Regan Smith, Torri Huske Make NCAA Debuts as Stanford Defeats San José State

Stanford vs. San José State dual

• October 1, 2021
• Avery Aquatic Center, Stanford, California
• Short course yard (25 yards)
• Team scores:
  • Stanford W defeat San José State W 166-81

In its season opener, Stanford handily defeated San José State by 85 points, winning all 14 events in the dual meet and utilizing its vast array of Olympians.

Stanford comes off a second-place Pac-12 conference finish last season, behind Cal. San José State, a member of the Mountain West Conference, placed last out of eight teams at last season’s conference championships.

Stanford freshmen Torri Huske and Regan Smith, and redshirt junior Taylor Ruck, all won double events at the meet. 

Huske and Smith both made their collegiate debuts at the meet. The Tokyo Olympian Huske, who owns the American record in the long course 100 fly, showed her freestyle range by winning both the 50 (22.58) and the 500 (4:51.33). 

Smith, the world champion backstroker and No. 1 NCAA prospect, took a gap year amid the COVID-19 pandemic and competed at the Olympics, and made her debut this year instead of last. She won the 200 butterfly (1:57.34) and the 200 IM (2:00.69). She also put up a 4:52.17 in an exhibitioned 500 free. 

Ruck, who took a two-year break from Stanford to train in and compete for Canada for the Olympics, won the 100 butterfly (53.57) and 100 backstroke (53.94). 

Stanford’s newest swimmers made their mark on the team early on in the season. In addition to the double-event winners, an all-freshman group of women won the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:24.17. Huske led off with a 50.31, Amy Tang went 51.25, Anna Shaw was 50.91 and Aurora Roghair anchored in 51.70.

Conversely, fifth-year Brooke Forde also picked up a win for the Cardinal. The Olympian went 2:14.40 in the 200 breast and took second to Smith in the 200 fly with a 1:59.52. 

Despite Stanford’s dominance of first-places, San José State managed to snag a few second-place spots (some of them thanks to Stanford exhibitioning swims). Senior Izzie Fraire kicked off her last season with a second-place finish in the 100 breaststroke, going 1:06.92 after All-American Allie Raab’s 1:01.97. 

Sophomore Reagan Mathieson placed second in the 100 freestyle, swimming with a time of 52.85. Her fellow sophomore Emma Myburgh finished second in the individual medley with a time of 2:13.85.

The meet showcased some of the key players who will almost certainly help lift Stanford up from last season’s ninth-place NCAA finish. We awarded a rare five stars to Stanford’s backstroke squad in our season preview, with additions Smith and Ruck that give the Cardinal two of the fastest SCY backstrokers in history. 

As a freshman, Ruck placed second in both backstroke events at the NCAA finals. Smith also earned a silver medal in Tokyo in the 200 butterfly, so she could opt to swim that race regularly, like she did on Friday.

The Cardinal will return to the pool on October 15 in a dual meet against Utah, and San José State will return next week at the Chick-fil-A Invitational hosted by Fresno State.