Freshmen Who Will Make an Impact in Women’s College Swimming This Season: The Rich Get Richer
As if the University of Virginia women’s team needed another influx of talent to make a fifth consecutive NCAA team title a near certainty.
Gretchen Walsh is one of the most dominant sprinters ever in the college ranks, a swimmer with the fastest time ever in four out of 13 individual events contested in college swimming, and she returns for a senior season. Her older sister Alex, a two-time Olympian and twice a three-time individual champion at the national meet, returns for a fifth year, as Maxine Parker and Anna Keating, while Aimee Canny and Emma Weber return to Charlottesville after Olympic experience in Paris. Claire Curzan will make her collegiate debut for Virginia this year.
Not enough? How about adding Katie Grimes to the mix, with the two-time Olympian recently announcing plans to come to UVA beginning this spring and add another X-factor in the team’s title run. Grimes is best known for her dual pool and open water successes, which included Olympic silver in the 400 IM in Paris, but she has also ripped incredible short course yards times in recent years.
Grimes’ best times in the 500 free (4:28.27) and 1650 free (15:26.17) are substantially quicker than the winning times at the NCAA Championships at any point since Katie Ledecky’s days at Stanford, and her 400 IM top mark of 3:57.02 would have been behind on Alex Walsh’s winning time last year. A 200 free best time of 1:42.90 is a boost to any 800 free relay.
And Grimes only added to what was already among the country’s best freshman classes, led by Leah Hayes and Anna Moesch. Hayes made her senior-level international debut two years ago and won 200 IM bronze at the World Championships, and she followed that up with three golds at the World Junior Championships in 2023. Hayes comes into college with NCAA A-final-worthy times in both IM events plus significant versatility. Moesch, with freestyle times of 21.73, 47.11 and 1:43.35 and a collection of junior-level international medals of her own, figures to step into a relay role right away for the Cavaliers.
Virginia is not the only top-flight swimming program poised for an influx of young talent this season. Here are some of the others that will contribute right away.
Leah Shackley & Erika Pelaez, NC State
Leah Shackley — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
The Wolfpack welcome in the reigning National High School Swimmer of the Year in Shackley, and her backstroke and butterfly talents will play right away in college. Shackley was an Olympic Trials finalist in the 100-meter back and a semifinalist in the 100-meter fly, and her yards best times would already have scored big points on the national level: 50.29 in the 100 fly would have been third at last year’s NCAAs; 50.43 in the 100 back, second to departed NC State star (and Olympian) Katharine Berkoff.
Pelaez, meanwhile, brings sprint talent so prized in college swimming. She was a semifinalist in the 100 back and 100 free at the U.S. Olympic Trials, and she could become the program’s top sprint freestyler right away with a best time of 47.78 in the 100-yard event.
Ella Jansen & Jillian Crooks, Tennessee
The Volunteers add two swimmers who swam for their respective countries at the Paris Olympics. Jansen placed 11th in the 400 IM and helped Team Canada to a fourth-place finish in the 800 freestyle relay, and she is likely capable of A-final performances right away in mid-distance freestyle and the 400 IM while providing relay help. Crooks, the younger sister of Vols NCAA champion Jordan Crooks, has already been as fast as 47.30 in the 100 free. After Tennessee placed fourth on the national level last year, this duo will be important in any hopes of returning to that level this year.
Piper Enge, Texas
The Longhorns have finished second at the NCAA Championships each of the past three seasons, but they lose a pair of elite breaststrokers this year, with Anna Elendt opting not to take a fifth year and Lydia Jacoby turning pro. Thus, Texas could turn to Enge as their top breaststroker as soon as this season. Enge represented the U.S. at the World Junior Championships in 2023 and at the lightly-attended senior edition of Worlds earlier this year, where she finished sixth in the 50-meter breast. In yards, her best 100 breast time of 58.95 is already good enough to score on the national level.
Addison Sauickie, Stanford
Here is another swimmer who has excelled on the junior level and taken advantage of the opportunity to race at the senior-level World Championships in February. She was the world junior champion in the 200 free and bronze medalist in the 400 free before finishing in the top-12 in both events at Worlds. She did not advance out of prelims at this summer’s Olympic Trials, but her long course best times of 1:57.98 (200 free) and 4:08.94 (400 free) suggest Sauickie could factor into the Cardinal’s plans in the mid-distance events this year.