Feb. 12, 2005
Berkeley, Calif. - No. 5 Stanford (7-1, 5-0 Pac-10) finished a perfect Pac-10 dual meet season with a convincing 172-128 win at No. 9 California for its sixth consecutive victory overall in a Pac-10 short-course yards dual meet Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Caroline Bruce won three individual events in NCAA "A" qualifying times to lead the Cardinal, clocking a career-best 2:11.08 in the 200 breast and a collegiate-best 1:01.19 in the 100 breast with the times keeping her at No. 3 on Stanford's all-time Top 10 list in both events. She also turned in a 2:00.53 to capture the 200 IM and added another winning effort by swimming the breaststroke leg on Stanford's winning 200 medley relay squad.
"The Pac-10 is a fine conference and to go undefeated is something to feel good about," said Stanford head coach Richard Quick. "It gives you confidence for the postseason when you go through the Pac-10 season undefeated."
"Caroline Bruce is just continuing to have an outstanding freshman season," he added about Bruce, who is one of only three women's swimmers in Stanford history to have been an Olympian prior to beginning their collegiate career. "She's getting ready for a great championship season."
Bruce's times now rank her third (200 breast) and fourth (100 breast) on the national list of Top 50 performers this season. She is also fifth in the country in the 200 IM with a mark of 2:00.44 recorded earlier this year at the Speedo Cup on November 18, 2004.
Dana Kirk (100 fly, 200 fly) and Ashlee Rosenthal (1-meter diving, 3-meter diving) added a pair of individual wins each with Rosenthal scoring a season-best 301.13 points in the 3-meter event. Kirk added another victory by swimming the butterfly leg on Stanford's 200 medley relay. Brooke Bishop (100 back), Elizabeth Durot (500 free) and Desiree Stahley (1000 free) added one individual win each. Bishop (back) and Lacey Boutwell (free) joined Bruce and Kirk on Stanford's winning 200 medley relay that clocked in a season-best time of 1:41.84 that ranks Stanford seventh in the nation in the event this season.
California's Emily Silver (50 free, 100 free, 200 free) won three events, while Helen Silver added a victory in the 200 back. The Golden Bears were also victorious in the 400 free relay with a team of Lauren Andrews, Emma Palsson, Keiko Amano and Lauren Medina.
Two additional NCAA "A" times were recorded in the meet besides the three posted by Bruce. California's Emily Silver reached the mark with a time of 1:47.39 in her winning 200 free effort, while Stanford's Kristen Caverly had a second-place finish behind Bruce in the 200 IM with an NCAA "A" time of 2:14.05.
"Our team is growing and maturing," summarized Quick. "The regular season was a pretty good statement of that and as the year went along, we continued to improve. I'm really pleased with our dual meet season and the experiences that we gained should help us as we enter the postseason."
Stanford will next travel to the Pac-10 Championships from February 24-26 in Federal Way, Washington. The Cardinal is the defending conference champion and has won 15 of the 18 Pac-10 Championships contested.
"In the Pac-10 meet, it comes down to a combination of quality and depth," explained Quick. "Hopefully, our swimmers will rise to the occasion and be good in both areas. We're looking forward to a great meet."
NOTES
Stanford has won 29 of its 32 career meetings versus California
Stanford has now lost no more than two dual meets in each of the program's 31 years of existence
Stanford has won 34 of its last 39 dual meets overall and six in a row