Claire Curzan Lowers Her Own 17-18 100 Back NAG In 49.46

2023 WOMEN’S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, February 22 – Saturday, February 25, 2023
• Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way, WA
• Defending Champions:
  • Women: Stanford (1x)
• Live Results
• Live Video
• Championship Central
• Fan Guide
• Psych Sheet
• Day 3 Finals Live Recap

WOMEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE — FINALS

• NCAA Record: 48.74, Katharine Berkoff (NCSU) – 2022 NCAA Championships
• PAC-12 Record: 49.23, Regan Smith (STAN) — 2022 PAC-12 Championships
• PAC-12 Championship Record: 49.23, Regan Smith (STAN) — 2022 PAC-12 Championships
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 50.89
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 52.46

Top 8:

1. Claire Curzan (STAN) – 49.46
2. Isabelle Stadden (CAL) – 50.79
3. Lucie Nordmann (STAN) – 51.91
4. Annika McEnroe (CAL) – 52.23
5. Alex Crisera (STAN) – 52.60
6. Aria Bernal (USC) – 52.67
7. Hanna Henderson (USC) – 53.05
8. Gigi Johnson (STAN) – 53.16

Claire Curzan came from back from a 100 fly disqualification earlier in the session to break her own 17-18 National Age Group Record en route to victory in the 100 back. She was just a few tenths shy of the Pac-12 Championship record set by Regan Smith in the 400 medley relay last year.

Curzan’s previous record stood at 49.52, which was done as a relay lead-off leg at the Cary Sectionals last March. A month prior to that, Curzan had already broken the record at the North Carolina High School meet with a 49.61.

In this race, Curzan split a 24.06 on the opening 50 and returned in 25.40. Her improvement came entirely from the second half of the race, as she was 0.14 faster on that split this year than she was in March of 2022.

Curzan’s time puts her 3rd in the NCAA so far this season as the conference meets wrap up. Virginia’s Gretchen Walsh owns the top time at 49.25, which she recently swam at the ACC Championships. Katharine Berkoff from NC State sits 2nd, just a hundredth ahead of Curzan at 49.45.