(Photo: Casey McNulty/Sun Devil Athletics)
The culmination of the swimming season for the No. 18 Arizona State women’s team has finally arrived as 10 Sun Devils prepare to compete in the NCAA Women’s Swimming Championships, which take place March 18-21 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta.
Six swimmers will compete in individual events, and four will be part of a relay team.
The last three months have seen some of the Sun Devils’ best swimming all season. They closed the regular season 5-5-1, winning their last two dual meets, and enter the NCAAs on the heels of winning the Big 12 Championship for the second straight year on Feb. 28, at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in North Carolina.
“It’s been really cool to see the women’s team grow,” head coach Herbie Behm said. “Last year it was more of a struggle to get it done, they just weren’t as confident … now it’s how do we continue that growth and just keep raising the bar as we go.”
Sophomore Jordan Greber said the group felt like they had a target on their backs entering the conference championship because of the success they enjoyed last season. They were able to weather the storm and rose to the occasion at the Big 12 Championship, scoring 1660.5 points over the nine other teams.
In 2025, the Sun Devils brought 12 swimmers to the championship, six of whom are returning. Senior Deniz Ertan and freshman Albane Cachot lead the Sun Devils in qualifying for the most events.
Ertan will hit the water first for the Sun Devils on Wednesday in the longest race of the competition, the 1650-yard freestyle. The Big 12 Women’s Swimmer of the Meet will have two days off before swimming again in the 500-yard freestyle, and will switch strokes for the 200-yard butterfly on the final day.
Cachot, who arrived at the beginning of the spring slate, finished first in six events at the Big 12s and will compete in three of the fastest freestyle events at the NCAAs: the 50, 100 and 200-yard races.
Cachot, who is the only freshman participating in the NCAA championship for ASU, was named the Big 12 Freshman Swimmer of the Meet and has written her name in the ASU record books eight times in five different events in the brief time she’s been with the team.
The pressure is still on for the Sun Devils, and they continued their training regimen at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center, where practices can, at times, be tougher than a regular meet.
“Just being able to train with such high-level and dedicated athletes every day really makes a huge difference when it comes to race day,” Greber said.
2026 is Greber’s first time swimming in the NCAAs. At the Big 12s, she placed second in the 200-yard individual medley at 1:57.36, dropping two seconds off her 2025 time in the same event (1:59.24).
Junior Sonia Vaishnani, who won the 200 IM at the Big 12 championship .2 seconds ahead of Greber at 1:57.16, joins her in Atlanta. Sophomore Julia Ullmann, who finished third that race to complete an all Sun Devil podium, also made the trip. She’ll be competing in the 100 and 200-yard butterfly.
The 400-yard medley relay team will feature junior Miriam Sheehan, senior Ginger McMahon, junior Grace Lindberg and senior Gerda Szilagyi. The team swam a 3:30.68 at the Big 12s, but this time will be comprised of different swimmers, with Cachot and Ullmann focusing on individual events.
The NCAAs will have swimmers from more than 70 schools that made qualifying times for Wednesday’s preliminary round, starting at 7 a.m. Mountain Standard Time. The finals will begin with the Women’s 100-yard butterfly followed by junior Alexa Reyna’s event, the 400-yard individual medley, on Thursday at 3 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.
