While most Trojans spent spring break winding down, women’s swim and dive stayed at full throttle, diving into the pinnacle of its season: the NCAA Championships. From March 18 to 21, USC’s 10-athlete roster, consisting of eight swimmers and two divers, traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, to take on the nation’s best.

There, No. 1 Virginia cruised to its sixth straight national title, establishing the longest championship streak in Division I swim and dive history. In a repeat of last year’s results, No. 2 Stanford (6-0) grabbed silver, while No. 3 Texas (4-0) took home bronze. 

Behind those powerhouses, however, No. 12 USC (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten) held its own, scoring 66 points to place 14th and extending its streak of top-15 finishes under Head Coach Lea Maurer to five straight years.

Veterans lead the way

Experience can be pivotal in high-stakes environments, and this year’s meet reflected just that, as every individual point for the Trojans came from an upperclassman with at least two NCAA Championship meets under their belt. 

Junior Minna Abraham built on her stellar campaign by posting USC’s top result, taking fourth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:41.66. She has placed in the top five at NCAAs every year of her career, earning bronze as a freshman and finishing as the national runner-up last season. 

USC’s depth in the 200 free was on further display with Nicole Maier’s 10th-place finish. Maier, a graduate transfer from Miami University, posted a personal-best time of 1:42.87 to earn second-team All-American honors. She narrowly missed out on another All-American nod after a 17th-place finish in the 100 free, but still recorded a career-best time of 47.59. 

Senior Justina Kozan wrapped up her collegiate career by placing 14th in the 400 individual medley and 16th in the 200 butterfly. For her efforts, she earned second-team All-American honors in two events for the first time in her career. 

All-American relays abound

Abraham, who missed the Big Ten Championships in February due to personal reasons, didn’t miss a beat in her return to competition. She anchored the 800 free relay in a split of 1:40.25, the third fastest of the field and the 10th-fastest split in NCAA history. 

Alongside Maier, Kozan and senior Claire Tuggle, Abraham led the Trojans to a new program record and first-team All-American honors. The quartet finished seventh in 6:51.17, shaving nearly a second off the previous school mark of 6:52.13 set in 2019. 

Later in the meet, the Trojans took home second-team All-American honors in both 400-yard relays. The 400 medley relay of Abraham, freshman Bella Brito, Kozan and Maier finished in 15th, while Maier, Tuggle, Brito and Abraham capped off USC’s nationals run with an 11th-place showing in the 400 free relay.  

On the boards, sophomore diver Kate Miller added a pair of 19th-place finishes on the 1-meter and platform events.

These national championships marked the conclusion of a year with plenty to be proud of. Throughout the 2025–26 season, the Trojans broke two school records, earned a Big Ten Diver of the Week award from Miller, landed 15 athletes on the Big Ten All-Academic Team and finished with a winning record for the fifth consecutive season.  

While the team will feel the losses of Maier, Tuggle and Kozan next year, the foundation remains solid: Abraham will return for her senior season to lead the charge, and Maurer is bringing in a strong six-member class with multiple top-100 recruits. However, breaking back into the top 10 will be a challenge, and the Trojans will have to fight on through a national field that is more competitive than ever.