Stanford Handles UCLA, Flexes Muscles Against USC
Stanford Handles UCLA, Flexes Muscles Against USC
Powered by Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel, and Lia Neal, the Stanford Cardinal easily defeated UCLA on Friday and USC on Senior day Saturday.
After weeks of bad weather plagued the San Francisco Bay area, the sun finally came out for a beautiful weekend of racing for the Stanford women's swim team at the Avery Aquatic Center.
The No. 2-ranked Cardinal took down No. 19 UCLA on Friday and fourth-ranked USC on Saturday in their final home meets of the season. The two So-Cal Pac-12 schools never challenged Stanford, which won every event except for two over the course of the two meets. Saturday's meet against USC also marked Senior Day for the Cardinal, as they honored four graduating members of the team, including Olympic silver medalist Lia Neal, before the competition started.
The Cardinal's depth and range was on full display against UCLA on Friday, with the majority of Stanford's swimmers competing in off-events. Simone Manuel only entered in one individual event, the 500-yard freestyle, which she won handily in a time of 4:47.19, and Katie Ledecky got to work on some speed as she cruised to victory in the 100 (49.33) and 200 (1:43.48) freestyle events. Perhaps the most impressive double of Friday's meet came from Stanford junior Janet Hu, who touched first in the 50 freestyle (22.46) and then returned after the break to win the 200 butterfly (1:55.75). Of note, Stanford & UCLA did not swim a standard meet lineup, which is why the 200 fly came after the 50 free.
Against USC, the packed crowd was treated to a Cardinal lineup that put the top swimmers in their best events for the first time this year. Three Avery Aquatic Center records were broken, and surprisingly none of them came in Ledecky's individual events. Manuel broke Ledecky's 22-hour-old record in the 200 freestyle with a quick 1:42.72, which was immediately followed by Hu breaking her own pool record in the 100 backstroke with a 51.91. Powered by her dominating underwaters, Hu is poised for a breakout meet at the NCAA championships in March. The final pool record of the day came in the last event, the 400 yard freestyle relay in a time of 3:27.11, which featured three Olympic medalists for the Cardinal in Manuel, Neal, and Ledecky, as well as Hu.
1. The positive energy on deck from Stanford, which begins with head coach Greg Meehan, was palpable while watching the two meets over the weekend. The Cardinal team has so many weapons, all of which are healthy and fit right now, that should have the rest of the NCAA scared for what's to come in Indianapolis in March.
2. Ledecky and Byrnes are seemingly locks to score in the distance events, Manuel and Neal will be competing for titles in the sprint freestyles, Hu and Howe have put up quick times in the backstrokes, and Ella Eastin is a favorite in the IM's and the 200 butterfly. Most importantly for scoring, Stanford has a chance to rewrite all of the freestyle relay record books at the NCAA championships with their depth in the freestyle events.
3. Could this be one of the best NCAA teams assembled? The scary reality is that, aside from Neal, the Cardinal will not be graduating a lot of their NCAA points, so next year could be even better on the Farm. The one Achilles' heel for the Cardinal right now lies in the breaststroke events. NCAA champion Sarah Haase left a big hole after her graduation, which Stanford hopes to fill with Heidi Poppe in order to compete with the rest of the country in the medley relays.
The Cardinal will have one final test before the championship season begins when they travel across the Bay to face No. 6 California on Feb. 11. The Bears also handedly beat both UCLA and USC over the weekend.
By Andrew Gyenis
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The No. 2-ranked Cardinal took down No. 19 UCLA on Friday and fourth-ranked USC on Saturday in their final home meets of the season. The two So-Cal Pac-12 schools never challenged Stanford, which won every event except for two over the course of the two meets. Saturday's meet against USC also marked Senior Day for the Cardinal, as they honored four graduating members of the team, including Olympic silver medalist Lia Neal, before the competition started.
Stanford 127, UCLA 104
The Cardinal's depth and range was on full display against UCLA on Friday, with the majority of Stanford's swimmers competing in off-events. Simone Manuel only entered in one individual event, the 500-yard freestyle, which she won handily in a time of 4:47.19, and Katie Ledecky got to work on some speed as she cruised to victory in the 100 (49.33) and 200 (1:43.48) freestyle events. Perhaps the most impressive double of Friday's meet came from Stanford junior Janet Hu, who touched first in the 50 freestyle (22.46) and then returned after the break to win the 200 butterfly (1:55.75). Of note, Stanford & UCLA did not swim a standard meet lineup, which is why the 200 fly came after the 50 free.
Stanford 202, USC 98
Against USC, the packed crowd was treated to a Cardinal lineup that put the top swimmers in their best events for the first time this year. Three Avery Aquatic Center records were broken, and surprisingly none of them came in Ledecky's individual events. Manuel broke Ledecky's 22-hour-old record in the 200 freestyle with a quick 1:42.72, which was immediately followed by Hu breaking her own pool record in the 100 backstroke with a 51.91. Powered by her dominating underwaters, Hu is poised for a breakout meet at the NCAA championships in March. The final pool record of the day came in the last event, the 400 yard freestyle relay in a time of 3:27.11, which featured three Olympic medalists for the Cardinal in Manuel, Neal, and Ledecky, as well as Hu.
Three Takeaways
1. The positive energy on deck from Stanford, which begins with head coach Greg Meehan, was palpable while watching the two meets over the weekend. The Cardinal team has so many weapons, all of which are healthy and fit right now, that should have the rest of the NCAA scared for what's to come in Indianapolis in March.
2. Ledecky and Byrnes are seemingly locks to score in the distance events, Manuel and Neal will be competing for titles in the sprint freestyles, Hu and Howe have put up quick times in the backstrokes, and Ella Eastin is a favorite in the IM's and the 200 butterfly. Most importantly for scoring, Stanford has a chance to rewrite all of the freestyle relay record books at the NCAA championships with their depth in the freestyle events.
3. Could this be one of the best NCAA teams assembled? The scary reality is that, aside from Neal, the Cardinal will not be graduating a lot of their NCAA points, so next year could be even better on the Farm. The one Achilles' heel for the Cardinal right now lies in the breaststroke events. NCAA champion Sarah Haase left a big hole after her graduation, which Stanford hopes to fill with Heidi Poppe in order to compete with the rest of the country in the medley relays.
Up Next
The Cardinal will have one final test before the championship season begins when they travel across the Bay to face No. 6 California on Feb. 11. The Bears also handedly beat both UCLA and USC over the weekend.
By Andrew Gyenis
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