CALIFORNIA VS. STANFORD
- Results
- Hosted by Stanford
- Saturday, February 10th
- 25 Yards
- Dual Meet Format
FINAL TEAM SCORES:
- STANFORD: 186
- CAL: 110
The Stanford Cardinal capped off an undefeated dual meet season on Saturday as they defeated Pac-12 rival Cal at home. Several Pool Records fell throughout the meet. Stanford got the ball rolling with a Pool Record in the 200 medley relay, with Simone Manuel anchoring in a blazing 21.45 to make up a half-second deficit and clock the Cardinal in at 1:37.18. The Bears also picked up a relay Pool Record, with Abbey Weitzeil throwing down a 21.29 split to help the 200 free relay to a 1:28.36 win.
Individually, Ally Howe and Janet Hu each snagged Pool Records for Stanford. Hu took down her own record in the 100 back, touching in 51.63 ahead of American Record holder Howe (51.92) and Cal’s reigning NCAA champ Kathleen Baker (52.68). Howe, on the other hand, took down the 200 back Pool Record, winning by over a second in 1:53.67. Cal’s Weitzeil nabbed an individual Pool Record as well, giving the Bears a win in the 50 free as she out-touched Manuel 22.04 to 22.13.
Stanford’s Katie Ledecky impressed as she won back-to-back races. In the 1000 free, Ledecky lapped the field to win in 9:13.74. The majority of her rest before her next event, the 200 free, came from her margin of victory in the event. Ledecky got right back up on the blocks and raced to a 1:43.00 to win that race, marking her fastest ever swim in the event on the back end of the 1000 free/200 free double at a dual meet. She closed out her schedule with another dominant victory, turning in a 4:34.54 in the 500 free.
PRESS RELEASE – STANFORD:
STANFORD, Calif. – Seniors left their mark with a trio of pool records on Senior Day at Avery Aquatic Center as No. 1 Stanford women’s swimming and diving topped No. 4 Cal, 186-110, on Saturday.
More importantly, outside of the pool, the Pac-12 rivals teamed up to raise more than $1,800 for Stanford University’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, thanks to donations from the 2,018 energized fans in attendance, and several online donations. You can make a donation here.
Stanford (8-0, 7-0) finished the dual meet season unbeaten for the third straight season. The Cardinal has won 23 straight dual meets dating back to Feb. 14, 2015 against Cal – which also marks a string of 21 straight Pac-12 dual meet victories, and 16 consecutive wins at home.
Prior to the meet, the Cardinal celebrated the contributions of eight seniors—Kassidy Cook, Sammy Gallagher, Gracia Leydon Mahoney, Alex Meyers, Simone Manuel, Janet Hu, Ally Howe and Lindsey Engel. As a group, the Senior Class of 2018 has combined for nine Pac-12 All-Academic selections, 59 All-America honors and led the Cardinal to the program’s first national championship in 19 years.
“It was an amazing way for our seniors to go out,” Paul A. Violich Director of Women’s Swimming Greg Meehan said. “They were a class that put this program on their shoulders and carried us to this point. They have come in and delivered for four years through performance, character and leadership. I’m so proud of them.”
The large and loud crowd was on its feet for the finish of the first race. Each of the first four teams in the 200-yard medley relay were under the pool record and within seven-tenths of a second. In the end, three Stanford seniors — Howe, Hu and Manuel — and freshman Grace Zhao set the new standard at 1:37.18. Manuel took the anchor leg and made up a deficit in a dramatic finish that broke a six-year-old pool record.
Howe and Hu each celebrated their final home meet with individual facility records, while Manuel added another victory. Hu, who also won the 100 butterfly at 51.93, broke her pool record in the 100 backstroke. She hit the wall at 51.63, just ahead of Howe (51.92), and her old mark of 51.83. Meanwhile, Howe ends her career as the Avery record holder in the 200 back. She tapped the wall at 1:53.67 and broke the standard held by Cal’s Amy Bilquist (1:53.80) since 2016. And in the 100 free, Manuel won with a finish of 48.45, and still holds the pool record in that event at 47.38.
Not lost among a day for the seniors, sophomore Katie Ledecky pulled off another incredible double in the 1000 and 200 free. She raced to a 30-second victory and stopped the clock at 9:13.74 in the distance event. She was followed by classmate Megan Byrnes(9:47.42) and junior Leah Stevens (9:49.68) as the Cardinal swept the podium. Ledecky jumped right back in the water for the next event and won the sprint in similarly dominating fashion — her time of 1:43.00 was more than two seconds better than the rest of the field.
Ledecky also claimed a substantial victory in the 500 free. She led a group of four straight Cardinal finishers with a winning time of 4:34.54. Sophomore Katie Drabot was second (4:48.02), followed by Stevens (4:50.09) and Byrnes (4:50.76).
On the boards, sophomore Haley Farnsworth swept both events. She won the 1-meter with a score of 303.00 and was tops on the 3-meter with a score of 336.75. Freshman Mia Paulsen was the runner-up on the lower board with a score of 326.55 — they were the only two divers to score over 300.
A pair of Stanford freshmen swept the breaststroke. Zhao edged Kim Williams (1:01.72) and won her third straight in the 100 with a finish of 1:01.27, while Brooke Forde edged Zhao in the 200 with a winning time of 2:12.07.
Junior Ella Eastin won a pair of events. She battled with Drabot (1:54.17) in the 200 butterfly once again, but eged out her teammate with a time of 1:53.79. Eastin also won the 200 individual medley at 1:56.84.
Saturday’s win marked the end of the regular season and the beginning of the postseason. First up, the Pac-12 Championships are slated for Feb. 21-24 in Federal Way, Washington. The NCAA Championships are in Columbus, Ohio, March 14-17.
PRESS RELEASE – CAL:
STANFORD – Abbey Weitzeil won the 50-yard freestyle and helped Cal’s 200 free relay to a closing victory, but the No. 4 Golden Bears fell to top-rated Stanford, 186-110, in the teams’ annual dual meet Saturday.
Weitzeil, a sophomore who owns the American record in the 50 free, touched out Stanford’s Simone Manuel, 22.04 to 22.13, to claim the event. Her time established both an Avery Aquatic Center record and a Cal dual-meet record, breaking her mark of 22.09 set against the Cardinal in Berkeley last year.
In the 200 free relay, the foursome of Maddie Murphy, Weitzeil, Katie McLaughlin and Amy Bilquist crushed the Cal dual record in the event, finishing in 1:28.36, which was also a Stanford pool record. The former Cal dual mark was 1:31.49 set back in 2009.
“I think there are some really good things to build on,” head coach Teri McKeever said. “The first thing is you have to acknowledge is where Stanford is as a program, a team that is top to bottom so deep. I thought some of our swimmers did a nice job of responding to that. Our growth as a team is to use that in a way that lifts us. We’ve had moments today and I think we can do it. The relays are definitely moments where we rise to the occasion. We’re going to need to be better at the end of the month going into Pac-12s. Overall, I thought we had a solid effort.”
In total, the meet featured five pool records with Stanford picking up the other three. A number of Golden Bear swimmers posted their fastest times in dual meets this season, including McLaughlin with a 1:45.69 in the 200 free and Kathleen Baker‘s 52.68 in the 100 back.
Cal wraps up its dual-meet season with a 9-1 overall record and 6-1 in the Pac-12. Next up are the Pac-12 Championships Feb. 21-24 and the NCAA Championships March 14.17.
Dual meets are totally different than any other big meets. They aren’t suited, everyone is in different times of training, and some people swim events back to back. I would say Weitzeil is dangerous. She has only beat Manuel a couple times before, the other times being when it mattered most, and this time she beat her when it doesn’t matter, her confidence is high and she has been doing well all season. She is probably hungry to redeem herself after last year and yes Simone seems to always pull through, but I wouldn’t put it past a hungry sprinter trying to show everyone she belongs at the top too.
Maybe. But she beat Simone under different circumstances before. She had a different coach, different training and likey a higher confidence level.
Simone wins when it matters the most at the highest level. She dosen’t seem intimidated by Abbey or Sarah Sjöström for that matter.
Comerford is a mad competitor and she thrives off of competition. I would not put anything past her
The 50 should be a good race. Manuel has a pretty big edge in the 100. Comerford probably has the best shot for an upset.
Not worried about Simone. She seems to rise to the occasion every times she is pressured. I don’t think a dual meet loss in a 50 will deter her at NC’s.
Abbey has been going the same times for the last few years (except for this past summer where she was much slower). The Aussies will be deadly in the 400 free relay this summer.
Great rivalry, but I don’t think it matters in a NCAA dual meet. NCAA Championships should be interesting, and that will tell us where these girls have come this year.
Why so many comments re C2 being done? Have I missed some news indicating she is on the decline? Injuries?
I am expecting some great competition at Commonwealth Games between the Aussies and the Canadians…C1, C2, McKeon, Seebohm, McKeown, Titmus, Atherton, Jack vs Masse, Oleksiak, Ruck, Smith, Sanchez, Caldwell, Toro, Hannah, Knelson. Missing several on both sides but you get the point.
Pan Pacs…add USA, China, and Japan. USA women’s sprint will be tested by the young up and comers.
Her shoulders are bad. I think she stated that she would swim through the games and then get it taken care of with rest and/or surgery if needed.
Hmmm…hope she gets into decent form cause the atmosphere should be wild and a lot of people would really like to see some sizzling relay splits and close finishes against the Canucks.
Katie McLaughlin continuing to post up very fast sprint freestyle splits…should anchor their 200 medley relay at this point. 21.29 is no joke
In the article it says that Weitzeil was responsible for that 21.29 split. But, as you say, the results indicate that it was McLaughlin who swam that split. I wonder which is correct? It makes more sense if it was Weitzeil, but you never know.
Yeah. I would doubt the time, but she’s been putting
Up similar splits all season
Split wasn’t right. Meet mobile had them almost a second behind at the 100 but they actually touched ahead. 2nd and 3rd splits are off. More like both around 22 flat than 22.7/21.2
I am really rooting for her to make a national team. Hoping her 200 free long course is pumping. 200 fly long course is weak for the US but her 200 fly hasnt been on.
Also does Simone being celebrated as a senior for senior day indicate that she will not be swimming ncaa next year but rather going pro? Insight anyone?
I was wondering about this too.
She was fully participating in the senior celebrations at the pool as seen in a video posted by Stanford Swimming. Also saw some instagram posts in which she is pictured with all the seniors. Pro career coming early?
Yeah TBH that seemed like the biggest headline of the meet.
Totally agree
I think it was mentioned that she was still taking some classes in the Olympic year. She could be close to graduating and a senior academically. Probably the most likely reason she went through sr day activities.
I hope not cause I would love to see a Ledecky, Manuel, Ruck combo for at least a year…this crew could hurt some records.
Confirmed now. Good for her
The major sign that Abbey Weitzeil’s recovering process is successful is that she stopped swimming 200 free. She did it last season at every meet including Nationals having zero chances to get on the WC team in this event.
One can be impressed by Ledecky’s double but I actually don’t see much sense of her doing that. And how should we evaluate this result: good, bad, or telling nothing about her current form. I would prefer to see her swimming these two events under normal conditions at times not far from her personal bests. That would be 13 sec faster at 1000 and 2 sec faster at 200.
Not sure if you know how college duel meets work, but people are not supposed to get best times at them if they “have time between races or not.” Also what other event do u want ledecky to do? It is not uncommon for distance people to do the 1000 200 free duel meet double. The distance is the best event and then they normal hold decent for the 200. Yes she could do the 500, but depending on relays maybe they just have her in 3 individuals since she is probably never on a 400 free yards relay for Stanford. In addition the 800 free relay is not at most duel meets. Its a smart double for her. #Iguessyoudontknowcollegeswimming
As a specialist in college swimming based on the results on this back to back double could you please clarify to me what should we expect from KL in March in 1650 and 200 distances. Sure there was some reason for her/team/coach to swim this double. But I don’t see the reason to be that excited about 9:13 and 1:43. Sure she is a great swimmer but it is not a news. Is she better this season in college than last season. Tell me please if she goes under 15 minutes or breaks Missy’s record. That’s what will make me very excited. Tell me dear college swimming expert that you DON’T think that her performance at this double is a… Read more »
Between her and Comerford for Missy’s record. Not making assumptions but… Comerford was 1:43 at her mid-season rest last year and then hit 1:40 at NC’s. She was 1:41 at her mid-season rest this year. Again, not making any assumptions and saying she will go 1:38 but… one can dream.
Katie’s and Mallory’s performances at NCAA are the point of high interest. After unbelievable progress last year where is Comerford now? Was it the beginning of great career or was it a peak. Quite an opposite question about Ledecky. Where is she now? Was last season just one step back to jump two steps ahead? That are the only questions that I’ve been trying to answer when following performances of these two great swimmers during this season in college.
I do want Missy’s record to be broken. I feel something not right about it. After Olympic success and her first meets in college I thought without practically any doubts that it would be done by Katie in NCAA. But… Read more »
You aren’t easily impressed are you Yozhik?
I think Ledecky and Comerford will be just fine but they probably thank you for the concern.
I get easily impressed with something that is really impressive. But you are right. Just because 9:13 is not even close to 8:9 shown three years ago in high school meet it is still the time that most of college swimmers can see in their sweetest dreams only.
Yeah the next fastest person ever was Katie Hoff with a 9:10. It’s a duel meet. Chill out.
Yeah go under 15:00 or I will not be impressed! /s
At the same meet last year Ledecky went 9:20 and 1:43.0. Weietzeil went 22.1 and 48.8.
What we should really be talking about is that Ella Eastin is 2 seconds faster in the 200 fly than last year with her 1:53.
Don’t forget that Katie Drabot has already been 1:51.74 in the 200 fly this year beating her teammate.
Assuming I didn’t overlook any results, over the course of their dual meet season, the Stanford Women lost only four swim races (assuming that exhibition swims in which a Stanford swimmer had the fastest times count as wins). Curiously, two of those four involved 50 freestyle races in which Simone Manuel — the best American sprinter in the last Olympics — swam. (The other two: a 50 free and a 100 free when she was injured.)
Given that she is recovering from her injury, and that dual meets are primarily for training purposes, I’m not trying to make any point except to note the unexpected nature of the observation. (I looked it up because my first thought was that… Read more »
Cal doesn’t seem that sharp at the moment. But i’m sure Pac12 and NCAA is gonna be a exciting!
I don’t quite get the disagreement here? SWAMMER is absolutely correct. Cal got thumped on Saturday. I watched the meet live on Facebook. Cal only won two races…..the 50 free and 200 free relay. And most of Stanford’s wins were 1,2 and 1,2,3. It wasn’t even close. I expected a more competitive meet. There appears to be a huge gap in depth favoring Stanford. And even with Simone and Janet Hu leaving this year… in comes Taylor Ruck to plug some of the holes. How can this even be fair?
If you put Stanford’s women against the rest of the country in a dual meet… Stanford’s women would probably win
I’m sure you’re trying to make a point of hyperbole…but that’s probably not true, under a standard dual meet format. You could probably come up with a dual meet structure where it would be true, but under any dual meet format used by anybody anywhere, that’s almost certainly not true.
Without diving it’d be pretty close… they’d probably be favored in ~7 events (50-100, 500-1000, 200 fly, 200 IM), with a shot to win others (backstroke, 100 fly). Out of 13. I know, they’d probably lose on depth and relays, but pretty close. Which is crazy.
I’m going to ask our Swimulator guys to run it. Just for funsies.
Cal was sharp enough to set two pool records, just not nearly good enough to contend with Stanford.
Not sure what your definition of “gonna be exciting” is, but I agree if you mean that Cal shouldn’t get creamed quite as badly as they just were in this dual meet.