{"id":607887,"date":"2025-03-21T13:00:58","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T20:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=607887"},"modified":"2025-03-21T13:00:58","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T20:00:58","slug":"ncaa-womens-championships-27-teams-secure-friday-evening-swims-but-team-status-quo-unchanged-heat-sheet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ncaa-womens-championships-27-teams-secure-friday-evening-swims-but-team-status-quo-unchanged-heat-sheet\/","title":{"rendered":"NCAA Women’s Championships: 27 Teams Secure Friday Evening Swims But Team Status Quo Unchanged (Heat Sheet)"},"content":{"rendered":"

NCAA Women’s Championships: 27 Teams Secure Friday Evening Swims But Team Status Quo Unchanged (Heat Sheet)<\/strong><\/p>\n

None of the results from Friday morning’s preliminary session<\/a> at the NCAA Women’s Championships changed the notion that Virginia is in prime position to win its fifth consecutive national title while Stanford has the edge for second place. However, the session did brine numerous new schools into position to score, with 27 total squads securing top-16 performances and a spot in the evening finals.<\/p>\n

Click here to view the heat sheet for Friday’s finals<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seven teams are projected to score their first points of the meet Friday, barring a disqualification. Houston’s\u00a0Henrietta Fangli<\/strong>, BYU’s Mackenzie Miller<\/strong> and\u00a0Cincinnati’s Joleigh Crye<\/strong> all qualified for the championship final of the 100 breaststroke, and Southern Illinois swimmer\u00a0Celia Pulido<\/strong> accomplished the same feat in the 100 backstroke. Princeton had two consolation finals swimmers in the 400 IM while Akron and Washington State each put their first swimmers into finals.<\/p>\n

Moreover, Duke and Virginia Tech each secured an eight-place result (Kaelyn Gridley<\/strong> and\u00a0Carmen Weiler Sastre<\/strong>, respectively) to ensure that both teams will more than double their current single-digit point totals in the evening.<\/p>\n

As for the teams at the top of the scoreboard, Virginia did its job with six A-finalists Friday, two more than any other team.\u00a0Gretchen Walsh<\/strong> (100 fly), Alex Walsh<\/strong> (100 breast) and\u00a0Claire Curzan<\/strong> (100 back) all have the top times in their respective events while freshmen\u00a0Katie Grimes<\/strong>,\u00a0Leah Hayes<\/strong> and\u00a0Anna Moesch<\/strong> all secured spots in the top heat. The Cavaliers surely hoped for\u00a0Aimee Canny<\/strong> (200 free) and\u00a0Emma Weber<\/strong> (100 breast) to reach the top-eight, but their placement in consolation finals will not be crushing. No expected scorers missed out.<\/p>\n

Stanford has outperformed expectations thus far, and that trend continued Friday. As\u00a0Torri Huske<\/strong> cruised into the 100 fly final as expected, Lillie Nordmann<\/strong> and\u00a0Gigi Johnson<\/strong> each dropped time as they took 15th and 16th, respectively.\u00a0Caroline Bricker<\/strong> and\u00a0Lucy Bell<\/strong> are title contenders in the 400 IM while freshman\u00a0Emily Thompson<\/strong> made her second medley B-final of the meet.\u00a0Kayla Wilson<\/strong> (sixth) and\u00a0Aurora Roghair<\/strong> (ninth) got spots in the 200 free, although Roghair surely had her sights on the A-final, and a big drop for\u00a0Lucy Thomas\u00a0<\/strong>resulted in a B-final swim in the 100 breast.<\/p>\n

Thursday’s prelims were near-disastrous for Florida, with last year’s third-place team sitting ninth after getting zero A-finalists. But the Gators stabilized Friday as both\u00a0Emma Weyant<\/strong> and\u00a0Bella Sims<\/strong> came back from non-scoring performances in the 500 free to finish at or near the top of their respective events.\u00a0Olivia Peoples<\/strong> snuck into a loaded 100 fly final as the eighth seed while\u00a0Mabel Zavaros<\/strong> had a big drop to tie for second in the 400 IM.<\/p>\n

Also much improved were Texas and Tennessee. Diving bailed out the Longhorns Thursday, with a pair of top-eight finishers in the 1-meter event helping compensate for a just two A-finalists in swimming. Longhorns Emma Sticklen<\/strong> and\u00a0Abby Arens<\/strong> made the top heat of the 100 fly, although\u00a0Olivia Bray<\/strong> falling from third last year to 18th will hurt.\u00a0Erin Gemmell<\/strong> (200 free) and\u00a0Piper Enge<\/strong> (100 breast) also made A-finals.<\/p>\n

The Lady Vols took hits when Josephine Fuller<\/strong> finished three hundredths out of the 100 back A-final and Camille Spink<\/strong> missed scoring territory in the 200 free (she was an A-finalist last year before she was disqualified), but\u00a0Mona McSharry<\/strong> and\u00a0McKenzie Siroky<\/strong> went 2-3 in the 100 breast after a strong swim from\u00a0Brooklyn Douthwright<\/strong> in the 200 free.<\/p>\n

Indiana also has three A-finalists, with\u00a0Anna Peplowski<\/strong> a title contender in the 200 free while\u00a0Miranda Grana<\/strong> reached the top-eight in both the 100 fly and 100 back. Cal has two top-eight finishers with Lea Polonsky<\/strong> in the 200 free and Mary-Ambre Moluh<\/strong> in the 100 back while Louisville’s Ella Welch<\/strong> and\u00a0Gabi Albiero<\/strong> both reached the top heat in the 100 fly). Wisconsin’s\u00a0Callahan Dunn<\/strong> snuck into the 400 IM A-final before teammate Phoebe Bacon<\/strong> took her usual place in the 100 back field.<\/p>\n