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 200 Medley Relay
NCAA Record: 1:31.10 – Virginia (Curzan, A. Walsh, G. Walsh, Parker), 2025 American Record: 1:31.10 – Virginia (Curzan, A. Walsh, G. Walsh, Parker), 2025 U.S. Open Record: 1:31.10 – Virginia (Curzan, A. Walsh, G. Walsh, Parker), 2025 Championship Record: 1:31.10 – Virginia (Curzan, A. Walsh, G. Walsh, Parker), 2025 2025 Champion: Virginia (Curzan, A. Walsh, G. Walsh, Parker) – 1:31.10Last year UVA absolutely dominated the 200 Medley, breaking the NCAA, American, U.S. Open and Championship record in the event as the quartet of Claire Curzan, Alex Walsh, Gretchen Walsh and Maxine Parker combined to record a time of 1:31.10, beating their own record by nearly half a second.
12 months later, despite losing three legs to graduation, UVA looks to be in a position to repeat as champions and while the competition is a lot faster and fiercer than it has been in past years, the top of the podium is still UVA’s to claim, a spot they have occupied every year since 2022.
“Waterloo”
Losing three swimmers to graduation is going to knock any relay team back, especially when you lose the likes of the Walsh sisters and Parker, all of whom have medaled for their nation internationally and are each multi-NCAA event champions. And yet, UVA seems to have reloaded the roster and with some fine-tuning have returned to power, producing a relay capable of swimming a time seeded within a second of their earth-shattering time from last year.
credits Andrea Masini e Andrea Staccioli / DeepBlueMedia.eu
Curzan, the sole carry-over from the relay in 2025, has slid from the backstroke leg to the butterfly leg and has performed remarkably well, going 21.75 at ACCs. Likely joining her are a pair of Short Course World Gold Medalists as well as the fastest woman in DII history. Sara Curtis, an Italian sprint star, has taken over Curzan’s backstroke role, while Emma Weber, a 2024 Paris Olympian, slides into the breaststroke. Parker’s anchor leg has been filled so far this season by Bryn Greenwaldt, who last year, while competing for Augusta, became the first woman in DII history to break 22.00, going 21.92.
The quartet combined to go 1:31.91 (the fastest time this season) at the CSCAA Dual against Michigan, with both Curtis (22.83) and Greenwaldt (20.94) going faster than their respective counterparts at NCAAs (Curzan – 23.17, Parker – 21.43). The same quartet came together at ACCs, but both Curtis and Greenwaldt were a little slower and the quartet added half a second in 1:32.46.
Normally that time would not have been in much danger, had it not been for Louisville slicing more than a second off its school record to win, 1:32.26 to 1:32.46. Winning at ACCs though has not always been a predictor of how teams will fare at NCAAs. Last year, UVA finished 4th at ACCs in a time of 1:35.18, although they did a full wholesale swap of their roster from meet to meet. That said, if Curtis and Greenwaldt can replicate their splits from November and couple them with Curzan’s 21.75 fly split, the 6th fastest ever, then UVA certainly should be in the driver’s seat.
2025 NCAA 2025 CSCAA Dual (Season Best) 2026 ACCs Best Cumulative Time Back Curzan – 23.17 Curtis – 22.83 Curtis – 22.91 Curtis – 22.83 Breast A. Walsh – 25.62 Weber – 26.24 Weber – 26.36 Weber – 26.24 Fly G. Walsh – 20.88 Curzan – 21.90 Curzan – 21.75 Curzan – 21.75 Free Parker – 21.43 Greenwaldt – 20.94 Greenwaldt – 21.44 Greenwaldt – 20.94 1:31.10 1:31.91 1:32.46 1:31.76If the UVA coaching staff desires, they can try to squeeze out a few extra hundredths (on paper) by swapping out Greenwaldt with Anna Moesch, who has been 20.8 a few times this season, but that seems highly unlikely as Moesch is the fastest in the NCAA this season in the 200 free, meaning she will likely be on the team’s 800 free relay. Additionally, as she is limited to just seven events total, it is likely that she will need to sit out one relay, with the obvious one being this one.
“I Have A Dream”
Hoping that the ACC results were a premonition of things to come, are Louisville. Seeded 2nd in the event thanks to their ACC winning time of 1:32.26, the Cardinals have found the 200 medley relay to be happy hunting grounds. In 2024, the team finished 11th, but last year dropped two full seconds off that time, and more than a second off their seed to finish 3rd overall in a time of 1:33.41.
While they lost their backstroke and fly legs to graduation, like UVA, Louisville has reloaded with some extraordinary international talent. Joining them at mid-season after having claimed three bronze medals at the European Short Course Championships, was Anastasia Gorbenko, an Israeli Olympian and Long Course World Silver medalist. Gorbenko, who throughout her career has swum freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and IM, has really taken to yards swimming, not only breaking the school record in the 200 IM multiple times, but also doing so in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.
Her efforts have not been limited to individual events, as she along with Julie Mishler, Caroline Larsen and Julia Dennis smashed the school record in the 200 medley at ACCs, going 1:32.26, with Gorbenko’s 25.49 breaststroke split of considerable note as it ranks tied as the 3rd fastest split of all time. Larsen and Dennis were the two holdovers from last year, but Larsen has now slid to the fly leg, which seems to fit better with her talents.
Louisville still has some time to drop as Dennis has split sub 20.50 before, she was 20.63 at the 2026 ACCs, so Louisville could find themselves once again rewriting the school record book and perhaps should Virginia slip, find the top of the podium open for the taking.
Two programs are hoping to emulate Louisville’s meteoric rise from 2024 to 2025, as both Tennessee and Michigan, who finished 13th and 9th, respectively, last year find themselves ranked amongst the top five teams. Tennessee, the SEC champions in this event, and Michigan, the Big Ten champions, have been buoyed by some new additions as well as some strong improvements amongst their returners to help in their quest for a high podium finish.
Camille Spink (photo: Jack Spitser)
When news broke that Tennessee would be gaining Mizuki Hirai, many thoughts went to her impact on the butterfly legs of their relays, as she was not only an Olympic Finalist in the 100 fly, but she had broken Curzan’s Junior World record in the event earlier in the summer. However, Hirai has taken a liking to backstroke or at least backstroke has taken a liking to Hirai as the first-year, who joined the Volunteers mid-season, led off their medley relay in 23.65, which is nearly half a second faster than their backstroker last season at NCAAs. The Volunteers 200 medley relay has also been buoyed by Camille Spink’s addition as the anchor leg. At SECs and NCAAs last season, Spink was left off this relay in favor of the 800 free relay, but this season she appears to be going all in on the 50 and 100 free, and while her loss to the 800 free relay is large, her 20.46 anchor time is close to a 1.5 second improvement on the same leg from last season.
Michigan, too, graduated swimmers as both their first and last legs departed but as mentioned in the 800 free relay preview, the addition of Bella Sims is a game changer for the Wolverines. While not a personal or even season best, her 23.38 lead off leg from their Big Ten winning relay is a half a second improvement upon their split from the 2025 NCAAs. If Sims can equal her PB from November of 23.18, and if Letitia Sim can be closer to her 26.26 from the CSCAA Dual again than her 26.93 from Big Tens, then Michigan could be looking at a full second drop from their seed of 1:33.26. Coupled with Brady Kendall‘s improvement in fly (nearly half a second PB in the 100 at Big Tens), Michigan could easily find itself in the low 1:32 and even potentially high 1:31 range.
Alabama has quietly put together a strong season improving from 6th to 4th at SECs this year, which in no small part is thanks to their 200 medley going from a 4th place finish last year (1:34.36) to runner-up status this year, with a near second drop, stopping the clock at 1:33.63. Like Louisville and Tennessee, the Crimson Tide gained a key midseason addition in the form of Dutch Worlds medalist Tessa Giele.
A strong fly and freestyler, Giele split 22.45 at SECs, .65 seconds faster than Jada Scott was last season at NCAAs. Scott slid over to the breaststroke leg at SECs, going 26.80, but Margo Geer may have Charlotte Rosendale take over those duties as she was the school’s fastest swimmer in the 100 at SECs, going a personal best 59.68.
“Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”
While all teams will be locked in combat for a podium spot, both Stanford and California will look to keep a grasp on their seeding and try to replicate their performances from last season with the Cardinal finishing runner-up with a time of 1:33.00 and the Golden Bears earning 4th in a time of 1:33.54.
Anna Olasewere (photo: Jack Spitser)
Stanford has already been faster this year going 1:32.94 at ACCs, which is good news, but the bad news is that that time, which would have won the silver medal, now only currently ranks 4th fastest in the nation. Last season Torri Huske anchored the relay on 20.39 and pulled them up from 5th, but this season it looks like the anchor leg will be taken over by Annam Olasewere, who produced a strong 20.91 at ACCs. While losing such a strong anchor hurts, Huske sliding to fly certainly helps more as her 21.78 at ACCs is a near second improvement upon their fly leg from last year.
If Stanford wants another top three appearance, Huske will need to be on point as will their breaststroker Lucy Thomas, who will need to try to cut into the lead that Michigan and Tennessee backstrokers are projected to give them.
Last year’s 4th place finishers California, like their Bay Area rivals, have slipped back two spots to find themselves seeded 6th. Like Stanford, their season best of 1:33.29 is an improvement upon their final time from last year, but again due to “swimflation”, every team seems to be getting faster at astonishing rates.
It’ll be a very different looking team for Cal when they stand behind the blocks, only Frenchwoman Mary-Ambre Moluh remains, and like so many of the other teams mentioned, she has had to change roles, sliding from the anchor leg to the opening one. She led off at ACCs in a personal best of 23.26, which stands as one of the fastest in the field. From there Cal will likely turn to Norway’s Silje Slyngstadli and Annie Jia to swim the middle two legs. The pair split 26.42 and 22.73 at ACCs, which are strong legs, but aren’t enough to keep them in contention with the likes of Gorbenko or Huske. Mia West anchored ACCs in a sub-21, going 20.88, an especially strong swim considering her PB is 22.14, but West is a key player in the team’s 800 free relay, so they may seek to swap her out, although she did manage the double at ACCs.
“Slipping through my fingers”
NC State, Texas, and Florida all finished within the top 8 last year at NCAAs, within .08 of one another, but have not seemed to weather the loss of some of their relay legs as other programs have.
Florida, who finished 5th in at time of 1:33.92 at the 2025 NCAAs and Texas, who tied for 6th with NC State at 1:34.00 have both been dealt big blows as they each have lost their backstrokers.
BY NARDIA MULKERRINS
Sims, who departed Florida for Michigan, and Emma Sticklen, who graduated from Texas, were both sub 23.50 backstrokers, but neither team has been able to find a replacement to go within half a second of those that lost. Anita Bottazzo is a game changer on the breaststroke leg for the Gators, but the loss of Olivia Peoples, who famously swam fly on their 4×50 freestyle relay in 2024, is too much as UF hasn’t been able to find a replacement and as such the team finds itself seeded 20th.
Texas’s new anchor leg Eva Okaro is a near second improvement upon their anchor leg from year’s past, but she alone cannot bring the team back into a podium position. Piper Enge, the lone returner from the relay last year, was 26.33, but had an off SECs, going 26.99 on the relay and adding over a second and a half to her season best in the 100 breaststroke. If she can get back down to the low 26s, the Longhorns may have a chance to return to the top 8, but as they are currently seeded 9th and nearly a second back of Bama, it may be too much to ask.
NC State, unlike the other two programs, didn’t lose any swimmers to graduation or transfer and easily upgraded at the breaststroke position as they added Eneli Jefimova, a short course Worlds Bronze medalist in the 100. Like other programs, they too are seeded faster than they were last year, having gone 1:34.00, which was good for 6th, and are entered this year at 1:33.56. However, like Stanford and Cal they have been hit by the swimflation and are seeded 7th. Last year they used Erika Pelaez on the back and Leah Shackley on the fly, but swapped the pair this year. The Wolfpack also opted to use Cassie Moses on anchor, but could swap in Olivia Nel, who swam on it last year, or elect to use Lily Christianson, who split 21.38 at ACCs on the 200 free relay. Nel was 21.12 on that relay but was used on the 800 free relay, so may not be a viable option for this relay.
The Verdict/ The Winner Takes it All
Of the three teams directly above, NC State has the most upside, but Pelaez and Shackley’s versatility might hurt them as they lack that strong sprint backstroker to help establish a lead and clean water, a role that Katharine Berkoff filled so well for them. Whether NC State can hold off a surging Alabama is a big question, but Giele seems to be capable of swimming faster than a 22.45 on the fly split, so we are giving them the nod for the 7th spot.
We don’t expect much movement of teams into or out of the top 8, but a lot of movement should be expected amongst them. UVA still looks good to win and is our pick to win. Curtis, Emma Weber, and Greenwaldt were a little off at ACCs, and nothing seems to counter that they can’t get back to or better their times from November. Louisville still looks good for 2nd, as despite Tennessee’s and Michigan’s improvements, the over half a second gap to the Vols and full second to the Wolverines seems like too much to overcome, especially if Dennis anchors again with a sub-20.50 split.
Huske’s move to the fly leg is the key for Stanford. Can she pull out a 21.50 split and help catch up to those teams that are front-loaded? Alana Berlin was 24.16 on the backstroke leg at ACCs and has a season best of 23.98, but if she and Lucy Thomas can’t help close the gap on Tennessee, then the Cardinal may find themselves relegated out of the medals. Between the two, we are leaning towards Huske’s big-time relay experience, but with a flat start best of 20.87, it certainly feels like Spink should be faster than the 20.46 she went at ACCs and it wouldn’t surprise us to see her run down multiple teams to earn a top three finish.
SwimSwam’s Picks:
Place Team Entry Time Last Season Finish 1 Virginia 1:31.91 1st – 1:31.10 2 Louisville 1:32.26 3rd – 1:33.41 3 Stanford 1:32.94 2nd – 1:33.00 4 Tennessee 1:32.80 13th – 1:35.28 5 Michigan 1:33.26 9th – 1:34.61 6 California 1:33.29 4th – 1:33.54 7 Alabama 1:33.63 12th – 1:34.96 8 NC State 1:33.56 T-6th – 1:34.00Dark Horse: LSU (10th – 1:34.71) – LSU finished 4th at SECs in a time of 1:34.71, just .19 back of Texas. The Tigers have no real weakness, but nor do they have that outstanding leg whose inclusion makes or breaks their relay. Last year the team finished 23rd with a time of 1:36.85, but have improved across the board in all the strokes. Zoe Carlos-Broc opened up the relay in 24.24 last season, but has brought that down to a 23.80 at SECs, while Avery Littlefield started the season with 100 fly PB of 54.50, but crashed into the sub-52.00 with a 51.72 at SECs. If they can build on the momentum, and take some chances with relay starts, LSU might have the fastest time before the final heat takes to the blocks.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 W. NCAA Previews: SOS – Is Louisville’s ACCs Upset of UVA in 2 Med a Sign of Things to Come?
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