CSL Match 2: Claire Curzan Blasts 1:46 200 Backstroke as Virginia Secures Win
The College Swimming League continued its two-day debut in Westmont, Ill., as Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina State and Virginia all competed in the second match. The Cavaliers, best known for their historic dynasty in women’s swimming during this decade, got contributions from across the board to emerge victorious with 666 points, followed by NC State (554.5), Alabama (263) and Georgia (207.5).
Individually, Claire Curzan shined with five overall victories while Sara Curtis, Anna Moesch, Teagan O’Dell, David King and Thomas Heilman all produced big efforts for Virginia. As for the Wolfpack, Eneli Jefimova and Jerry Fox each came through with multiple individual wins.
Women’s 200 Backstroke
The Virginia Cavaliers, winners of the last six NCAA titles in women’s swimming and diving, never fail to uncork massive swims year-round. In the very first race of the season, veteran Claire Curzan fired off a time of 1:46.85 in the 200 backstroke, winning by more than three seconds over NC State’s Leah Shackley. That time was the fourth-fastest in history, trailing only three of Curzan’s other swims from the past two years. She is the only woman to ever crack 1:47, having topped out at 1:46.09 last February.
Shackley placed second in 1:50.09, with Teagan O’Dell going 1:51.06 for third in her first swim as a Cavalier. Erika Pelaez of the Wolfpack came in fourth at 1:51.75 as the ACC rivals swept the top-four spots.
Men’s 200 Backstroke
The top time by any U.S. swimmer in the men’s 200-meter backstroke in 2026 belonged to David King. Moving over to the yards version of the event, King supplied a victory by more than a second in the first men’s race of the match. His time of 1:39.11 out-paced Alabama’s Tommy Hagar (1:40.16) and NC State’s Daniel Diehl (1:40.22).
Women’s 200 Breaststroke
In her first season at NC State, Eneli Jefimova won the national title in the 100 breaststroke and gave the Wolfpack firepower on relays, but she struggled in the 200-yard event. No more as Jefimova won the event in Westmont in 2:06.72, more than a second clear of Virginia’s Leah Hayes (2:07.99). Jefimova went more than three seconds quicker than her time from last season’s NCAA Championships. Georgia’s Elizabeth Nawrocki placed third (2:08.21).
Men’s 200 Breaststroke
Alabama grabbed a victory here from Steijn Louter, whose time of 1:55.27 finished more than a second clear of anyone else. NC State’s Jan Gajda (1:56.30) and Virginia’s Gerhardt Hoover (1:57.86) completed the top three.
Women’s 500 Freestyle
Katie Grimes kicked off her third season with Virginia in strong fashion. The two-time Olympian might be limited in her CSL impact with signature events like the 400 IM and distance freestyle not part of the program, but she took care of business in the 500 free with a strong time of 4:38.08. That put Grimes more than two seconds clear of Georgia’s Marie Landreneau (4:40.16), with Virginia teammate Cavan Gormsen third (4:40.33).
Men’s 500 Freestyle
Georgia got its first win in the 20-lap men’s race from Tomas Koski, who took down Leonardo Alcantara of Alabama by three tenths. Koski refused to let his Crimson Tide rival get close in the final few lengths, coming in at 4:12.85 to Alcantara’s 4:13.18. The Bulldogs picked up more points with Sean Green getting third in 4:14.49.
Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay
It was no surprise to see the Virginia women dominating the first relay event on the program, with the Cavaliers’ decorated roster of sprinters showing off their skills. Sara Curtis, competing for UVA for the first time since becoming a world-record holder in the long course 50 backstroke, let off in 21.08 before Claire Curzan went 21.04 on the second leg. Anna Moesch (21.85) and Jessica Thompson (21.54) finshed off the relay with a time of 1:25.51, almost two seconds back of the NCAA record but still faster than any non-UVA team swam at last year’s NCAA Championships.
NC State came in second at 1:26.77 with a team of Tyler Driscoll, Lily Christianson, Lily King and Erika Pelaez, the last three of whom split between 21.49 and 21.61. Alabama, with Cadence Vincent leading off in 21.50 before giving way to Jada Scott, Zallen Zara and Gaby Van Brunt, placed third in 1:27.52.
Men’s 200 Freestyle Relay
The NC State men had the best sprint contingent on the night as Kaii Winkler, Quintin McCarty, Jerry Fox and Wells Walker swam a time of 1:15.00, with McCarty and Fox both going 18.4s on their splits. Virginia, however, got the points it needed with second and third-place squads. Maximus Williamson, Thomas Heilman, Josh Howat and Spencer Nicholas went 1:16.85 for second while the B team of Davide Passafaro, Hayden Bellotti, Alexandre Chalendar and David King came in third at 1:17.98.
Women’s 200 Butterfly
Veteran Tess Howley got the better of the field in the 200 fly, securing first place in 1:54.07. Katie Grimes followed Howley to the wall with a second-place time of 1:54.84 while NC State’s Emma Cigna got third (1:55.39).
Men’s 200 Butterfly
It was no surprise to see Thomas Heilman, still a teenager but among the best butterflyers in America for more than three years, swim away with the top spot over 200 yards. Heilman recorded a time of 1:40.54 to defeat Georgia’s Jacob Johnson (1:42.35) by almost two seconds. Heilman placed second in the event at last year’s NCAA Championships in 1:38.16. Alabama’s Gabriel Moura finished well back in third (1:44.21).
Women’s 100 IM
For the second consecutive women’s race, the Cavaliers went 1-2. Teagan O’Dell took first in the short medley in 52.63, with Leah Hayes just over a half-second back in 53.31. NC State also did well here, with Lily Christianson (53.69) and Erika Pelaez (54.07) third and fourth, repectively.
Men’s 100 IM
Spencer Nicholas grabbed the second victory of the day for Virginia’s men, holding off NC State’s Daniel Diehl for 100 IM supremacy. Nicholas swam a time of 47.15 to Diehl’s 47.39, with another Wolfpack swimmer, Simon Bermudez, taking third (48.17).
Women’s 100 Backstroke
Previously second in the 200-yard race, Leah Shackley came though in dominant fashion in the 100 back. She swam a time of 50.58 to defeat the field by more than one-and-a-half seconds. Virginia continued to stack up points, though, with Alyssa Sagle second (52.16) and Jessica Thompson third (52.22).
Men’s 100 Backstroke
The first swimmer with two individual victories on the day was Virginia’s David King, who thrust himself from third place at the halfway point of the 100 back into a narrow victory. King touched in 45.52, two tenths better than NC State’s Isaiah Aleksenko (45.72) and Alabama’s Tommy Hagar (45.87).
Women’s 100 Freestyle
Now in her third season competing for Virginia, Anna Moesch opened her individual racing slate with a tight victory here. Moesch, the reigning NCAA champion and third-fastest performer in history, clocked 46.86 to beat the field by more than a second. Alabama’s Cadence Vincent (47.69) and UVA’s Madi Mintenko (47.87) rounded out the top-three.
Men’s 100 Freestyle
NC State’s Jerry Fox and Virginia’s Maximus Williamson both swam under 42, but Fox got the better of Williamson by nine hundredths, 41.79 to 41.88. Almost a second behind in third was Alabama’s Tony Dragoja (42.78).
Women’s Skins
Following a win in the 200 free relay, Virginia chose backstroke for women’s skins, giving Claire Curzan and Sara Curtis a chance to shine. Those two swimmers occupied the top-two spots through each round of skins, and Curzan defeated Curtis in the final round, 23.74 to 23.98. NC State’s Leah Shackley and Erika Pelaez also advanced to the third round before the Virginia women moved on.
Men’s Skins
The NC State men flexed their dominance in men’s skins. Kaii Winkler shined with a time of 20.10 in the final round, more than a second clear of teammate Quintin McCarty (21.19). Previously, those two both went 19s in the third round to eliminate the Virginia duo of Thomas Heilman and Spencer Nicholas,
Women’s 200 IM
Teagan O’Dell became the first woman to win multiple conventional individual events, this time as she beat the field in the 200 IM by three-and-a-half seconds. O’Dell clocked 1:54.14 to dominate teammate Sophie Umstead (1:57.64) while Georgia teammates Marie Landreneau (1::58.73) and Maddie Thornton (1:59.29) were next.
Men’s 200 IM
Maximus Williamson, last year’s NCAA titlist in the 200 IM, cruised to the top spot by almost two seconds. The Virginia sophomore was timed in 1:42.70, well ahead of NC State’s Daniel Diehl (1:44.64) and Georgia’s Drew Hitchcock (1:45.80).
Women’s 100 Breaststroke
No surprise to see Eneli Jefimova cruising to first in the 100 breast, the NC State sophomore opening her national title defense with an electric time of 57.63. That topped the field by more than two seconds, with Wolfpack teammate Morgan Cope the best of the rest in 59.73 over the UVA duo of Smilte Plytnykaite (59.90) and Leah Hayes (1:00.06).
Men’s 100 Breaststroke
NC State’s Jan Gajda got the win in the men’s 100 breast in 52.55, coming in two tenths better than Virginia’s Danis Volontir (52.78) with Alabama’s Steijn Louter in third (53.05).
Women’s 50 Freestyle
Sara Curtis continued to put up being results with a 50 free win. While she could not match the 21.08 speed she notched as a relay leadoff swimmer earlier, her 21.41 was more than enough to secure first-place points here. Alabama’s Cadence Vincent continued her solid day with a time of 21.63 for second while NC State’s Lily Christianson came in third (21.92).
Men’s 50 Freestyle
This was another event where the NC State men showed off their speed with a 1-2 finish. Jerry Fox led the way in 19.13, adding to his earlier win in the 100 free, while Wells Walker placed second in 19.56. That was a hundredth better than the 19.57 of Virginia’s Maximus Williamson.
Women’s 100 Butterfly
Claire Curzan continued her MVP-worthy performance with her fourth overall win of the day in the 100 fly. Curzan went 50.25 to beat this field by more than a second, adding to her previous top finishes in the 200 back, 200 free relay and backstroke skins. Meanwhile, UVA teammate Tess Howley completed another 1-2 finish with her seocnd-place time of 52.33, just ahead of NC State’s Leah Shackley (52.46).
Men’s 100 Butterfly
Thomas Heilman completed the men’s butterfly sweep with a time of 45.19 to come out on top of the 100 by almost a half-second. Heilman spoiled the party for the NC State duo of Isaiah Aleksenko (45.76) and Kaii Winkler (45.95), who got second and third, respectively.
Women’s 200 Freestyle
Women’s individual racing concluded with another of Virginia’s big names making it two wins on the day. Anna Moesch, who last year became the second-fastest woman ever in the 200 free, beat the field here by more than two seconds with a time of 1:42.99. Georgia’s Marie Landreneau continued a standout day for the Bulldogs with a second-place time of 1:45.14, just ahead of UVA’s Cavan Gormsen (1:45.20).
Men’s 200 Freestyle
To conclude the day of racing, Virginia’s David King became the lone swimmer with three wins in conventional individual events. King put up a time of 1:33.45 to edge Georgia’s Tomas Koski (1:33.57) by 0.12. The Cavaliers picked up a third-place finish from Sebastian Sergile (1:35.16).
Women’s Super Skins
The Virginia women led the way through all four rounds of the 200 medley relay, swimming times under 1:36 on all four occasions and topping out at 1:35.34 in the last round. That performance, with Sara Curtis, Smilte Plynykaite, Claire Curzan and Anna Moesch on the squad, was good enough to defeat NC State (1:36.89) by 1.55 seconds.
Men’s Super Skins
The top time of the event belonged to NC State at 1:25.97 in the opening round, but after four head-to-head matchups, the title went to Virginia as the Cavaliers had enough endurance to take down NC State by two seconds in the finale, 1:26.63 to 1:28.91. Taking part in the first-place effort were Spencer Nicholas, Maximus Williamson, Thomas Heilman and Davide Passafaro.
