For the first time this year, the Stanford women’s swimming and diving team will compete in front of its home crowd at the Avery Aquatic Center. The Cardinal hosts Pac-12 foe Washington State at 2 p.m. on Thursday.
CATCHING THE MEET: There is free admission to all Stanford swimming and diving meets at Avery Aquatic Center. Gates open at 1 p.m. For those unable to attend, the meet can be seen live on GoStanford.com. Event schedule is as follows: 200 medley relay, 1000 free, 200 free, 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly, 50 free, 15-minute break, 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 500 free, 100 fly, 10-minute break, 200 individual medley, 400 free relay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zPq4599BcY&feature=youtu.be
MATCHUP: Stanford (1-0, 1-0 Pac-12) won its season opener at Oregon State on Friday, 141-109, while the Cougars (0-1, 0-1) fell at home to USC on Sept. 30, 161-96. In the last meeting between these two programs, the Cardinal posted a 142-119 win in Pullman on Sept. 25, 2015. This will be Washington State’s first visit to Avery Aquatic Center since Stanford’s 147-104 win on Oct. 3, 2013.
STREAKS: Stanford has won eight straight dual meets and eight straight Pac-12 dual meets — the last loss for each was at No. 3 Cal (158-142) on Feb. 14, 2014. The Cardinal has also won seven straight dual meets at home dating back to Oct. 30, 2014 against Texas (156-144).
LAST TIME OUT: In the season opener on Friday, the Stanford women’s swimming and diving team opened the season with a 141-109 victory over Oregon State at a soldout Osborn Aquatic Center. Stanford had the fastest time in all 14 events. That included four individual wins by freshmen and a pair of victories for sophomore Kim Williams in the breaststroke. Full recap here.
LAST SEASON: The Cardinal was 7-0 in dual meets last season and finished second at the Pac-12 Championships with 13 total Pac-12 titles (three relays and 10 individual wins). Stanford then finished second at the NCAA Championships — a meet that came down to the final event. Ten Cardinal totaled 35 All-America honors and five national titles (three individuals and two relays). The Cardinal returns seven of its 10 All-Americans, and five of six national champions. In addition, Olympians Simone Manuel and Kassidy Cook return to the team after redshirting the 2015-16 campaign. The Cardinal also finished with the top-ranked recruiting class which includes Katie Drabot, Allie Szekely, Erin Voss and Megan Byrnes. Standout Katie Ledecky will also join this class after deferring her freshman year for the Olympics, where she won five medals (four gold, one silver).
ALUMNI: Stanford boasts some of the most well-renowned swimming alumni in the world, and some of those former Cardinal will return this weekend for Reunion Homecoming and the annual Alumni Meet at Avery. The meet is set for Friday at 6 p.m.
CAPTAINS: Head Coach Greg Meehan announced three senior captains for the 2016-17 campaign. Lia Neal, Lindsey Engel and Nicole Stafford were selected to lead the Cardinal for the upcoming season. The trio has helped guide Stanford to top-three NCAA finishes in their first three seasons.
TV TIME: Two Cardinal meets will be televised on Pac-12 Networks — at home against USC on Saturday, Jan. 28 and at Cal on Saturday, Feb. 11. All three other home meets will be live streamed on GoStanford.com.
FOLLOW THE CARDINAL (@STANFORDWSWIM): Stanford women’s swimming and diving can be found on instagram, twitter and snapchat (@StanfordWswim).
UP NEXT: Stanford has its first home meet on Thursday, Oct. 20 when the Cardinal welcomes Washington State to Avery Aquatic Center at 2 p.m. The meet will be live streamed at GoStanford.com. The following day, the Cardinal brings back many of its accomplished graduates for the annual Alumni Meet.
Courtesy of Stanford Athletics
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