The No. 5 USC women’s swimming and diving team, which won its first Pac-12 team title in 2016, will defend its crown at the 2017 Pac-12 Championships, Wednesday through Saturday (Feb. 22-25), at the Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash. Additionally, the Pac-12 will host the men’s diving championships concurrently with the women’s competition.
The highly competitive Pac-12s features No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 California, No. 5 USC, No. 17 Arizona, No. 21 UCLA, as well as Arizona State, Oregon State, Washington State and Utah.
LIVE STREAMING COVERAGE
All of the events Wednesday through Friday plus the preliminary events on Saturday morning and afternoon will be live streamed on Pac-12.com and the Pac-12 Now app. (Viewers will need a username and password from their TV provider to access it.) Broadcast coverage of the championship will air live on Saturday starting at 6:30 p.m. PT across all of the Pac-12’s seven networks.
* Links to live results will be posted to here.
* Click here for the psych sheet and here for the Pac-12 Records Book.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Events begin on Wednesday (Feb. 22) with timed finals of the 200y medley and 800y free relays that start at 6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday (Feb. 23-25), prelims begin at 10:30 a.m. and finals start at 6 p.m. each day. Thursday’sschedule features the 500y free, 200y IM, 50y free, and 200y free relay. Fridayfeatures the 400y IM, 100y fly, 200y free, 100y breast, 100y back and 400y medley relay. Saturday’s finale includes a timed final of the 1650y free, 200y back, 100y free, 200y breast, 200y fly and the 400y free relay.
Men’s 3-meter prelims will start Wednesday (Feb. 22) at 1 p.m. with finals between the two relays on Wednesday night. Men’s 3-meter prelims is set for 12 p.m. Thursday with women’s 1-1-meter prelims at 2:15 p.m. and finals at 4:45 p.m. Men’s 3-meter finals will come before the 200y free relay Thursdaynight. Women’s 3-meter prelims starts at 12:15 p.m. Friday while men’s platform prelims starts at 3:15 p.m. with finals at 4:45 p.m. Women’s 3-meter finals will begin before the final relay Friday night. Women’s platform prelims will close Saturday’s (Feb. 27) prelims at 12:30 p.m. and the women’s platform final will follow the 200y fly final Saturday night.
USC’S PAC-12 SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
USC won its first-ever Pac-12 title in 2016 with a program-record 1481 points as all 21 swimmers and six divers eligible to score last year did so. USC’s previous best Pac-12 finish was second, something it did six times, most recently in 2013 when it scored a then-program best 1418.5 points and lost by 21 to Stanford in the closest finish in conference history. While USC hadn’t won a Pac-12 title before last year, it did win four conference titles during the WCAA era, its last coming in 1985 … USC has won at least two Pac-12 individual titles (including diving) in nine straight years and in 15 of the past 16 seasons and has won at least one title in 22 of the past 23 seasons … USC won three titles in 2016 for the third year in row. Chelsea Chenault, as a junior, won the 500y free, Elizabeth Stinson, as a freshman, won the 1650y free, and Kirsten Vose, Anika Apostalon, Chenault and Allie Wooden won the 800y free relay … Sophomore Riley Scott is unbeaten in the 100 and 200 breast in dual meets, winning the 100 seven times and the 200 five times, including in wins over Arizona, ASU, Cal, Stanford and UCLA … Freshman Louise Hansson has 4 of USC’s A cuts thus far: 100y free (47.47), 200y free (1:43.04), 200y IM (1:55.00), 100y fly (51.17).Freshman Becca Mann (15:52.30 in the 1650y free) and sophomore Maddie Wright (1:53.47 in the 200y fly) have USC’s other A cuts … USC has four swimmers seeded among the top eight of the 100y breast, led by Riley Scott’s 59.80. The Trojans also have four in the top eight of the 200y breast, led by Kirsten Vose as the second seed and Scott as third … Troy has never won a Pac-12 title in the 100y free, but freshman Louise Hansson is seeded third and Anika Apostalon fifth. Sophomore Maddie Wright enters as the second seed in the 200y fly, looking for Troy’s first win there since Katinka Hosszu won it three times between 2010-12. Troy has five conference relay titles, claiming the 800y free relay in 2003, 2010 and 2016 and taking the 400y medley relay in 2006 and 2009. USC’s 29 Pac-12 women’s diving titles (12 on 1-meter, 12 on 3-meter, five on platform) are second most in conference history (behind only Stanford’s 33) and most have come under the direction of 18th-year diving head coach Hongping Li. Junior Dashiell Enos is the defending Pac-12 title holder on 3-meter and was also a finalist on platform.
USC’S NCAA CUTS (A cuts in bold)
Anika Apostalon: 50y free (22.08), 100y free (47.78), 100y back (52.58).
Piper Brockley: 100y breast (1:02.34).
Chelsea Chenault: 200y free (1:47.74).
Louise Hansson: 100y free (47.47), 200y free (1:43.04), 200y IM (1:55.00), 100y fly (51.17).
Riley Hayward: 100y breast (1:00.81), 200y breast (2:11.30).
Kelsey Kafka: 100y breast (1:00.34), 200y breast (2:12.43).
Hanni Leach: 100y back (52.00), 200y back (1:52.58).
Becca Mann : 400y IM (2:14.68), 500y free (4:44.60), 1650y free (15:52.30).
Stanzi Moseley: 50y free (22.75), 100y free (49.81), 200y free (1:46.17), 100y fly (54.08).
Catherine Sanchez: 100y fly (52.72), 200y fly (1:56.65).
Riley Scott: 100y breast (59.80), 200y breast (2:08.99), 200y IM (1:57.53), 400y IM (4:13.65).
Elizabeth Stinson: 500y free (4:47.59).
Kirsten Vose: 100y free(49.17), 200y free (1:46.41), 200y IM (1:57.29), 100y breast (1:00.48), 200y breast (2:08.94).
Tatum Wade: 100y free (49.46), 200y free (1:44.44), 500y free (4:44.32), 200y IM (1:56.29), 100y fly (53.62), 200y fly (1:56.03).
Hannah Weiss: 100y back (53.80), 200y back (1:55.00), 100y fly (53.73).
Maddie Wright: 100y fly (53.18), 200y fly (1:53.47), 500y free (4:47.25).
Sophomore diver Maddie Witt and freshmen divers Naomi Gowlett and Carly Souza all have NCAA qualifying scores on all three boards.
USC SWIMMERS IN THE TOP 25
USC swimmers ranked among the top 25 in their events include Anika Apostalon in the 50y (22.08, T19th) and 100y free (47.78, 11th), Louise Hansson in the 100y (47.47, 6th) and 200y free (1:43.04, 5th), the 100y back (51.83, 16th), 100y fly (51.17, 8th) and 200y IM (1:55.00, 9th), Tatum Wade in the 200y free (1:44.44, 16th), 200y fly (1:56.03, 22nd) and 200y IM (1:56.29, 14th), Becca Mann in the 1000y (9:49.74, 19th) and 1650y free (15:52.30, 7th), Hanni Leach in the 100y back (52.00, 24th) and 200y back (1:52.58, 18th), Riley Scott in the 100y (59.80, 15th) and 200y breast (2:08.99, 17th), Kelsey Kafka in the 100y breast (1:00.34, 18th), Kirsten Vose in the 100y (1:00.36, 20th) and 200y breast (2:08.35, 12th) and 200y IM (1:56.19, 17th), Maddie Wright in the 200y fly (1:53.47, 5th)
SWIMMERS OF THE WEEK
Freshman Louise Hansson was named CollegeSwimming.com’s Pac-12 Swimmer of the Week after her performance in Dallas at the SMU Classic in which she dropped an NCAA A cut in the 200y free in 1:43.04 and B cuts in the 200y IM (1:55.95) and 100y back (52.35) … Freshman Tatum Wade earnedCollegeSwimming.com Pac-12 Swimmer of the Week honors after a strong weekend against Wisconsin and Utah where she won the 500y free over the Badgers after a second in the 200y free while winning the 100y free and 200y fly against the Utes.
TEXAS INVITATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Freshman Louise Hansson led USC at December’s Texas Invite. Hansson won three races, claiming the 100y fly (51.17) and 100y free (47.55) with NCAA A cuts, while helping USC to a win in the 200y medley relay. She was also second in the 200y IM (1:55.00, A), fourth in the 100y back (52.14, B) and helped USC to second in the 400y free relay.
CSCAA HONOREES
The USC women’s squad earned CSCAA Scholar All-America team honors with a 3.13 collective GPA in the fall semester.
2016-17 SEASON OUTLOOK
The Trojan women are coming off of a 2015-16 season in which they went 8-2 overall, 6-1 in conference, won their first-ever Pac-12 crown and finished sixth at the NCAA Championships.
They return five of their eight 2016 All-Americans, including senior co-captain Anika Apostalon and junior co-captain Hannah Weiss as well as senior Chelsea Chenault and sophomores Kirsten Vose and Riley Scott. Trojans appeared in 30 ‘A’ individual finals last year at the Pac-12s and swimmers and divers accounting for 22 of those swims also return. Chenault is the Pac-12’s 500y free defending champion while sophomore Elizabeth Stinson returns to defend her conference win the 1650y free. USC is also defending its Pac-12 800y free relay victory.
The Trojan women feature 10 talented newcomers, including freshman Becca Mann, a U.S. open water national teamer, as well as Swedish Olympian freshman Louise Hansson.
News courtesy of USC Athletics.