By Sam Blacker 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 Psych Sheet Live ResultsWomen’s 200 Backstroke
NCAA Record: 48.10 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024) American Record: 48.10–Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024) U.S. Open Record: 48.10–Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024) Championship Record: 48.26–Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024) 2025 Champion: Claire Curzan, Virginia – 49.11There has been one individual NCAA record broken so far this season: At the 2026 ACC Championships, Claire Curzan dipped under 1:47 in the 200 back for just the second time in the event’s history, and very nearly broke into the 1:45s as she swam 1:46.09. She won the event by nearly three seconds, making a pair of sub-1:50 swims look almost pedestrian in comparison.
She is the top seed by over two seconds at NCAAs and the overwhelming title favorite, but the battle for the podium spots behind her is shaping up nicely. With seven swimmers already under 1:50 so far this year, the same number as went under that mark at NCAAs in 2025, could this be the first year we see all eight ‘A’ finalists break the barrier?
Time For A Rematch
Claire Curzan has looked in red hot form this year, and has three swims of 1:48.4 or better this year including her scintillating NCAA-record 1:46.09. She was 1:47.89 back in October before hitting 1:48.40 at midseason, but has crescendoed through the year towards her ACC performance.
That was one of four best times she set, including coming within three-tenths of a second of Gretchen Walsh‘s 100 back record of 48.10. She tapered well for NCAAs last year, setting best times in all three of her individual events, and Virginia have made a habit of swimming well in March. Given that Curzan dropped half a second from ACCs to NCAAs last year in the 200 back, could the 1:46 barrier be in danger? Additionally, she has never been beaten in this event, in either heats or finals, at any point in her college career. That record looks more than likely to survive through the next seven days – the only question is just how fast she is in the process.
Bella Sims may only sit at #11 on the psych sheet, but she is the #2 swimmer in history with the 1:47.11 she swam in the NCAA final last season. She was just 0.29 seconds away from Curzan in that race, but her season best in 2026 is more than five seconds slower than her title rival. Sims went with a 200 IM/400 IM/100 back schedule at Big Tens, but will swap out the 200 IM for the 200 back on the final day.
Her best time this season in the 200 back of 1:51.28 comes from her very first yards meet of the season, a Tri-meet in October with Northwestern and UCLA. She hit a season best in the 200 free (1:41.15), 200 IM (1:52.81), and 100 back (49.12) at Big Tens, but the latter came leading off the 400 medley relay rather than in the individual event where she placed 2nd in 49.75. She only dropped a second at NCAAs last year, but has evidently not swum the 200 back tapered this year. She should still be the main challenger to Curzan, but hitting the heights she did last year in this event look a tall order currently.
Watch out for the Wolfpack
The NC State Wolfpack have not had an NCAA champion on backstroke since Katherine Berkoff, but have three women seeded in the top ten this year. They are led by #3 seed Erika Pelaez, who placed 2nd at ACCs with a swim of 1:48.92 to break 1:49 for the first time. That was her second PB of the season after going 1:49.18 at midseason, and she is nearly a second under the 1:49.81 she swam for 7th last year.
Pelaez had a phenomenal ACCs, setting a massive best time in the 100 of 49.54 and lowering both her 200 back and 100 free PBs. She seemed to hit her taper well for NCAAs last year, dropping three-quarters of a second in this event, and will be a podium threat this year. The new event schedule works to her benefit, as she won’t have swum the 100 fly/100 back double the day before.
Leah Shackley is two spots behind Pelaez at #5 on the psych sheets, but owns the faster best time thanks to the 1:48.52 she swam for 4th at 2025 NCAAs. She has a season best of 1:49.67 from midseason, but was only 1:50.36 at ACCs after being 1:48.73 last year. She only dropped a couple of tenths from ACCs to NCAAs last year, so while she should have enough for an ‘A’ final appearance she may slip a couple of places.
The real enigma of the trio is Kennedy Noble. Her season best time stands at 1:51.09, enough for #10 on the psych sheets but more than two seconds off her best of 1:48.43 from 2024 NCAAs. The time she swam for 6th at ACCs was her fastest swim since then, but if she can be at her best then she is a huge threat for an evening swim. Despite nearing her long course PBs last summer at the World University Games, her short course performances haven’t quite caught up.
Breakout Stars
Maggie Wanezek was a scorer in the 200 back in her freshman season for Wisconsin, placing 13th in 1:51.33 after finishing 11th in prelims in 1:51.47. Both swims were slower than her midseason best of 1:50.62, but she dropped time from the 1:53.10 she swam at Big Tens. Fast forward 12 months, and Wanezek is an ‘A’ final favorite and the #2 seed in the event, having swum a new best of 1:48.31 at Big Tens, one of four PBs she set.
She was sub-1:49 in prelims as well last month, and it would take a brave person to bet against her getting a second swim at NCAAs. She is in the form of her life and seems to be setting best times every time she swims.
Another swimmer who looks a sure bet to move a long way up from her finish last year is Pitt’s Claire Jansen. She missed scoring entirely last year, finishing 25th in a new PB of 1:53.28. This year, she enters as the #7 seed in 1:49.99, a time she set to place 3rd at ACCS. She dropped a tenth at ACCs last year and is seeded nearly a second ahead of the #9 seed, so stands a good chance of making her senior season her most successful one yet at NCAAs.
Building On Last Year
Catie Choate became Florida’s top backstroker with Bella Sims‘ transfer to Michigan last summer, and has gone from strength-to-strength this season. She dipped below 1:50 for the first time at SECs, clocking 1:49.94 to win her first individual conference title, beating her personal best of 1:50.66 which she had set just one month previously. Choate finished 10th at NCAAs last season, setting a PB of 1:51.55 in prelims before dropping down to 1:51.25 in the ‘B’ final, slicing half a second off her time from SECs.
She was a ‘B’ finalist in 2024, placing 8th in 1:53.54 after going 1:51.99 in the heats, and looks a near-lock to be in the top eight and earn an evening swim.
Miranda Grana of Indiana will be aiming to go one better than last year, where she placed 9th in prelims before blasting a 1:48.73 to dominate the ‘B’ final. That still stands as her best time, but she was 1:49.85 and 1:49.06 early in the season for her only other swims under 1:50, before looking decidedly unrested as she placed 8th at Big Tens in 1:55.18. Knowing that she can’t cruise in the morning, Grana should safely make it through if she is near her best.
Tess Howley did not swim the 200 back at NCAAs last year after swimming it at ACCs, but has decided to go with the event this year after dropping 1.14 seconds since last year to place 5th at ACCs in 1:51.01. That does mean she is entered in the “dirty double” of the 200 fly and 200 back on the final day, which could take it’s toll given the events are back-to-back. Points look on the cards, but in a rapid field a further drop may be too much.
The Rest
Teagan O’Dell sits 8th on the psych sheet in 1:50.72, but is the ninth swimmer in the field with a best time under the 1:50 barrier. She swam 1:49.16 back at Winter Juniors in 2024, and looks to be trending in the right direction after setting a new 100 back best in January, and going a season best in the 200 in the ACC final. She was 9th there after only going 1:53.23 in prelims, but her evening swim would have placed 5th in the ‘A’ final and with no room for error in the morning at NCAAs expect to see her throw down the gauntlet.
Sophia Frei was on fire for UNC at ACCs, setting best times in all three backstroke distances, and is the 12th seed in the 200. She was 14th in prelims last year in 1:51.69 before finished 16th in 1:53.59 in the final, but a pair of 1:51s at ACCs saw her finish 8th there. She split her races radically differently there, so if she can combine the best of both a swim in the 1:50s beckons.
Carmen Weiler Sastre sits just 19th on the psych sheets with the 1:52.07 she swam for 12th at ACCs, but 5th last year in 1:49.22. The Virginia Tech swimmer is also the European short course champion and Spanish record holder in the 200 back, so watch for a big swim from an outside lane for her in prelims. With a real chance to win the 200 back at the long course European Championships this summer though, her focus may lie elsewhere.
The Verdict
SwimSwam Picks:
Place Swimmer School Season Best Lifetime Best 1 Claire Curzan Virginia 1:46.09 1:46.09 2 Bella Sims Michigan 1:51.26 1:47.11 3 Maggie Wanezek Wisconsin 1:48.31 1:48.31 4 Miranda Grana Indiana 1:49.06 1:48.73 5 Erika Pelaez NC State 1:48.92 1:48.92 6 Teagan O’Dell Cal 1:50.72 1:49.16 7 Leah Shackley NC State 1:49.67 1:48.52 8 Catie Choate Florida 1:49.94 1:49.94Dark Horse:
Dora Molnar (USC) – Molnar is in her freshman season at USC, and is already showing the form which led to he being a world finalist last summer in the 200 back. Her best time of 1:52.73 in yards comes from the Big Ten final, and she has been 1:53 on three other occasions as well. Her long course best of 2:08.53 converts to a time around 1:50, which see her on the bubble for a second swim in Atlanta. If she can drop time like her countrywomen Lilla Minna Abraham did for the Trojans at NCAAs in 2025, Molnar could crash the top-eight party.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 W. NCAA Previews: Curzan-Mania In The 200 Back But A Fearsome Field Behind Her
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