5 College Swimming Dual Meets to Watch During 2026

5 College Swimming Dual Meets to Watch During 2026

For most school swimmers, “There’s no place like home for the holidays.” After months of laborious work and grinding competitors, many athletes will return house for a quick vacation respite. However, the give attention to the challenges forward will not be misplaced, an athletes will look to the second half of their seasons. As the New Year rolls in, there are a number of thrilling twin meets on the faculty swimming horizon. Here’s a have a look at essentially the most intriguing.

5. Tennessee at Georgia – Jan 24

Our record begins with an old style SEC matchup. Both groups have traded wins over the previous couple of years, and tight finishes have been the norm. This yr needs to be one other nice one, with each colleges’ males’s and girls’s squads ranked within the prime 10. 

On the boys’s facet, the meet needs to be a conflict of types. Georgia’s Luca Urlando shall be a key storyline, seeking to placed on a present once more after setting an American document within the 200 fly at this meet a yr in the past. On the opposite facet, the Volunteers’ dash depth shall be headlined by Gui Caribe and Nikoli Blackman.

On the ladies’s facet, the Bulldogs will look to avenge three straight losses to the Volunteers. Tennessee junior Camille Spink and sophomore McKenzie Siroky dominated the final matchup, successful a mixed 5 particular person races. Will the addition of star freshman freestyler Kennedi Dobson assist Georgia flip it round?

4. Virginia at N.C. State – Jan. 24

N.C State has created the most effective atmospheres in school swimming at Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center, as proven by this yr’s “Raleigh Rumble.” If anybody can deal with it, nonetheless,  it’s five-time NCAA girls’s champion Virginia. UVA’s girls have regarded excellent this season, cruising to an undefeated document. The Cavaliers’ National Team stars have shined, with Claire Curzan and Leah Hayes placing collectively sturdy seasons, amongst others. The Wolfpack has its personal firepower, although, as freshman Eneli Jefimova is a world-class breaststroker and Leah Shackley ranks among the many world’s premier backstrokers. 

3. Indiana at Michigan – Jan. 9

Another convention rivalry is available in at No. 3 on this record, as two of the Big Ten’s most interesting face off. The Hoosiers have dominated the matchup in recent times, successful three straight on the ladies’s facet and 4 consecutive on the boys’s facet. But with the Wolverines’ efficiency this yr, particularly on the ladies’s facet, a high quality meet is anticipated. 

Zalan Sarkany and Owen McDonald are prime weapons for the Hoosiers, who earned a 58-point victory final yr. But Michigan is transferring in the precise path and can depend on freestyler Antoine Sauve and breaststroker Luka Mledonovic to shut the hole this yr. 

Things might be extra attention-grabbing on the ladies’s facet. The addition of former Florida Gator Bella Sims has propelled the Michigan girls to their first top-5 nationwide rating since 2019-20. Junior Miranda Grana and the Hoosiers shall be a tricky problem for the Wolverines. 

2. Louisville at Texas – Jan. 23

Texas, the reigning NCAA males’s champ, will tackle Louisville in Austin. The Longhorns have breezed via their early schedule on each the boys’s and girls’s sides, defeating each Alabama and Tennessee. In the Cardinals, the Longhorns will battle squads ranked within the top-10 within the nation.

Texas is armed with unbelievable depth, and world champion Hubert Kos is anticipated again for the faculty scene after excelling in World Cup motion throughout the fall. Louisville has obtained a spark from freshman Nikita Sheremet, the world junior champion within the 50 freestyle.

In the ladies’t meet, sophomores Campbell Chase and Jillian Cox will look to raise the Longhorns whereas Julia Dennis is an elite sprinter for Louisville.

1. Cal at Stanford – Jan. 30/31

There’s nothing fairly like Cal-Stanford. For many years, each groups have circled this matchup on the calendar. It’s one of many longest-lasting rivalries in sports activities, between two of its most established swim applications. This matchup needs to be one other nice chapter within the groups’ historical past.

Stanford’s males earned a win over the Bears in November, competing in a tri-meet with Arizona State. Freshman Ethan Ekk and Jason Zhao received the 1000 and 200 freestyles, respectively. Sophomore Yamato Okadome has loved a robust first half of the faculty season and can lead the breaststroke occasions for the Golden Bears.

The Cardinal girls have been dominant in opposition to the Bears of late, successful three of the group’s final 4 matchups by 50+ factors. That consists of the meet in November, the place a number of wins by stars Caroline Bricker and Torri Huske spearheaded a 43-point victory. But freshman Claire Weinstein has offered a spark for the Bears, who’ve an abundance of younger expertise.