1:41.89 Aimee Canny – 1:42.03 Cavan Gormsen – 1:41.86 4 Katie Ledecky – 1:40.46 Claire Curzan – 1:40.89 Anna Moesch – 1:40.42 Total 6:45.91 6:44.13 6:45.34While it seems certain that with the 2nd fastest time ever, UVA may be set on this quartet, sophomore Bailey Hartman cut nearly 1.5 seconds off her PB to place 4th in the final at ACCs, recording a new best of 1:42.64, finishing ahead of Gormsen by two spots and by .56 of a second and as such gives Todd Desorbo a bit of a head ache. That said UVA should easily challenge the Meet record of 6:45.91 and could potentially even surpass their own NCAA record of 6:44.13.
While not matching the six second improvement from 2025 NCAA time to 2026 Conference time, the University of Michigan have improved their time by over five seconds and stand on paper as the biggest threat to pull off the upset and beat Virginia. Last year the Wolverines, placed 5th in a time of 6:53.63, just .22 away from Florida’s 3rd place. All four legs returned to the team this year, but likely won’t all swim as the two time NCAA champion and once Florida Gator Bella Sims transferred to Michigan, where she has had an instant impact, setting new school records in both individual and relay events all year.
Hannah Bellard (photo: Jack Spitser)
However, it’s not just her PB of 1:40.78 in this event that bring Michigan up to forefront of title contenders. Junior Hannah Bellard has been on fire all season, swimming personal bests in each of her individual events at Big Ten’s winning the 500 free and 200 fly, and placing 2nd in the 400 IM, with Sims the lone swimmer faster than her. The Michigan native has also set a new best in the 200 free, when she broke the 1:44.00 barrier for the first time, going 1:43.83 in a late January duel against Denison. While on the face of it that time, doesn’t seem to help the Wolverines much, it translated to a 1:41.54 flying start at Big Tens, where she along with Sims’s lead off of 1:41.15 teamed up with Stephanie Balduccini (1:42.14) and Christey Liang (1:43.19) to win the event in a new school record of 6:48.02.
If Balduccini, who has a flat start season best of 1:41.40 and a PB of 1:40.89 from her 3rd place finish in the event last year, can get back into that form, and there is no reason to suggest she cannot, then Michigan will be looking at a top three finish, and perhaps be the ones to emerge victorious if UVA stumbles.
“Shake It Off”
Two teams that stumbled last year adding a good amount to their seed time, (aside from UVA) were Texas and Tennessee. The SEC rivals finished 4th and 6th sandwiching the aforementioned Michigan finishing in times of 6:53.49 and 6:53.87 respectively. However, each were entered faster with Texas holding a seed time of 6:51.61, while Tennessee entered as the #2 seed with their 6:49.83. This season Texas is entered as the 4th seed, albeit a full second ahead of their entry time from last year, meanwhile Tennessee sits outside of the top 8 with their 6:54.56 from their 3rd place finish at SECs ranking them 9th overall.
Texas, who won SECs in a new school record of 6:50.59, return three of their legs from NCAAs, with Lillie Nesty, Campbell Chase and Erin Gemmell occupying the 2nd-4th legs. Gemmell, who anchored in 2025 was moved to anchor as Hungarian Olympian Nikoletta Padar made her SEC debut for the Longhorns, opening up the relay in a personal best 1:41.36.
Like Stanford, Texas has some decisions to make. Padar, Nesty (2nd leg – 1:42.28) and Gemmell (4th leg – 1:42.68) all seem to be set but Chase, who was 1:44.27 on the 3rd leg could be swapped out for Inez Miller. A first-year, Miller went 1:44.00 at SMU’s Last Chance Meet bettering her 10th place finish at SECs of 1:44.55. Her new time is just .08 better than Chase’s PB from November, so it will likely come down to who has the hot hand.
Tennessee, on the other hand appears to be moving in the opposite direction as they finished 3rd at SECs with a time of 6:54.56. Much of Tennessee falling out of the top 8 however is explainable. They graduated two of the legs from last year’s relay with both Brooklyn Douthwright and Josephine Fuller leaving. They also have opted to not use Camille Spink on this relay, or at least did not at SECs. Spink, who won SECs in a PB time of 1:41.71 and is the 7th seed in the individual event could easily bring this relay back up into contention, but with Tennessee ranked 3rd in both medley relays and top 8 in both of the shorter free relays, the coaching staff may keep the same quartet of Ella Jansen (1:42.26), Emily Armen (1:44.69), Amelia Mason (1:44.99) and Emily Brown (1:42.62).
“It’s Time To Go”
Last year the 8th seed, USC had an entry time of 6:55.11, while this year Georgia ranks 8th with a 6:53.55. All four teams seeded in the top that are not yet mentioned are all faster than they were last year, with California leading the way as the 3rd seed, thanks in part to their runner-up finish at ACCs.
courtesy @calwswim
The team of Teagan O’Dell (1:43.38), Mia West (1:40.95). Ava Chavez (1:43.99) and Claire Weinstein (1:41.83) stopped the clock in 6:50.15, just .03 off the program record. Cal looks to be in a much better position then last year when they finished 10 overall with a time of 6:55.79. Since then the Bears, have nearly completely changed the relay, with only Chavez retaining her spot. Both Weinstein and O’Dell are first-years and bring plenty of big meet experience, with Weinstein, of course, being the reigning long course Worlds Bronze medalist. But Cal certainly wouldn’t be in this good of a position if it wasn’t for the emergence of West.
The Canadian didn’t swim the 200 free at ACCs, instead she took on the 200/400 IM and 200 fly, placing 3rd and 8th in the IMs and emerging victorious in the 200 Fly in a new PB of 1:51.52. That said she is entered in the 200 free at NCAA, where she ranks 8th, one spot of Weinstein courtesy of her 1:41.74 seed time, a result that came from a duel meet against USC in mid January. Before that meet her best time was 1:43.73 from December’s Minnesota Invite and before this season it was 1:45.17.
With her time drops and with Weinstein capable of splitting in the 1:40s Cal could challenge Michigan for 2nd, but it likely come down to what they can get out of Chavez and O’Dell, the latter of whom has a PB of 1:42.27, but has not been within a second of that this season.
After graduating just one swimmer from their relay last year (albeit NCAA champion Anna Peplowski), you would not expect Indiana to have many changes to their roster. And yet their team at Big 10s was entirely different from the team that placed 8th at NCAAs (6:55.14). Three freshman, Liberty Clark, Alex Shackell and Grace Hoeper were joined by junior Mackenzie Hodges with the quartet smashing the school record by nearly three seconds, resetting the mark to 6:51.11, a time that would have ranked 3rd last year, but know just sits 6th. Clark led off in 1:41.32, but like Moesch was faster later on in the individual meet, where she won the Big Ten title in 1:40.84.
Indiana front loaded the relay as after Clark, Shackell split a swift 1:42.16 before handing things over to Hodges (1:44.16) and Hoeper (1:43.47). Much like some of the team above Indiana has some decisions to make as Kristina Paegle went 1:45.15 at Big Ten’s to sit nearly half a second ahead of Hodges flat start season best.
USC and Georgia occupy the last two spots among the top 8 teams, but USC especially is in precarious position of falling out of it. USC is entered with a time of 6:53.17 from their 2nd place finish at the Texas Hall of Fame meet in November but were just 6:57.59 at Big Tens. Much of that is due to Minna Abraham‘s absence as she withdrew from the meet for “personal reasons.” Abraham, who has not competed since mid January, is the key to this relay as she holds a season best of 1:40.47 and is the #2 seed in the individual event. In her absence, USC called upon fellow Hungarian Dora Molnar to anchor, but the first-year’s 1:45.43 won’t cut it to maintain a top 8 position, not will Justina Kozan‘s 1:44.77 at Big Tens, when she was 1:43.56 at mid season.
While USC looks to be in trouble of defending their 7th place from last year, Georgia looks to be in good stead to improve upon their 11th place finish from last year. They lost their lead-off from last year, Dune Coetzee (1:44.46) but have brought in the multi Junior World Medal winning Kennedi Dobson. Dobson, who placed 3rd at SECs in a time of 1:42.20, anchored the SEC silver medal winning relay in 1:42.06 and could easily be looking at a mid 1:41.50 split. That time coupled with Marie Landreneau going 1.5 seconds faster than her time at NCAAs in the individual event means the Bulldogs look poised to improve upon their 6:53.55 seed.
The Verdict
Virgina faces much less of a conundrum then they did last year, and the fact that they have rebounded so quickly in this event, makes them the obvious run away pick for first. Could UVA get risky and slide Moesch to the 200 medley (a relay where they are the top seeds despite finishing 2nd to Louisville at ACCs) in order to better their chances of a relay sweep? Yes, they could but in so doing, this near certain first place suddenly becomes a much riskier bet.
After UVA its a close battle between Michigan, Cal and Stanford. We are giving the edge to Michigan as they have looked on fire this season and both Sims and Balduccini look to have more to drop. Cal is in a similar position with Weinstein not yet looking to be firing on all cylinders, but two seconds is still a significant gap. We spent a lot of time on Stanford and they are the big question mark. Even without Huske, they are certainly capable of placing in the top three, but that depends on Bricker getting back down into the 1:41s as opposed to her 1:43.5 at ACCs and for Wilson to equally drop two seconds and be back in the 1:42 low range.
Texas, Indiana and Georgia all are in better spots than last year and are certainly moving forward but with their massive improvements already this season, is there more for them to drop?
SwimSwam’s Picks:
Place Team Entry Time Last Season Finish 1 Virginia 6:45.34 2nd – 6:51.29 2 Michigan 6:48.02 5th – 6:53.63 3 California 6:50.15 10th – 6:55.79 4 Stanford 6:51.07 1st – 6:46.98 5 Texas 6:50.36 4th – 6:53.49 6 Indiana 6:51.11 8th – 6:55.14 7 Georgia 6:53.55 11th – 6:56.04 8 USC 6:53.17 7th – 6:54.45Dark Horse: Louisville (10th – 6:54.74) – With this year’s entrants being so much faster than last year’s it’ll be harder for a team to jump into the top eight, but if one team were to make the move, our bet is on Louisville. Anastasia Gorbenko has taken to yards so quickly and anytime she enters the pool she can surprise. That coupled with Summer Cardwell hitting a PB of 1:43.72 at their Last Chance meet bettering her previous PB of 1:44.22, the Cardinals of Louisville could find themselves on the podium.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 W. NCAA Previews: “It’s All Too Moesch” – UVA Poised To Break 800 Free Championship Record
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