Conference Swimming Championships Women’s Preview: Gretchen Walsh Goes For More Records, Texas Meets the SEC
Forces far outside of swimming’s control brought about the latest round of NCAA conference realignment, and the musical chairs landed universities with powerhouse swimming and diving teams into new conferences at random. Texas is now in the SEC, which makes some sense geographically, while Stanford and Cal have to travel across the country to Greensboro, N.C., to compete in the ACC. It’s an absurd arrangement but one that will yield some Olympic-level rematches at a conference meet.
Less than seven months ago, Torri Huske ran down Gretchen Walsh to win Olympic gold in the 100 butterfly by four hundredths. Walsh entered as the world-record holder and pre-race favorite, but Huske’s endurance made the difference down the stretch in the long course pool. At this week’s ACC Championships, the two will race for the first time since Paris but in a completely different format, one where Huske has virtually no chance of topping Walsh.
Stanford’s Torri Huske — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Walsh is the fastest swimmer ever in the 100 fly in all three courses, but her advantage over anyone else in history in short course yards is more than a second after she clocked 47.35 at midseason. Huske ranks No. 4 all-time in the event at 48.96, and even if she has a huge drop in her (likely), Walsh could reach 46-second territory at the conference meet or the ensuing national championships. Huske is a strong underwater dolphin kicker, but Walsh is even better, having used her kickouts to rewrite record books in short course yards and short course meters.
It’s also possible that the Walsh-Huske showdown in the 100 fly does not happen this week, with both swimmers entered in more than the maximum three individual events. Walsh could reset any of her American, NCAA and U.S. Open records, which include the sprint freestyle events as well as the 100 backstroke, and she could also challenge the 1:40 barrier if Virginia opts to place her on the leadoff leg of the 800 free relay, which was the case at the 2024 conference meet. She rarely swims the 200 free, but Walsh is the third-fastest swimmer ever in the event behind Missy Franklin and Mallory Comerford.
As for Huske, the Walsh sister that she has the better chance of dethroning is Alex Walsh, a fifth-year swimmer for the Cavaliers who has won three national titles in her career in the 200 IM. The ACC meet will be the first time the elder Walsh has raced Huske in the 200-yard IM since the 2023 NCAA Championships, where Huske edged Walsh for second place by one hundredth, with both swimmers breaking the existing fastest time in history but finishing far behind Kate Douglass.
With the Walsh sisters at the helm of a deep returning core plus new additions Claire Curzan and Katie Grimes, no one will be defeating the four-time defending national champion Cavaliers at the ACC Championships, but the other power-conference meets taking place this week over far more intrigue in the team competitions. Meanwhile, key female swimmers will get important racing experience in advance of all-important national-level showdowns in March.
Texas Arrives in Dynamite SEC
Texas’ Emma Sticklen — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
The Longhorns have not been seriously challenged for a conference title since in-state rival Texas A&M departed the Big 12 after the 2011-12 season. But now, with Texas having followed the Aggies to the Southeastern Conference, nothing is guaranteed. Sure, Texas is still the conference favorite with many of the names responsible for three consecutive national runnerup finishes on the roster and fifth-year swimmer Emma Sticklen putting together the finest season of her career.
But Texas will have to fend off two other teams that were top-five finishers at last year’s NCAA Championships: Florida and Tennessee. The Gators jumped up to third on the national level in 2024 behind two national titles from Bella Sims and a win in the 800 free relay, and the Lady Vols have the country’s best breaststroke group featuring Mona McSharry and McKenzie Siroky plus freestyler Camille Spink and backstroker/IMer Josephine Fuller.
Indiana vs. Michigan in the Big Ten
The Big Ten women’s meet is the only single-gender meet taking place among the major conference meets this week, and unlike the SEC and ACC meets, it will not begin until Wednesday. But there is still plenty of intrigue as Indiana attempts to hold off the Michigan Wolverines, who are putting together a strong season under second-year coach Matt Bowe. Indiana returns freestyler Anna Peplowski for her final collegiate season, but Michigan might have freestyle depth for relay purposes while Stephanie Balduccini and Rebecca Diaconsecu could give Peplowski a serious run in the 200 free.
Mid-Distance Mayhem
Florida’s Bella Sims — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Sims and Peplowski finished 1-2 in both the 200 and 500 free at last season’s NCAA Championships, but new arrivals to the collegiate scene plus swimmers making big improvements will make these races extremely competitive when the country’s top swimmers meet at the NCAA Championships in Federal Way, Wash., four weeks after these conference tilts. What happens this week will set up what is to come.
In the 500 free, the first individual event on the program at all DI championship meets, the current nation-leading time belongs to Jillian Cox, a Texas freshman who finished third in the 400 and 800-meter free at last year’s Olympic Trials. At the SEC Championships, she will take on Sims and her Gator teammate Emma Weyant, the third-place finisher in the event at the 2024 NCAAs and the Olympic bronze medalist in the 400 IM. The Georgia duo of Rachel Stege and Abby McCulloh both currently rank among the country’s top-10 swimmers, as does Tennessee’s Ella Jansen.
In the ACC, Grimes enters college as the third-fastest swimmer ever in the event with a best time of 4:28.27, but she will have to deal with Stanford’s Aurora Roghair, who has been as fast as 4:31.63 this season, good for No. 3 in the national rankings behind Cox and Sims. And in the Big Ten, the Michigan duo of Hannah Bellard and Diaconescu both have superior times to Peplowski so far this season.
As for the 200 free, the Peplowski-Balduccini showdown in the Big Ten should be intriguing while Sims must deal with Spink and Olympic medalist Erin Gemmell to take home the SEC title. In the ACC, Alex Walsh might swim the 200 free, but even if she focuses on other events, her Virginia teammates Aimee Canny and Anna Moesch could have their hands full with Cal’s Lea Polonsky and Stanford’s Kayla Wilson.
Re-Stacking the 100 Breaststroke
Only three of the top-eight women in the 100 breaststroke from last year’s NCAA Championships are still in college swimming: Tennessee’s McSharry, USC’s Kaitlyn Dobler and Auburn’s Stasya Makarova, so we will surely see some new blood contending in this event. The top of the national rankings currently looks quite familiar, but not with 100 breaststroke specialists: the recent Cavalier Invite saw the Walsh sisters post the country’s two best times, with Alex going 56.85 to beat Gretchen by one hundredth. Gretchen will not race breaststroke again this season, but Alex is the likely national favorite if the event remains on her program.
If the elder Walsh sister swims the 100 breast in Greensboro, she will have to deal with teammate Emma Weber, a surprise Olympic qualifier in the 100-meter breast, as well as three swimmers who have made big improvements this season: Duke’s Kaelyn Gridley, North Carolina’s Skyler Smith and Stanford’s Lucy Bell. The bigger intrigue lies in the SEC, where McSharry will face off againdt three newcomers who have already clocked 57s this season: Tennessee’s Siroky, Florida’s Anita Bottazzo and Texas’ Piper Enge.
