Stanford women’s coach\u00a0Greg Meehan\u00a0<\/strong>captured his first NCAA team championship this season, defeating second-place California by 160.5 points. The Cardinal led wire-to-wire, and the victory was never really in doubt. But that didn’t mean Meehan and his team were not emotional and reflective when it was over.<\/p>\n

After the meet, Meehan explained what his team learned after finishing second to Georgia in 2016 despite the disqualification of an initially-victorious 200 free relay. He also explained how the national championship was a natural culmination of a five-year process with a lot of credit due to associate head coach\u00a0Tracy Slusser<\/strong> and senior\u00a0Lia Neal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Meehan credited Neal as being a huge catalyst in the rise of the Stanford program when she committed to the school immediately after her first Olympics, and he also gushed about those who had been a part of the program in years, many of whom returned to watch the championship unfold in Indy.<\/p>\n