March 23, 2013
INDIANAPOLIS - Stanford held strong to finish eighth at the NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, which concluded Saturday evening at the IU Natatorium. With the three-day performance, the Cardinal extended its streak of top-10 finishes at the NCAAs to 33 dating back to 1981.
Georgia (477), the only school which qualified the maximum number of 19 swimmers and divers for the championships, won its fifth NCAA crown and knocked off two-time defending champion Cal. Cal (393) was second in front of Tennessee (325.5), Texas A&M (323.5), Arizona (311), Florida (305) and USC (291).
Stanford notched 246 points for eighth.
"Today was an up and down day for us, and I wish we could have finished a little stronger," Stanford head coach Greg Meehan said. "I'm extremely proud of the group's effort. We learned a lot about ourselves over the past six months. We didn't really take a traditional path this season, but we walked away with a Pac-12 championship, a knowledge of how to be better next season, and a lot of self growth."
After knocking off both USC and Cal to win the Pac-12 Conference title earlier this month, Stanford hangs its hat on a season that featured a 7-2 record and No. 4 ranking in the final regular-season dual meet top 25 poll.
The Cardinal set three Avery Aquatic Center records and as many school records throughout the season.
Nine different Cardinal swimmers had a hand in earning All-America honors at the NCAAs. Andi Murez, Maya DiRado and Felicia Lee each copped six All-America citations to pace Stanford.
Stanford earned All-America honors in each of the five relays and set school records in the 100 back and 400 medley relay during the three-day meet. Even more, Stanford was faster in each of Saturday's events than it was at the 2012 championships except for the 400 free relay prelims and 200 fly.
For the meet, three individuals scored in their respective events that were originally seeded between 32nd and 38th.
DiRado was eighth after the prelims of the 200 back in 1:52.85 and jumped four spots in the finals with a 1:51.34, making her the second-fastest performer in program history.
Annemarie Thayer tied for 17th in the prelims with a 1:54.38 and Lee was 20th in 1:54.41.
Maddy Schaefer and Murez tied for ninth in the prelims of the 100 free in 48.21. Murez (48.32) claimed 10th in the finals, one spot ahead of Schaefer's 48.43. Schaefer tied for 11th and Julia Anderson was 46th in 49.70.
In the 200 breast, Katie Olsen's 2:09.85 in the prelims was good for 15th. Olsen held on to 15th in the finals with a 2:09.78. Sarah Haase was 32nd in the event, tapping in at 2:12.06.
Andie Taylor managed a 16:33.74 in the 1,650 free for 39th.
Stanford stood in the second through the prelims of the 400 free relay by touching in 3:12.90 and went under that mark with a 3:12.19 in the finals. Schaefer, DiRado, Lee and Murez teamed to lead the Cardinal to fifth in the evening swim.
Georgia (3:09.40) won the final relay with an NCAA record and second-place Arizona (3:10.63) bettered the American record of 3:10.77 set by Stanford in 2012. Schaefer and Murez were part of that 2012 record-setting relay.
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2013 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships Honors and Awards
School Record 100 Back (51.58) - Lee 400 Medley Relay (3:30.06) - DiRado, Haase, Lee, Murez
All-America Andi Murez (6) 100 Free - 10th (48.32) 200 Free - 8th (1:45.25) 200 Free Relay - 4th (1:27.90) 400 Free Relay - 5th (3:12.19) 800 Free Relay - 4th (6:59.16) 400 Medley Relay - 4th (3:30.06)
Felicia Lee (6) 100 Back - 4th (51.58) 200 Free Relay - 4th (1:27.90) 400 Free Relay - 5th (3:12.19) 800 Free Relay - 4th (6:59.16) 200 Medley Relay - 7th (1:37.17) 400 Medley Relay - 4th (3:30.06)
Maya DiRado (6) 200 Back - 4th (1:51.34) 200 IM - 3rd (1:53.86) 400 IM - 2nd (4:01.02) 400 Free Relay - 5th (3:12.19) 800 Free Relay - 4th (6:59.16) 400 Medley Relay - 4th (3:30.06)
Maddy Schaefer (5) 50 Free - 4th (22.01) 100 Free - 11th (48.43) 200 Free Relay - 4th (1:27.90) 400 Free Relay - 5th (3:12.19) 200 Medley Relay - 7th (1:37.17)
Sarah Haase (3) 100 Breast - 14th (59.95) 200 Medley Relay - 7th (1:37.17) 400 Medley Relay - 4th (3:30.06)
Alex Whitford (1) 200 Free Relay - 4th (1:27.90)
Annemarie Thayer (1) 200 Medley Relay - 7th (1:37.17)
Julia Anderson (1) 800 Free Relay - 4th (6:59.16)
Katie Olsen (1) 200 Breast - 15th (2:09.78)
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