2021 Pac-12 Women’s Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2021 PAC-12 WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, February 24 – Saturday, February 27
• Campus Rec & Wellness Center, University of Houston, Houston, TX
• Defending Champion: Stanford (4x) (results)
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live results

CURRENT TEAM SCORES

1. Stanford, 592
2. Cal, 546.5
3. USC, 413.5
4. UCLA, 389
5. Utah, 369
6. Arizona, 362
7. Washington State, 189

The Houston Campus Rec & Wellness Center will be busy tonight with the third day of the 2021 Pac-12 Women’s Championships. Tonight, the finals of the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 back, 100 breast, and 200 medley relay will be contested. Earlier in the day, the women’s platform diving final took place.

This morning, a stacked trio of swimmers in the 400 IM went sub-4:10, including top seed USC junior Isa Odgers, yesterday’s short IM winner Cal junior Alicia Wilson, and defending Pac-12 champion Stanford senior Brooke Forde. A total of four Stanford Cardinals will be in the top 400 IM final.

The 100 fly and 100 back finals will feature Cal junior Izzy Ivey. In the fly, USC senior Jemma Schlicht is seeded ahead of Ivey. Meanwhile in the 100 back, defending champ Ivey is also seeded second to freshman teammate Isabelle Stadden. Could Ivey top the 100 fly, defend her 100 back title, or top both?

Sandwiched between Ivey’s swims will be the 200 free and the 100 breast. Answering to Stanford’s 4 A-finalists in the 400 IM, Cal qualified four Bears into the 200 free A-final, led by senior Robin Neumann and senior Forde. Yes, Forde will swim the 400 IM/200 free double tonight. In the 100 breast final, USC freshman Kaitlyn Dobler will shoot for her first Pac-12 title, joined by Cal junior Ema Rajic and defending Pac-12 champion Stanford junior Allie Raab.

WOMEN’S PLATFORM DIVING – FINALS

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 368.75 – Haley Ishimatsu (USC) – 2015
• Pac-12 Record: 368.75 – Haley Ishimatsu (USC) – 2015
• 2020 Champion: Mia Paulsen (Stanford), 311.40

Dominating the platform final was Arizona senior Delaney Schnell, earning 364.50 points. Taking second place with 286.50 points was USC sophomore Nike Agunbiade, earning 1.4 more points than 3rd-place finisher Stanford senior Mia Paulsen (285.10), who was the defending champion.

Current team scores are now Stanford leading with 654 points, followed by Cal (589.50), USC (495.50), UCLA (439), Utah (432), Arizona (409), and Washington State (189).

WOMEN’S 400 IM – FINALS

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 3:56.53 – Katie Ledecky (Stanford) – 2018
• Pac-12 Record: 3:54.60 – Ella Eastin (Stanford) – 2018
• NCAA “A” Cut: 4:03.62
• 2020 Champion: Brooke Forde (Stanford) – 4:01.53

1. Brooke Forde (Stanford)- 4:02.57
2. Alicia Wilson (Cal)- 4:04.22
3. Hannah Kukurugya (Stanford)- 4:08.70

Defending her Pac-12 title in the 400 IM was Stanford’s Brooke Forde, clocking in the top time in the NCAA this season at 4:02.57, which is within her top-10 career times. Taking second place was Cal’s Alicia Wilson, swimming a near-lifetime best of 4:04.22, just off her 4:04.10 from the 2020 Stanford Invite.

Giving the Cardinals a 1-3 finish was Forde’s senior teammate Hannah Kukurugya, stopping the clock at 4:08.70, also a near-lifetime best from her 4:08.53 from the 2019 Pac-12 meet. Also cracking 4:10 to take 4th place was USC junior Isa Odgers (4:09.99).

Stanford went a 1-3-5-7 finish in this event, boosting their current team score to 761 points to Cal’s 641.50 points.

WOMEN’S 100 FLY – FINALS

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 49.34 – Louise Hansson (USC) – 2019
• Pac-12 Record: 49.26 – Louise Hansson (USC) – 2019
• NCAA “A” Cut: 50.92
• 2020 Champion: Louise Hansson (USC) – 49.94

1. Izzy Ivey (Cal)- 50.87
2. Sam Baron (UCLA)- 51.65
3. Rachel Klinker (Cal)- 51.79

After a swift 10.70 off the first 25 yards, Cal junior Izzy Ivey went on to win the 100 fly Pac-12 title with a 50.87, just 0.05s off her lifetime best of 50.82 from the 2019 D1 NCAA Championships. Answering Stanford with another 1-3 finish was 3rd-place finisher Cal sophomore Rachel Klinker (51.79).

Sneaking in for second place was UCLA freshman Sam Baron, cracking 52 seconds for the first time with a 51.65.

USC finished 4-7-8, led by 4th-place finisher senior Jemma Schlicht (52.15).

WOMEN’S 200 FREE – FINALS

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 1:40.37 – Simone Manuel (Stanford) – 2017
• Pac-12 Record: 1:39.10 – Missy Franklin (Cal) – 2015
• NCAA “A” Cut: 1:42.98
• 2020 Champion: Latitia Transom (USC) – 1:42.47

1. Robin Neumann (Cal)- 1:43.40
2. Ayla Spitz (Cal)- 1:44.10
3. Brooke Forde (Stanford)- 1:44.39

Winning her first Pac-12 title was Cal senior Robin Neumann, winning in a time of 1:43.40. Throughout her Pac-12 career to date, Neumann appeared in 11 A-finals, and finished in 3rd place five times before winning this title. Aiding Cal to a 1-2 finish was sophomore Ayla Spitz, cracking 1:45 for the first time with a solid 1:44.10 swim.

Taking third place was Stanford’s Brooke Forde, clocking in a lifetime best of 1:44.39, all after winning the 400 IM two events ago. Stanford remains in the lead with 908 points, with Cal trailing now with 856.50 points.

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST – FINALS

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 57.80 – Kaitlyn Dobler (USC) – 2021
• Pac-12 Record: 57.36 – Sarah Haase (Stanford) – 2016
• NCAA “A” Cut: 58.60
• 2020 Champion: Allie Raab (Stanford) – 59.35

1. Kaitlyn Dobler (USC)- 57.85
2. Ema Rajic (Cal)- 58.45
3. Allie Raab (Stanford)- 58.74

Winning her first Pac-12 title was USC freshman Kaitlyn Dobler, clocking in a time of 57.85, just off her morning meet record of 57.80. Taking second place was Cal’s Ema Rajic, swimming in at 58.45.

Another defending Pac-12 champion and Stanford swimmer, junior Allie Raab, placed third in the final at 58.74. That makes the entire top 3 swimmers under 59 seconds. Placing fourth was UCLA junior Claire Grover (59.53) and Stanford junior Zoe Bartel (59.87), again making the top 5 all sub-minute.

Stanford still leads over Cal 983-917.5 in the team scores.

WOMEN’S 100 BACK – FINALS

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 49.69 – Ally Howe (Stanford) – 2017
• Pac-12 Record: 49.69 – Ally Howe (Stanford) – 2017
• NCAA “A” Cut: 50.93
• 2020 Champion: Izzy Ivey (Cal) – 51.06

1. Izzy Ivey (Cal)- 51.13
2. Isabelle Stadden (Cal)- 51.17
3. Alex Crisera (Stanford)- 52.38

Successfully defending her Pac-12 title was Cal’s Izzy Ivey, swimming in at 51.13. This also completes her fly/back double today, both ending on top of the podium. Taking a close second place finish was teammate Isabelle Stadden, who touched in 0.05s behind at 51.17, making it another Bears 1-2 finish.

Taking third place for Stanford in a third event was sophomore Alex Crisera, clocking in at 52.38, just a tenth off her lifetime best of 52.28 from last year’s Pac-12 meet. At the end of the final, Cal finished 1-2-4 to Stanford’s 3-5 finish.

The Cal Bears have now inched on the Stanford Cardinals. Currently, Stanford sits with 1,035 points while Cal now has 1,010.50 points, just 24.50 points away. If Cal were to win the upcoming 200 medley relay, that could close the gap down to 16.50 points heading into the final day.

WOMEN’S 200 Medley RELAY – FINALS

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 1:34.13 – Cal – 2018
• Pac-12 Record: 1:33.11 – Stanford – 2018
• NCAA “A” Cut: 1:36.40
• 2020 Champion: Stanford, 1:35.93

1. Cal- 1:35.18
2. Stanford- 1:35.52
3. USC- 1:37.06

Winning yet another event was Cal’s 200 medley relay, touching out Stanford’s A-relay by 0.34s. Combining for Cal’s 1:35.18 were Stadden (24.29), Rajic (26.56), Ivey (22.74), and Emily Gantriis (21.59). Swimming for Stanford were Crisera (24.73), Raab (26.68), Emma Wheal (22.61), and Amalie Fackenthal (21.50), touching in at 1:35.52. In the race for the team title, Stanford now holds a 16.5-point lead over Cal, as predicted if Cal were to win this relay.

Placing third were the USC Trojans, with Aela Janvier (25.54), Dobler (26.48), Schlicht (23.23), and Anicka Delgado (21.81) combining to a 1:37.09.

Arizona’s A-relay got disqualified due to an early start off swimmer #4, however, their total time would have been 1:37.65 (4th).

Team Scores After Day 3

1. Stanford, 1091
2. Cal, 1074.5
3. UCLA, 789
4. USC, 732.5
5. Utah, 657
6. Arizona, 633
7. Washington State, 355