Ali Sadri Verbally Commits To George Washington Swimming

Junior Nationals qualifier Ali Sadri will swim for George Washington University beginning in the fall of 2027. The rising senior at Saint Ursula Academy in Cincinnati announced her verbal commitment via Instagram.

Sadri thanked her coaches from the M.E. Lyons YMCA/Anderson Barracudas and Saint Ursula Academy, as well as her family and teammates. She also expressed gratitude to George Washington's coaching staff, led by Coach Chico. "I am so excited and extremely blessed to finally announce my verbal commitment to continue my athletic and academic career at the George Washington University!" she wrote.

Recent Performance Improvements

The 2025-26 season saw substantial time drops for Sadri. She cut nearly three seconds in the 200-yard butterfly and almost two seconds in the 200 freestyle. She also improved by over a second in the 100 butterfly and around half a second in both the 50 and 100 freestyle.

These improvements translated to results at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division I State Championships in February. She helped her school's 200 medley relay team finish as runner-up, splitting 24.87 on the butterfly leg. She also led off the fourth-place 400 freestyle relay with a 52.71. Individually, Sadri placed fifth in the 100 butterfly with a personal best of 55.04 and sixth in the 500 freestyle in 5:04.60.

Championship Meet Results

Her top meet was the YMCA National Short Course Championships in late March. There, she placed fifth in the 200 butterfly (2:01.56) and ninth in the 100 butterfly (55.09). She also finished 15th in the 200 freestyle (1:52.29) and 25th in the 500 freestyle (5:03.52), setting new personal bests in the 200-yard events.

In long course meters, Sadri qualified for and competed at Summer Junior Nationals last month. She placed 63rd in the 200-meter butterfly (2:21.71), 64th in the 100 butterfly (1:02.93), and 126th in the 50 butterfly (29.03). She had posted lifetime bests of 28.48, 1:02.34, and 2:19.02 earlier in the summer to earn her qualification.

Event Times and Team Impact

Her current top short course yard times position her to contribute immediately at the Atlantic 10 conference level. George Washington's women's team placed second out of ten teams at the 2026 conference championship. Sadri's lifetime best in the 200 butterfly would have placed fifth in the 'A' final at that meet. Her times in the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle would have qualified for the 'B' finals. She is also close to the conference cut times needed for a second swim in the 50 and 100 freestyle events.

With two full high school seasons remaining before she joins the Colonials, Sadri is projected to make an immediate impact. She becomes the second publicized commit for George Washington's class of 2031, joining backstroker and butterflier Stella Mastroianni.