NC State Wins Inaugural College Swimming League Championship

NC State captured the inaugural College Swimming League title Friday night at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, scoring 519.5 points to defeat Tennessee (469), Virginia (449.5), and Indiana (282), SwimSwam reported. The Wolfpack entered the final as the No. 3 seed but beat No. 1 Virginia, which had gone 6-0 in the regular season and was the favorite coming into the meet.

The championship was the eighth match of the CSL’s first season. Virginia locked up the top seed with its undefeated regular season, Tennessee (5-1) and NC State (5-1) qualified automatically, and Indiana earned the final spot by dominating Thursday night’s wildcard match against Louisville, Stanford and Cal, Swimming World Magazine reported.

Jefimova Sweeps Breaststroke Races for NC State

Sophomore Eneli Jefimova led the NC State women, winning the 100 breaststroke in 58.13 and the 200 breaststroke in 2:05.70, a lifetime best. She also won all four rounds of the 50 breaststroke skins race, clocking 26.55 three times and 26.83 in round 2, and swam the breaststroke leg on the team’s super skins medley relay, SwimSwam reported.

Jefimova improved on her Match #5 performance, where she won the 200 breast and the skins races but finished second in the 100 breast. In the final, she swept all three events.

Winkler Sets CSL Record in 100 IM

Kaii Winkler anchored the NC State men. He set a new CSL record in the 100 IM at 46.37, won the 100 butterfly in 45.50, and took three of the four rounds of the 50 freestyle skins race — 19.83, 19.79 and 20.00 — while finishing second to teammate Jerry Fox (19.73) in round 1. Winkler also helped the 200 freestyle relay win in 1:15.13 and swam the backstroke leg of the super skins medley relay, which won all rounds in times from 1:25.42 to 1:25.74, SwimSwam reported.

His skins performances were decisive. In Match #5, Winkler was eliminated in round 1 of the 50 free skins after swimming 19.96 and finishing eighth in his heat. In the final, he advanced through all four rounds.

Gajda Wins Men’s 100 Breast in Lifetime Best

Freshman Jan Gajda, who arrived at NC State this fall from Poland, won the men’s 100 breaststroke in 52.02, also a lifetime best. Max Carlsen added a win in the men’s 500 freestyle in 4:13.25.

Virginia’s Stars Set Records Despite Third-Place Finish

Virginia’s top seed couldn’t hold off NC State. Defending NCAA champion Claire Curzan opened the meet with a CSL record 1:46.56 in the women’s 200 backstroke, and Katie Grimes won the women’s 500 freestyle in 4:34.85 with teammate Cavan Gormsen second in 4:35.15, Swimming World Magazine reported. Indiana’s Miroslav Knedla also set a CSL record, winning the men’s 200 backstroke in 1:37.80.

Healthy Roster Gave NC State an Edge

NC State was the first team to arrive in Indianapolis, flying in Wednesday evening, and it had a healthy roster — unlike Tennessee, which was without Julian Koch, Virginia, without Anna Moesch, and Indiana, which rested its U.S. SCM Worlds roster except for Thursday’s wildcard, SwimSwam reported. Even so, the Wolfpack rose to the occasion as the No. 3 seed.

College Swimming League Championship Questions

What is the College Swimming League? The CSL is a new league that brought together top collegiate programs in an eight-match season with a high-energy meet format, culminating in Friday’s championship at the Indiana University Natatorium.

The Hoosiers won Thursday night’s wildcard match in dominant fashion, overwhelming Louisville, Stanford and Cal to claim the fourth and final championship spot.

Tennessee’s Julian Koch and Virginia’s Anna Moesch were absent, and Indiana rested its U.S. SCM Worlds roster, which competed only in Thursday’s wildcard.

The 519.5-point total gave NC State its first CSL title and capped a season in which the No. 3 seed beat the undefeated regular-season champion on the sport’s biggest new stage.

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