2025 Women’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships
The pre-selection psych sheets for the 2025 Women’s NCAA Division I Championships dropped on Tuesday, revealing that Olympian and two-time NCAA champion Bella Sims will take on the 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke, and 200 backstroke next month in Federal Way.
This is a different line-up for Sims than last year, as she’s decided not to attempt a title defense in the 200 freestyle and instead race the 100 backstroke. Sims’ backstroke looked strong all season, culminating in her breaking the SEC record twice in one night at the conference championships. She won the individual event in 49.20, then swam 48.97 leading off Florida’s 400 medley relay. The swim makes her the third woman under the 49-second barrier in event history.
The other two athletes in the 48-point club are Gretchen Walsh and Katharine Berkoff. Either Walsh or Berkoff has won this event at NCAAs since 2021. But with Berkoff graduating and Walsh choosing the 100 fly, Sims enters as the top seed and favorite in the event.
Now a sophomore, Sims has kept her other two events the same as her freshman season, where she won the 500 freestyle and finished third in the 200 backstroke. Like last year, Sims skipped the 500 freestyle at the SEC Championships, instead racing the 200 IM. She’s seeded second in the 500 freestyle with her 4:31.06 from midseason, her best swim in two years and faster than she went to win the 2024 NCAA title.
Sims faces a deep field in the 500 freestyle, which includes her former Sandpiper teammate Katie Grimes, who joined Virginia in January. Sims clocked her lifetime best 4:28.64 swimming next to Grimes at the 2022 Winter Junior Championship — West. There’s also the top seed Jillian Cox (4:30.68) who owns the SEC record and has been on fire this season. Aurora Roghair, also on a huge improvement curve, is seeded third at 4:31.63, with Anna Peplowski and Rachel Stege also in the top five. Last year’s silver medalist Emma Weyant returns too.
Sims is also seeded second in the 200 backstroke after swimming a lifetime best of 1:48.28 at the SEC Championships. At the top of the psych sheet is Virginia’s Claire Curzan, who swam an NCAA record 1:46.87 earlier this season and is the heavy favorite coming into NCAAs. Sims is one of three swimmers with 1:48-point season-bests, joining freshman Leah Shackley (1:48.73) and defending champion Phoebe Bacon (1:48.75).
Her lifetime best effort last month improved on the 1:48.47 she swam at the 2024 NCAA Championships for third.
