STANFORD, Calif. - In a one-day trip to Corvallis and back, 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 (1-0, 1-0) had the fastest time in all 14 events to win its eighth straight dual meet dating back to the 2014 season finale.
"This is a really fun group and it was a good first trip for us," said head coach Greg Meehan. "It was nice having our entire team back together, and I think we are all excited for the season ahead."
In the first event of the year, Janet Hu, Allie Szekely, Simone Manuel and Katie Ledecky won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:42.92. It marked the first collegiate race for Szekely and Ledecky, who also earned their first individual wins of their careers in the 200-yard backstroke (1:57.41) and 100-yard freestyle (50.10), respectively.
Hu??Szekely??Manuel??Ledecky start the season for Stanford with a win in the 200 IM relay (1:42.92) #GoStanford?? pic.twitter.com/N1hANUEEI3
— Stanford W. Swimming (@stanfordwswim) October 14, 2016
In all, Stanford's freshmen posted four wins as Megan Byrnes and Katie Drabot also earned their first victories. Byrnes touched the wall first in the 1,000-yard freestyle at 9:58.25, and Drabot stopped the clock at 1:47.95 to edge teammate Ella Eastin in the 200-yard freestyle. In addition, Hannah Boyd had the fastest finish in the 500-yard freestyle (5:00.79) in a non-scoring event for the Cardinal.
"I think our freshmen did a great job today," Meehan said. "But this first trip was more about the experience with their teammates. They probably won't remember the time from their first race, but they'll remember the travel and time spent with friends."
Sophomore Kim Williams swept the breaststroke with a victory in the 100 and 200. She finished in 1:03.57 and 2:17.09, respectively.
Stanford's upperclassmen excelled in the opening meet as well. Ally Howe topped the field in the 100-yard backstroke in 52.85, Lindsey Engel was first in the 50-yard freestyle and Hu won the 200-yard butterfly (1:57.96). Manuel swam in the 100-yard butterfly and finished with the top time of 54.47, and Howe also bested the field in the 200-yard individual medley (2:02.24).
UP NEXT: Its the home opener for the Cardinal against Washington State on Thursday at 2 p.m. There is free admission to Avery Aquatic Center. For those unable to attend, the meet can be seen here.
All smiles ?? after our first meet #GoStanford??
A photo posted by Stanford W. Swimming (@stanfordwswim) on Oct 14, 2016 at 3:54pm PDT