Olympian Reinforcements: Grimes, Corbeau, Guiliano Added to Title-Contending Rosters
The University of Virginia women have captured four consecutive NCAA team titles with sights set on No. 5 while the men’s squads from Texas and Indiana are each set to contend for the top spot this March. And even after performing well during the fall season, all three of these groups have added big-name swimmers to their roster for the final championship push, and all of the additions are owners of Olympic medals.
Katie Grimes delayed making a decision on her college destination until she was finished competing in her second Olympics, where she won silver in the 400 IM while also competing in the 1500 freestyle and 10-kilometer open water race. After snagging three medals, one of each color, at the Short Course World Championships in December, she looks like the next piece of the already-unstoppable Cavaliers.
Her best times in the 500 free (4:28.27) and 1650 free (15:26.17) are significantly quicker than the winning times in the events at last year’s NCAA Championships, and her top mark of 3:57.33 in the 400 IM trails only new Virginia teammate Alex Walsh. Grimes lacks the speed required to be a multi-relay participant at the national level, but her 1:42.90 best time in the 200 free will fit in nicely alongside Walsh and Aimee Canny on a title-contending 800 free relay. Grimes has already started strong with the Cavaliers, winning individual three events at her first dual meet.
During the Cavaliers’ run of dominance on the national level, they have had two or three swimmers win individual national titles each year: with Walsh, her younger sister Gretchen Walsh, Paige Madden and Kate Douglass among the winners so far. This year’s group has a real chance at four swimmers reaching the No. 1 spot, with both Walsh sisters in their final year of eligibility, Claire Curzan poised to dominate the backstroke events in her first year on the Cavaliers’ team and now Grimes in the fold. That would make Virginia the first team to have four different winners since the 2018 Stanford women’s team (Katie Ledecky, Ella Eastin, Simone Manuel and Ally Howe).
Caspar Corbeau — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
For the men, an individual-medal winner is returning to the college ranks as Caspar Corbeau resumes his college career at Indiana. The 23-year-old competes internationally for the Netherlands, with an Olympic bronze medal in the 200 breaststroke at the Paris Games the highlight of his career thus far. He also won two silver medals at the Doha World Championships in early 2024, in the 200 breast and as part of the Dutch men’s 400 medley relay team.
During the initial phase of his college career at Texas, Corbeau was a star on extremely talented Longhorn teams that finished first nationally in 2021, second in 2022 and third in 2023. He was an A-finalist in both breaststroke events and a B-finalist in the 200 IM at all three of those national meets, finishing as high as second place (100 breast in 2022, 200 breast in 2023) and helping two relays win national titles. Corbeau is not a one-stroke-only swimmer, with freestyle speed that contributed to a 400 free relay national title during his time at Texas.
Corbeau’s 100 breast best time of 50.49 is quicker than any returning swimmer clocked last season, and only two men (Julian Smith and Nate Germonprez) have beaten the mark this year. Of current college swimmers, only Matt Fallon has beaten Corbeau’s 1:49.15 top mark in the 200 breast. Notably, he is joining what was already the country’s most elite breaststroke group, with returners Jassen Yep and Josh Matheny plus graduate transfer Brian Benzing all national top-eight swimmers last year.
The last major addition is Chris Guiliano, who is moving from Notre Dame to Texas in light of the Fighting Irish program’s suspension. In 2024, Guiliano became the first American since Matt Biondi to qualify for the Olympics in the 50, 100 and 200 free, and he was a top-five finisher in the yards equivalent of all three events at the 2024 NCAA Championships.
Now, Guiliano adds a big boost of speed and depth to a Texas team that has already seen Hubert Kos, Luke Hobson, Rex Maurer and Will Modglin light up the scoreboard this season. He fit in perfectly during his Texas debut, and in the coming championship season, an additional talented sprinter gives head coach Bob Bowman numerous options for relay lineups that can allow the Longhorns to maximize points across the board. Guiliano will have a tough time winning any individual events given the presence of Jordan Crooks, Josh Liendo, Gui Caribe, Jack Alexy and Hobson, but three sets of A-final points plus his impact on relays could be a difference-maker.