2024 W. NCAA Previews: How Low Can Gretchen Walsh Go In The 100 Freestyle?

2024 WOMEN’S NCAA SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 20-23, 2024
• Gabrielsen Natatorium, Athens, Georgia
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• Official Psych Sheets (with cutlines)
• Invited swimmers by team (not including relay swimmers)
• Alternates list
• Eligible Relays
• SwimSwam Preview Index

Women’s 100 Freestyle

• U.S. Open Record: 45.16 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• American Record: 45.16 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• NCAA Record: 45.16 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• 2023 NCAA Champion: Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (45.61)

After multiple historic swims through the first four days of the 2024 ACC Championships, all eyes were on Gretchen Walsh as she walked to her block for the 100 freestyle final. At 2023 NCAAs, she’d taken a run at Simone Manuel‘s American record of 45.56, but just missed it as she won the title in 45.61. But after Walsh’s ACC performance to that point, it seemed like Manuel’s record was living on borrowed time.

At the touch, Walsh blew past Manuel’s record, blasting a 45.16 to take over as the fastest American and fastest NCAA performer in history. Last year, Walsh had Macneil to contend with, but no one in the field this year has cracked the top 10 performers in the history of this event. She’s seeded 1.45 seconds ahead of 2nd seed, an absolutley ridiculous margin for a 100 freestyle.

This race is less a question of whether Walsh will win but what time she’ll go. She was clear in her interviews during ACCs that she feels she has more left to give at NCAAs–how much lower can she bring the record?

The Sub-47 Club

Walsh is in a class of her own. In her wake, there’s another group of swimmers who have separated themselves from the rest of the field by virtue of breaking 47 seconds this season. Those swimmers are (by seed order) Isabel Ivey (46.61), Camille Spink (46.69), Jasmine Nocentini (46.75), and Katharine Berkoff (46.81).

Camille Spink (courtesy: Tennessee Athletics)

At SECs, Camille Spink swept the sprint freestyles. She continued to show off the progress she’s made since arriving at Tennessee, dropping .59 seconds to post the first sub-47 performance of her career in 46.69. There are just three freshmen seeded to score in the 100 freestyle, and Spink leads them by a wide margin. She’s put together a strong freshman campaign and seems to keep improving with every swim. As one of Tennessee’s best sprinters, she–like many of the women in this field–are going to have a busy meet. But there’s no reason to think that she won’t be right in the heart of the action and potentially continue to drop time.

Despite winning the 100 freestyle, Spink was not the fastest 100 freestyler at SECs. Leading off the 400 freestyle relay, Isabel Ivey bettered Spink’s time with a personal best of her own in 46.61. That was her first official time under 47 seconds since she posted her previous PB of 46.95 in 2021. Gator training is clearly working for Ivey–she’s posted lifetime bests across multiple events this season. This one makes her the fastest person in the field not named Gretchen Walsh and a legitimate threat for the runner-up title.

When Nocentini transferred to Virginia, she was well known for her breaststroke skill. During this season in Charlottesville, her sprint freestyle has come alive. In the 100 free, she’s cut almost a full second off her personal best, firing off a 46.78 personal best in the ACC final then bettering that by .01 seconds leading off the 400 free relay. The Virginia women have plenty of 100 freestyle depth but Nocentini has turned herself into the #2 sprinter for the Cavaliers–an impressive feat given the talent on the team.

Berkoff notched her own lifetime best during the ACC 100 freestyle final, taking third behind the Cavalier duo of Walsh and Nocentini in 46.81. The swim shaved six-hundredths off her personal best, breaking the 46.87 she swam for 5th at 2023 NCAAs. Berkoff is having an excellent final season for NC State; the 100 freestyle field is tough, but it looks likely that Berkoff will once again be a big factor in the ‘A’ final.

The Sprint Duos

If you look at the official psych sheets for the 100 freestyle, a pattern starts to emerge. Six teams have two swimmers in scoring position, giving these six teams more than half of the top 16 seeds. Obviously Virginia’s two (Walsh and Nocentini) are the best place pair but Florida, Tennessee, Louisville, USC, and Indiana also have two swimmers projected to earn points.

Pairs Seeded to Score:

• Virginia — Gretchen Walsh (1st) and Jasmine Nocentini (4th)
• Florida — Isabel Ivey (2nd) and Micayla Cronk (12th)
• Tennessee — Camille Spink (3rd) and Brooklyn Douthwright (15th)
• Louisville — Gabi Albiero (7th) and Christiana Regenauer (11th)
• USC — Vasilissa Buinaia (8th) and Minna Abraham (14th)
• Indiana — Anna Peplowski (9th) and Kristina Paegle (13th)

In 2023, Louisville was the only school to put two swimmers–Albiero and Regenauer–into the championship final. Albiero finished 4th in a personal best of 46.80 while Regenauer added a couple tenths from the 47.33 personal best she swam in prelims and was 7th. Of the two, Regenauer has gotten closer to her personal best this season, swimming 47.52 at ACCs. Albiero hasn’t broken 47 yet this season and holds a season best 47.28. (For reference, she was seeded at 46.95 in 2023).

Anna Peplowski (photo: Jack Spitser)

Interestingly, the Louisville pair are the only two on the list above that haven’t swum a personal best this season. They’re all capable of making it back for a second swim, but two names particularly worth paying attention to are Anna Peplowski and Micayla Cronk.

Since her long-course breakout last summer, it feels like Peplowski hasn’t slowed down. She’s continued to drop time during her junior season at Indiana. In less than a year, she’s cut 1.01 seconds from her 100 freestyle best, dropping from 48.46 to 47.45. Her improvements help the Hoosiers’ standings ambitions; in 2023, Peplowski did not race this event individually and now she’s seeded on the edge of the ‘A’ final.

Cronk is similarly important to Florida’s points ambitions. They are projected to finish 3rd after Texas passes them in the 200 fly. If they’re going to stop that from happening, they need swimmers to outperform their seeds. Last season, Cronk added time from SECs to NCAAs and after being seeded 20th finished 28th. For the Gators to finish 2nd, that can’t happen. They need Cronk to score and if possible, sneak into the ‘A’ final.

Luckily, Cronk has a little more breathing room than she did last year. In 2023, her best was a 47.99 and that’s exactly what it took to make the ‘B’ final. This year, Cronk comes into the meet not only seeded to score but with a best time of 47.61.

More ‘A’ Final Contenders

Spink may be the top seeded freshman, but Michigan’s Stephanie Balduccini is close behind her at 5th. Balduccini–and Minna Abraham, the other freshman projected to score–has spent the season adjusting to yards. Balduccini races for Brazil internationally and burst onto the NCAA season with stellar performances at the Georgia Fall Invite.

Amy Fulmer (photo: Jack Spitser)

In the 100 free, she clocked 47.26. She wasn’t close to that at Big Tens, swimming 47.77, but if she can get back to that form with a full taper, she’ll be a threat.

Ohio State fifth-year Amy Fulmer won the ‘B’ final last year with a 47.39, beating the field by .33 seconds. Fulmer has been faster than that too, she holds a personal best of 47.02 from Big Tens. She’s seeded 10th with a season best of 47.48 this year. Getting back down to last year’s form would be huge for her in her last meet for the Buckeyes.

Their ‘A’ finalist last year, Katharine Zenick, is seeded outside of scoring position at 18th (47.79). It’s not out of the question that she’s got a big swim in store for NCAAs and will get back down to last year’s form, which could put Ohio State on the list of scoring sprint duos. But as it stands, Fulmer looks like their best shot at scoring points in this event, making it all the more important for her to put up a strong morning swim.

SwimSwam Picks

Dark Horse: Grace Cooper, Senior (Texas) — There are always surprises at NCAAs, especially on the last day of the meet. There are several strong dark horse candidates in this race, but we’re going with Grace Cooper. She’s had a breakthrough senior season, particularly in the 50 freestyle where she became Texas’ school record holder at midseason (21.66). She also posted a personal best 47.79 in the 100 free. She’s tied for 18th seed and is the highest placed Longhorn in this event. Getting into finals would help Texas offset Florida’s points in this event, even a little. After making such big drops at midseason, does Cooper have another big swim in her on a full taper?