Feb. 28, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Stanford junior Elaine Breeden won her third consecutive Pacific-10 Conference championship in the 200 butterfly in record-setting fashion tonight, setting the American, U.S. Open and NCAA record with a time of 1:49.92. Swimming this evening at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, Breeden surpassed the year-old American and U.S. Open standard of 1:51.27 set by Mary DeScenza, while blowing by the NCAA mark of 1:51.91 achieved by Olympic Gold Medalist Natalie Coughlin of Cal in 2002.
Breeden's record-setting effort and fifth career Pac-10 crown headlined Stanford's final day of the 2009 Pac-10 Championships, as the Cardinal finished third with 1,317 points. However, the Stanford women's swimming and diving team put forth an outstanding effort, combining to set two American records, two U.S. Open standards, three NCAA marks and win five individual Pac-10 titles. Cardinal swimmers also combined for nine NCAA "A" qualifying times and 36 "B" standards, while establishing eight school records and logging 24 total efforts that ranked in Stanford's all-time top-10.
"Elaine's effort today was outstanding," said Stanford head coach Lea Maurer. "We'll put her right back to work, as this is definitely a swim we can build on for NCAAs."
Discussing the Pac-10 Championships, Maurer commented "We are pretty happy with the way things turned out overall. We struggled with some injuries this year, and we knew the writing was on the wall a bit in that we didn't have as many healthy bodies. Overall, we feel with the number of (NCAA) qualifiers we have, that we are in a good position to have a real good meet at the NCAAs."
Carmen Stellar, another junior standout for Stanford, capped a sensational meet by winning the platform competition for her first ever Pac-10 title. She tallied a score of 257.55, shattering her previous career best of 210.30 on the platform. Tonight's win came on the heels of a fourth-place finish on the 1-meter (289.90) and a second-place effort on the 3-meter (325.90). Stellar becomes just the sixth Stanford diver to win a Pac-10 championship on the platform, while those six have combined to win nine titles. The title marked the 26th individual Pac-10 championship all-time by a Stanford diver under head diving coach Dr. Rick Schavone.
"We are thrilled for Carmen, and she was very deserving of Diver of the Meet honors," said Maurer. "All of our divers were sensational during the entire meet."
Carmen Stellar was named Diver of the Meet for the 2009 Pac-10 Championships |
The eighth and final Stanford record fell in the meet's last event - the 400 free relay. The Cardinal "A" team of sophomore Kate Dwelley, freshman Sam Woodward, Breeden and junior Julia Smit touched the wall in 3:12.76 to shave a second off the previous mark set just a year ago.
Also on the final day of competition, Stanford received scoring efforts from junior Whitney Spence (third - "B" 16.15.55), freshman Angela Duckworth (ninth - "B" 16:27.52), freshman Jessica Rodriquez (12th - 16:33.38) and junior Caitlin Reynolds (17th - 16:48.18) in the 1,650 free; senior Laura Wadden (10th - "B" 1:54.71) and senior Andrea Axtell (16th - 2:00.46) in the 200 back; Smit (third - "B" 47.98), Woodward (7th - "B" 48.78), freshman Betsy Webb (12th - "B" 49.32), senior Madeline Rovira (22nd - 49.90) and junior Nilasha Ghosh (23rd - 50.09) in the 100 free; senior Caroline Bruce (fifth - "B" 2:11.39), sophomore Liz Smith (sixth - "B" 2:11.44) and freshman Jamie Bruce (12th - "B" 2:14.41) in the 200 breast; sophomore Kate Dwelley (seventh - "B" 1:57.35) and Wadden (12th - "B" 1:57.97) in the 200 fly; and senior Sarah Ohr (sixth - 226.80), sophomore Meg Hostage (12th - 193.00) and freshman Mary Beth Corbett (181.20) on the platform.
A full breakdown of Stanford's accomplishments at the 2009 Pacific-10 Conference Championships follows:
American Records (2)
Elaine Breeden, 200 butterfly - 1:49.92 (Finals)
Julia Smit, 200 IM - 1:53.11 (Finals)
U.S. Open Records (2)
Elaine Breeden, 200 butterfly - 1:49.92 (Finals)
Julia Smit, 200 IM - 1:53.11 (Finals)
NCAA Records (3)
Elaine Breeden, 200 butterfly - 1:49.92 (Finals)
Julia Smit, 200 IM - 1:53.11 (Finals)
Julia Smit, 400 IM - 4:01.56 (Finals)
Pac-10 Champions (5)
Elaine Breeden, 100 butterfly (50.87)
Elaine Breeden, 200 butterfly (1:49.92)
Julia Smit, 200 IM (1:53.11)
Julia Smit, 400 IM (4:01.56)
Carmen Stellar, Platform Diving (257.55)
NCAA "A" Qualifications (9)
EventNameTime (Prelims/Finals)
200 freestyleKate Dwelley1:43.80 (Finals)
100 butterflyElaine Breeden50.87 (Finals)
200 butterflyElaine Breeden1:49.92 (Finals)
200 IMJulia Smit1:53.11 (Finals)
Elaine Breeden1:54.32 (Finals)
400 IMJulia Smit4:01.56 (Finals)
200 freestyle relayStanford "A"1:28.01 (Finals)
Julia Smit, Elaine Breeden, Kate Dwelley, Sam Woodward
400 freestyle relayStanford "A"3:12.76 (Finals)
Kate Dwelley, Sam Woodward, Elaine Breeden, Julia Smit
800 freestyle relayStanford "A"7:00.28 (Finals)
Julia Smit, Sam Woodward, Whitney Spence, Kate Dwelley
NCAA "B" Qualifications (36)
EventNameTime (Prelims/Finals)
50 freestyleSam Woodward22.31 (Finals)
Betsy Webb22.76 (Finals)
100 freestyleJulia Smit47.98 (Finals)
Sam Woodward48.48 (Prelims)
Betsy Webb49.32 (Finals)
200 freestyleWhitney Spence1:47.08 (Prelims)
500 freestyleKate Dwelley4:41.39 (Finals)
Whitney Spence4:42.47 (Finals)
Angela Duckworth4:46.32 (Prelims)
Jessica Rodriquez4:47.16 (Finals)
Caitlin Reynolds4:48.71 (Finals)
1,650 freestyleWhitney Spence`16:15.55 (Finals)
Angela Duckworth16:27.52 (Finals)
100 backstrokeBetsy Webb53.47 (Finals)
Laura Wadden53.96 (Finals)
Kelley Hug54.62 (Prelims)
200 backstrokeLaura Wadden1:54.71 (Finals)
100 breaststrokeCaroline Bruce1:00.80 (Prelims)
Liz Smith1:01.12 (Prelims - Exh.)
200 breaststrokeCaroline Bruce2:11.39 (Finals)
Liz Smith2:11.44 (Finals)
Jamie Bruce2:14.41 (Finals)
100 butterflySam Woodward52.45 (Finals)
Kelley Hug52.54 (Prelims)
Stefanie Sutton52.91 (Finals)
Nilasha Ghosh53.55 (Finals)
Laura Wadden53.61 (Prelims - Exh.)
200 butterflyKate Dwelley1:56.91 (Prelims)
Laura Wadden1:57.97 (Finals)
200 IMKate Dwelley1:58.09 (Prelims - Exh.)
Liz Smith1:58.10 (Prelims)
400 IMLiz Smith4:08.00 (Finals)
200 freestyle relayStanford "B"1:31.83 (Finals - Exh.)
Madeline Rovira, Betsy Webb, Nilasha Ghosh, Kelley Hug
400 freestyle relayStanford "B"3:19.59 (Finals - Exh.)
Madeline Rovira, Betsy Webb, Nilasha Ghosh, Kelley Hug
200 medley relayStanford "B"1:40.86 (Finals)
Laura Wadden, Caroline Bruce, Kelley Hug and Madeline Rovira
400 medley relayStanford "A"3:32.61 (Finals)
Betsy Webb, Liz Smith, Elaine Breeden, Julia Smit
Stanford Record Book (24; 8 records)
EventNameRank (Time)
50 freestyleJulia Smitt-1st (22.01 - relay)
Sam Woodward5th (22.31)
100 freestyleJulia Smit2nd (47.98)
Sam Woodward6th (48.48)*
200 freestyleKate Dwelley2nd (1:43.80)
Julia Smit3rd (1:43.88 - relay)
500 freestyleKate Dwelley4th (4:41.39)
Whitney Spence8th (4:42.47)
1,650 freestyleWhitney Spence10th (16.15.55)
200 backstrokeLaura Wadden4th (1:54.71)
100 butterflyElaine Breeden1st (50.87)
Sam Woodward6th (52.45)
Kelley Hug7th (52.54)*
Stefanie Sutton10th (52.91)
200 butterflyElaine Breeden1st (1:49.92)
Kate Dwelley7th (1:56.91)*
Laura Wadden9th (1:57.97)
200 IMJulia Smit1st (1:53.11)
Elaine Breeden2nd (1:54.32)
400 IMJulia Smit1st (4:01.56)
Liz Smith4th (4:08.00)
200 freestyle relayJulia Smit, Elaine Breeden,1st (1:28.01)
Kate Dwelley, Sam Woodward
400 freestyle relayKate Dwelley, Sam Woodward,1st (3:12.76)
Elaine Breeden, Julia Smit
800 freestyle relayJulia Smit, Sam Woodward,1st (7:00.28)
Whitney Spence, Kate Dwelley
*-denotes prelims