Stanford Sets Itself Up For Its First National Title Since 1998

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Photo Courtesy: Peter Bick

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Stanford is looking for its first team championship since Richard Quick’s squad won the title in 1998. If Stanford holds on, it will be the school’s 9th NCAA title in women’s swimming and head coach Greg Meehan’s first overall title as coach. Cal is solidly in second and Texas A&M is in third. The big battle tonight will be between Georgia and Texas heading into the final session, as only one of them will likely walk away with a team trophy. The top four receive trophies. Below are the team scores after last night.

  Combined Team Scores - Through Event 14                      
 
  1. Stanford                        374.5   2. California                        255
  3. Texas A&M                         209   4. Georgia                           170
  5. Texas                             168   6. Louisville                      141.5
  7. Minnesota                         134   8. Indiana                           125
  9. Southern Cali                     117   9. NC State                          117
 11. Missouri                          116  12. Michigan                          111
 13. Virginia                           88  14. Arizona                          78.5
 15. Kentucky                           61  16. Wisconsin                          59
 17. UNC                                53  18. Ohio St                            52
 19. Auburn                             38  20. UCLA                               36
 21. Miami (Oh)                         29  22. Tennessee                          27
 23. Nevada                             25  24. Florida St                         21
 25. Denver                             18  26. Virginia Tech                      17
 27. Lsu                                14  27. Umbc (W)                           14
 29. Iowa                               13  30. Cincinnati                         12
 31. Northwestern                       11  32. Boise St                           10
 33. Purdue                              7  34. Arizona St                          6
 35. Miami (Fl)                          5  36. Florida Gulf                        4
 36. South Carolina                      4  36. Pittsburgh                          4
 39. Alabama                           3.5  40. Penn St                             3
 41. Massachusetts                       2  41. Notre Dame                          2
 41. San Diego State University          2  44. Rutgers                             1
 44. Drexel                              1  44. Air Force (W)                       1

Today’s Events:

  • 200 Back
  • 100 Free
  • 200 Breast
  • 200 Fly
  • 400 Free Relay
  • Platform Diving
  • 1650 Free

200 Back

It was expected to be a tight race amongst the top swimmers in the 200 back. NC State senior Alexia Zevnik swam the fastest time of the qualifiers with a 1:49.71 ahead of defending champion Danielle Galyer of Kentucky and Kathleen Baker of California. Kentucky was the big winner of the morning with three swimmers in the championship final with Galyer, Asia Seidt and Ali Galyer. Kennedy Goss, Tasija Karosas and Clara Smiddy will also swim in the championship final.

 Event 16  Women 200 Yard Backstroke
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 1:47.84  3/21/2013 Elizabeth Pelton, California
         Meet: C 1:47.84  3/23/2013 Elizabeth Pelton, California
     American: A 1:47.84  3/21/2013 Elizabeth Pelton, California
    U.S. Open: O 1:47.84  3/21/2013 Elizabeth Pelton, California
         Pool: P 1:47.84            Elizbeth Pelton, California
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims NISCA       
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Alexia Zevnik    SR NC STATE          1:49.61    1:49.71     q  
    r:+0.60  26.09        53.87 (27.78)
        1:21.89 (28.02)     1:49.71 (27.82)
  2 Danielle Galyer  SR Kentucky          1:51.17    1:49.73     q  
    r:+0.55  25.99        53.65 (27.66)
        1:21.61 (27.96)     1:49.73 (28.12)
  3 Kathleen Baker   SO California        1:48.33    1:49.96     q  
    r:+0.64  25.64        53.46 (27.82)
        1:21.73 (28.27)     1:49.96 (28.23)
  4 Ali Galyer       FR Kentucky          1:51.82    1:50.53     q  
    r:+0.59  26.09        53.93 (27.84)
        1:22.21 (28.28)     1:50.53 (28.32)
  5 Kennedy Goss     JR Indiana           1:50.95    1:50.62     q  
    r:+0.60  26.99        54.84 (27.85)
        1:22.62 (27.78)     1:50.62 (28.00)
  6 Tasija Karosas   SR Texas             1:51.11    1:50.85     q  
    r:+0.62  26.15        54.36 (28.21)
        1:22.47 (28.11)     1:50.85 (28.38)
  7 Clara Smiddy     JR Michigan          1:51.39    1:50.86     q  
    r:+0.66  26.83        54.67 (27.84)
        1:22.76 (28.09)     1:50.86 (28.10)
  7 Asia Seidt       FR Kentucky          1:50.22    1:50.86     q  
    r:+0.62  26.21        54.06 (27.85)
        1:22.52 (28.46)     1:50.86 (28.34)

100 Free

The 100 free was a very fast race this morning as a 47 low was 8th. Simone Manuel leads the qualifiers with a very fast 46.30 this morning. Olivia Smoliga and Mallory Comerford joined Manuel under 47 this morning. It is expected to come down to those three for the title tonight, but the rest of the field is no slouch.

100 fly champ Farida Osman, Lia Neal, Abbey Weitzeil, Beryl Gastaldello and Chantal Van Landeghem will all swim in the A-final tonight. The team race for fourth is intriguing this morning as Georgia placed two up in the 100, while Texas place one in the B-Final. Texas already had one up in the 200 back as well as another in the consol. Georgia also placed a girl in the B-Final in the backstroke.

Event 17  Women 100 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 46.09  3/21/2015 Simone Manuel, Stanford
         Meet: C 46.09  3/21/2015 Simone Manuel, Stanford
     American: A 46.09  3/21/2015 Simone Manuel, Stanford
    U.S. Open: O 46.09  3/21/2015 Simone Manuel, Stanford
         Pool: P 47.17            Margo Geer, Arizona
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims NISCA       
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Simone Manuel    SO Stanford            46.36      46.30P q191  
    r:+0.66  22.44        46.30 (23.86)
  2 Olivia Smoliga   SR Georgia             46.95      46.87P q184  
    r:+0.70  22.58        46.87 (24.29)
  3 Mallory Comerfo  SO Louisville          46.75      46.89P q184  
    r:+0.64  22.87        46.89 (24.02)
  4 Farida Osman     SR California          47.36      47.18  q181  
    r:+0.67  22.76        47.18 (24.42)
  5 Lia Neal         SR Stanford            46.97      47.22  q181  
    r:+0.65  22.62        47.22 (24.60)
  6 Abbey Weitzeil   FR California          47.22      47.28  q180  
    r:+0.63  22.53        47.28 (24.75)
  7 Beryl Gastaldel  JR TAMU                48.02      47.34  q179  
    r:+0.64  22.71        47.34 (24.63)
  8 Chantal Van Lan  SR Georgia             47.74      47.37  q179  
    r:+0.74  22.86        47.37 (24.51)

200 Breast

It was a heavily hyped race and the final is set for tonight, and the crowd will be in for a good show tonight. Minnesota’s Kierra Smith leads the qualifiers with a 2:05.59 followed by Texas A&M’s Sydney Pickrem. Defending champion and American Record holder Lilly King is seeded fourth, but she should definitely be considered the favorite. She has not lost a race at the NCAA level since entering college, and don’t think she will go down easy in the 200.

UMBC’s Emily Escobedo, NC State’s Kayla Brumbaum, Texas’ Madisyn Cox, Texas A&M’s Ashley McGregor and Louisville’s Andrea Cottrell will swim in the A-final. Texas picked up another A-final spot to match Georgia’s two so far.

Event 18  Women 200 Yard Breaststroke
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 2:03.59  3/19/2016 Lilly King, Indiana
         Meet: C 2:03.59  3/19/2016 Lilly King, Indiana
     American: A 2:03.59  3/19/2016 Lilly King, Indiana
    U.S. Open: O 2:03.59  3/19/2016 Lilly King, Indiana
         Pool: P 2:05.41            Laura Sogar, Texas
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims NISCA       
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Kierra Smith     FR Minnesota         2:04.37    2:05.50     q  
    r:+0.73  29.14      1:00.75 (31.61)
        1:33.04 (32.29)     2:05.50 (32.46)
  2 Sydney Pickrem   SO TAMU              2:06.65    2:05.69     q  
    r:+0.70  28.84      1:00.82 (31.98)
        1:33.13 (32.31)     2:05.69 (32.56)
  3 Emily Escobedo   SR UMBC (W)          2:06.20    2:05.72     q  
    r:+0.68  29.21      1:00.78 (31.57)
        1:32.43 (31.65)     2:05.72 (33.29)
  4 Lilly King       SO Indiana           2:04.03    2:05.90     q  
    r:+0.65  27.41        59.08 (31.67)
        1:32.42 (33.34)     2:05.90 (33.48)
  5 Kayla Brumbaum   SR NC STATE          2:07.53    2:06.23     q  
    r:+0.70  29.05      1:00.78 (31.73)
        1:33.25 (32.47)     2:06.23 (32.98)
  6 Madisyn Cox      SR Texas             2:07.21    2:06.45     q  
    r:+0.72  28.91      1:00.96 (32.05)
        1:33.52 (32.56)     2:06.45 (32.93)
  7 Ashley McGregor  SR TAMU              2:07.16    2:06.86     q  
    r:+0.69  28.91      1:01.15 (32.24)
        1:33.70 (32.55)     2:06.86 (33.16)
  8 Andrea Cottrell  SR Louisville        2:06.90    2:07.45     q  
    r:+0.65  28.69      1:01.01 (32.32)
        1:33.89 (32.88)     2:07.45 (33.56)

200 Fly

Ella Eastin of Stanford will be looking for her second title of the meet in the 200 fly after winning the 400 IM last night. Eastin finished second last year in the event. Sarah Gibson of Texas A&M is the second seed and USC sophomore Maddie Wright is the third seed.

Event 19  Women 200 Yard Butterfly
===============================================================================
        NCAA:  1:49.92  2/25/2009   Elaine Breeden, Stanford                   
        Meet:  1:50.61  3/19/2016   Kelsi Worrell, Louisville                  
    American:  1:49.92  2/25/2009   Elaine Breeden, Stanford                   
   U.S. Open:  1:49.92  2/25/2009   Elaine Breeden, Stanford                   
        Pool:  1:52.61              Camille Adams, Texas A&M                   
               1:54.01  A AUTO
               1:59.59  B CONS
     Name                        Year School
===============================================================================
  1  Ella Eastin                   SO Stanford                  1:51.85        
  2  Sarah Gibson                  SR Texas A&M                 1:52.64        
  3  Maddie Wright                 SO Southern Cali             1:52.67        
  4  Chelsea Britt                 JR Georgia                   1:52.72        
  5  Kaitlyn Jones                 SR Virginia                  1:52.93        
  6  Katie McLaughlin              SO California                1:53.29        
  7  Gia Dalesandro                SR Indiana                   1:53.67        
  8  Jen Marrkand                  JR Virginia                  1:53.75        
  9  Noemie Thomas                 JR California                1:53.77        
 10  Lauren Case                   FR Texas                     1:53.85        
 11  Remedy Rule                   SO Texas                     1:53.97        
 12  Sarah Koucheki                SR UNC                       1:54.27        
 13  Klaudia Nazieblo              JR Virginia Tech             1:54.68        
 14  Megan Kingsley                JR Georgia                   1:54.80        
 15  Lindsey Engel                 JR Stanford                  1:55.16        
 16  Grace Oglesby                 FR Louisville                1:55.24        
 17  Kara Kopcso                   SR LSU                       1:55.66        
 18  Alyssa Yambor-Maul            SR Florida                   1:55.68        
 19  Vanessa Krause                FR Michigan                  1:55.74        
 20  Katie Grover                  JR UCLA                      1:55.76        
 21  Chelsea Tatlow                JR Arkansas                  1:55.82        
 22  Caitln Casazza                SO Georgia                   1:55.88        
 23  Katelyn Sowinski              SR Penn St                   1:55.97        
 24  Astrid Swensen                SO Michigan                  1:56.02        
 25  Tatum Wade                    FR Southern Cali             1:56.03        
 26  Caty Hulsey                   SR UNC                       1:56.04        
 27  Meg Bailey                    JR Ohio St                   1:56.10        
 28  Alicia Finnigan               SO Liberty Universi          1:56.15        
 29  Michelle Cefal                SR Tennessee                 1:56.18        
 30  Francesca Stoppa              SO Rutgers                   1:56.20        
 31  Christina Kaas Elmgreen       SO Florida Gulf Coa          1:56.24        
 32  Abbie Houck                   SR Louisville                1:56.25        
 33  Sharli Brady                  JR Missouri                  1:56.27        
 34  Celina Li                     SR California                1:56.35        
 35  Emily Cameron                 SR Georgia                   1:56.41        
 36  Danielle Nack                 JR Minnesota                 1:56.46        
 37  Bailey Nero                   SO Auburn                    1:56.49        
 38  Dana Grindall                 SR Wisconsin                 1:56.49        
 39  Taite Kitchel                 SO Purdue                    1:56.54        
 40  Catherine Sanchez             FR Southern Cali             1:56.60        
 41  Nicole Stafford               SR Stanford                  1:56.92        
 42  Bailey Pressey                SR Indiana                   1:56.93        
 43  Erin Sheehan                  FR Notre Dame                1:57.11        
 44  Marne Erasmus                 SR SMU                       1:57.36        
 45  Angela Algee                  SR Miami (FL)                1:58.38        
 46  Tayla Lovemore                JR Florida St                1:58.53        
 47  Nora McCullagh                SO Texas                     1:58.80        
 48  Kathryn Painter               SO Kentucky                  1:59.08  Scr   
 49  Valerie Gruest Slowing        FR Northwestern              1:59.27  Scr   
 50  Kay Sargent                   FR Florida                   1:59.31        
 51  Haley Black                   JR Auburn                    1:59.56

400 Free Relay

Stanford broke its own NCAA, American and US Open Record at the Pac-12’s last month and sit as the top seed with their 3:08.51 record. USC is the second seed as the defending champions in the relay and California is third. Relay names have not been available yet, but Stanford is expected to swim Manuel, Katie Ledecky, Janet Hu and Lia Neal as those four swam on the relay at Pac-12’s.

Event 21  Women 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
===============================================================================
        NCAA:  3:08.51  2/25/2017   Stanford                                   
                        S Manuel, K Ledecky, J Hu, L Neal                 
        Meet:  3:08.54  3/21/2015   Stanford                                   
                        L Neal, J Hu, L Engel, S Manuel                   
    American:  3:08.51  2/25/2017   Stanford                                   
                        S Manuel, K Ledecky, J Hu, L Neal                 
   U.S. Open:  3:08.51  2/25/2017   Stanford                                   
                        S Manuel, K Ledecky, J Hu, L Neal                 
        Pool:  3:09.40              Georgia                                    
               3:15.78  A AUTO
               3:17.11  B CONS
     School
===============================================================================
  1  Stanford                                                   3:08.51        
  2  Southern Cali                                              3:09.57        
  3  California                                                 3:10.15        
  4  NC State                                                   3:10.31        
  5  Georgia                                                    3:11.19        
  6  Louisville                                                 3:12.12        
  7  Texas                                                      3:12.29        
  8  Wisconsin                                                  3:13.33        
  9  Texas A&M                                                  3:13.37        
 10  UNC                                                        3:13.49        
 11  Michigan                                                   3:13.59        
 12  Arizona                                                    3:13.63        
 13  Auburn                                                     3:14.84        
 14  Virginia                                                   3:15.04        
 15  Florida Int'l                                              3:15.23        
 16  Boise St                                                   3:15.85        
 17  UCLA                                                       3:15.89        
 18  Minnesota                                                  3:15.91        
 19  Notre Dame                                                 3:16.13        
 20  Duke                                                       3:16.60        
 21  Arizona St                                                 3:16.61        
 22  Kentucky                                                   3:16.70        
 23  Missouri                                                   3:16.91        
 24  Tennessee                                                  3:16.93        
 25  Ohio St                                                    3:16.99
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Steven Flores
7 years ago

Stanford, BRING IT HOME!

Paul Gigliotti
Paul Gigliotti
7 years ago
Reply to  Steven Flores

It sure would be nice to have a team score at this point.

Sean
Sean
7 years ago

Besides a few stellar swims from Ledecky, Baker, and Mallory, the majority of swimmers are off this meet. Bilquist, Runge, Weitzeil, Celina Li, Chantal, and many others having let down year after Olympics.

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