Virginia looks to break longest national title winning streak in women’s swimming at NCAA championships

Mar 18, 2026 - 20:00

0 0

Virginia looks to break longest national title winning streak in women’s swimming at NCAA championships

FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON - MARCH 21: Claire Curzan of the Virginia Cavaliers reacts after the 100 yard backstroke final during the Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championship held at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center on March 21, 2025 in Federal Way, Washington. (Photo by Tyler McFarland/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships return in 2026 with a familiar question: can anyone catch up with the University of Virginia?

Well, the ACC champion Cavaliers are chasing another title, and the Virginia women are big favorites to win a sixth straight NCAA team title. The win would be a new record in Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving.

Even after the departure of program cornerstones, Gretchen Walsh and Alex Walsh, who combined for 48 NCAA titles, the Cavaliers have reloaded. In 2026, Virginia has reloaded and the team is looking as strong as ever in 2026.

Four days of swimming and diving competition kick off today at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia with the 1,650-yd freestyle, 200-yd medley relay, and 800-yd freestyle relay.

Virginia is the heavy favorite to six-peat

Once again all eyes are on the Hoos who are five-time defending champions. The University of Virginia women's swimming and diving team has established a dynasty and haven’t shown signs of slowing down. Head coach Todd DeSorbo has built a squad full of elite depth and versatility.

Despite being upset by Louisville in the 200-yd medley relay at ACCs, No. 1 Virginia is the favorite to win all five relays at the NCAA championships. Virginia will once again be the team to beat.

Another title would also move the program past Auburn into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time championship list.

The 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships begin next week in Atlanta. Will Virginia win its 6th title in a row? pic.twitter.com/CMUyEexPzU— Swimming Stats (@SwimmingStats) March 13, 2026

No. 2 Stanford, runners up at the ACC Championships, and No. 3 Texas, the back-to-back SEC champions, have reloaded with top-tier recruiting classes and international talent. Both teams will try and return to the top three after placing second and third in 2025.

No. 4 Michigan, who won the Big 10 team title, has had a tremendous season and will be trying to jump back into the top four after finishing ninth a year ago.

No. 5 California, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 6 Indiana and No. 8 Louisville will be in a closely contested team race for the spot in the top five.

Additionally, diving could prove to be decisive in these close battles, with valuable points available across all three boards that often separate teams in a tight championship race.

Stars to Monitor

The 2026 NCAA Women’s Championships will be defined by star power across the board. A mix of Olympians, world medalists, and NCAA breakout performers headline this year’s meet.

At the center is Torri Huske, Claire Curzan, and Bella Sims. These three are the all-around standouts. Each brings international experience and the ability to contend for NCAA titles in multiple events. Huske, Curzan, and Sims also play a huge role in Stanford, Virginia, and Michigan’s relays.

Huske will contest the 50-yd and 100-yd freestyles as well as the 100-yd butterfly. Curzan, who broke the NCAA record in the 200-yd backstroke at the ACC championships, will contest the 100-yd and 200-yd backstroke and 100-yd butterfly. Sims also entered in the 100-yd and 200-yd backstrokes, setting up for a duel with Curzan. Her third event will be the 400-yd IM, where she is the top seed.

The sprint freestyle events will be highlighted by Huske, Tennessee junior Camille Spink, and Virginia freshman Sara Curtis. Spink swept the 50-yd, 100-yd, and 200-yd freestyles at the SEC championships while Sarah Curtis adds explosive top-end speed that makes her a serious contender in both sprints.

The distance freestyle events are likely to further showcase Jillian Cox’s dominance. The Texas sophomore has the ability to wear down the field in both the 500-yd and 1650-yd.

Anna Moesch is the name to watch in the 100-yd and 200-yd freestyle. She has had a breakout sophomore season for Virginia and was the fourth woman in history to break 1:40 in the 200-yd freestyle. She’ll be chasing Missy Franklin’s legendary NCAA record of 1:39.10 set in 2015.

🥇 𝐀𝐂𝐂 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍 🥇
Anna Moesch wins the 200 Free (1:39.72) #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/zINh4J2eIN— Virginia Swimming and Dive (@UVASwimDive) February 20, 2026

The 200-yd butterfly could be one of the meet’s most exciting races. The event will feature Michigan junior Hannah Bellard, Texas junior Campbell Stoll and Indiana freshman Alex Shackell. Bellard and Shackell finished first and second at the Big Ten championships and Stoll won the SEC title. All three swimmers are seeded at times faster than one minute and 52 seconds, with seed times being separated by less than four tenths of a second.

In the breaststroke events the spotlight turns to Stanford’s Lucy Bell and NC State’s Eneli Jefimova. Jefimova, already established on the international stage, holds the fastest time in the NCAA this year in the 100-yd breaststroke, while Bell will be the favorite in the 200-yd breaststroke.

When and where are the 2026 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships

Dates: Wednesday March 18-Saturday, March 21

Location: McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia

The 2026 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships will start on Wednesday, March 18, and conclude on Saturday, March 21.

This year's meet will be held at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia, which was originally built for the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. The meet will be streamed all week on ESPN+.

Event Schedule

Wednesday, March 18 | Live results

Preliminaries: 10:00 am ET, Finals 6:00 pm ET