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17-time All-American
Four-time NCAA Champion
Career-Best, Season-Best, 2002 NCAA Championships Seed: 100 Fly (52.16, 52.16, #2), 200 Fly (1:53.50, 1:53.50, #1), 200 IM (1:56.24, 1:56.64, #2)
2002 Pac-10 Championships: Raced to three victories in the 100 fly (52.16), 200 fly (1:53.50) and 200 IM (1:56.64) with new Pac-10 Meet records in the 200 fly and 200 IM, as well as new career-bests in the 100 and 200 fly ... Moved up to second and third on Stanford's all-time Top 10 lists in the 200 and 100 fly, respectively ... Helped Stanford to a victory and season-best time in the 800 free relay (3:36.54) by swimming the third leg ... Swam legs on all three free relay teams as Stanford finished second in the 200 (1:30.96) and 400 (3:19.66), as well as third in the 800 (7:16.05), recording team season-bests in all three.
2001-02 Regular Season Highlights: Won all nine of her regular season 200 fly races, as well as four of five 100 fly events ... Added four victories in the 200 back, three in the 200 IM, and one each in the 200 breast and 400 IM ... Also led Stanford to victory in four of the five 200 medley relay teams she participated on, as well as two of four 400 medley relay squads.
2001 NCAA Championships: Earned the maximum seven All-American honors and swam the backstroke legs on both of Stanford's winning medley relay teams, clocking in at 1:38.43 for the 200 and 3:32.43 for the 400 ... Helped the Cardinal set new NCAA, NCAA Meet and U.S. Open records in the latter ... Had a pair of second-place individual finishes in the 200 IM (1:56.24) and 200 fly (1:54.95), while placing fourth in the 100 back (53.25) ... Completed her All-American honors by swimming the third leg of the second-place 800 free relay team (7:07.64) and the leadoff leg of the 400 free relay squad (3:17.74).
Stanford's All-Time Top 10 Rankings: 100 Free (49.48, #8), 100 Back (53.05, #4), 200 Back (1:55.20, #3), 100 Fly (52.16, #3), 200 Fly (1:53.50, #2), 200 IM (1:56.24, #2), 400 IM (4:15.04, #8)
General: One of the top swimmers in the nation and the world as she continued to improve tremendously in her junior season ... A serious threat to win several NCAA titles ... An excellent leader and tremendously focused ... Ranks among Stanford's all-time Top 10 in seven events (200 yard IM, 2nd, 1:56.24; 200 yard back, 3rd, 1:55.20; 100 yard back, 4th, 53:05; 200 yard fly, 4th, 1:54.95; 100 yard free, 7th, 49.48; 100 yard fly, 8th, 53.92; 400 yard IM, 8th, 4:15.75) ... Nearly qualified for the 2000 Olympics with an excellent showing at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials ... A strong and smart swimmer ... A multi-talented and extremely versatile swimmer ... Expected to lead the team and emerge even more in her senior season ... Has a terrific competitive spirit, loves to race and possesses an extremely high level of determination ... Extremely strong and flexible with good core strength ... Should play a huge role in the fate of the Cardinal this season as she can score in almost any event ... Currently ranked among the world's best in the long course 50-meter pool rankings in six different events, led by her No. 8 ranking in the 100 meter fly (59:40) set at the USA Long Course championships in March of 2001 ... Ranks 12th in the world in the 200 meter fly (2:10.62), 36th in the 100 meter free (56.17), 37th in the 200 meter free (2:01.20), 100th in the 200 meter back (2:17.76) and 134th in the 200 meter IM (2:20.90).
As a Junior in 2000-01: Had her best collegiate year yet, earning the maximum seven All-American honors and swimming on both of Stanford's NCAA champion relay teams ... Swam the lead backstroke leg on both the 200 yard medley relay (25:10/1:38.43) and 400 yard medley relay (53.35/3:32.43) teams as the Cardinal set new NCAA, NCAA Meet and U.S. Open records in the latter ... Also had second-place finishes at the NCAA Championships in the 200 yard IM (1:56.24), 200 yard fly (1:54.95) and swimming the third leg of the 800 yard free relay team (1:46.01/7:07.64) ... Finished fourth in the 100 yard back (53.25) and swam the leadoff leg of the 400 yard free relay squad (49.48/3:17.74) ... Won four Pac-10 titles,including an individual championship in the 200 yard IM (1:57.83) ... Swam legs on three Pac-10 championship relay teams (200 yard medley, 400 yard medley, 800 yard free), setting a new Pac-10 Meet record in the 800 yard free relay ... Also had Top 5 individual finishes at the Pac-10 Championships in the 200 yard back (3rd-1:57.29) and the 100 yard back (5th-55.31), while swimming the third leg on Stanford's third-place 400 yard free relay team (49.71/3:19.71) ... Owned Stanford's best times of the year in the 100 yard free (49.48) and 200 yard IM (1:56.24) ... Won, or was a member of a winning relay team, in an incredible eight events at one time or another during the season (100 yard back, 200 yard back, 100 yard fly, 200 yard fly, 200 yard IM, 200 yard medley relay, 400 yard medley relay, 800 yard free relay) ... Had a big regular season meet versus UCLA (1/26) with victories in the 100 yard back, 200 yard back and 200 yard IM ... Also won twice against California (2/10) in the 200 yard fly and the 400 yard medley relay.
As a Sophomore in 1999-2000: Had her second consecutive outstanding collegiate campaign, earning five All-American honors for the second season in a row ... Placed second in the 200 meter back (2:08.01), third in the 200 meter fly (2:10.21) and fifth in the 100 meter back (59.56) at the NCAA Championships ... Also a member of a pair of Stanford's fourth-place relay teams, swimming the first leg (59.77) in the 400 meter medley relay (4:02.23) and the anchor (2:00.26) in the 800 meter free relay (8:00.45) ... Had an even better meet at the Pac-10 Championships as a four-time winner ... Captured the 100 yard back (53.20) and the 200 yard fly (1:56.50), while swimming the third leg on both the 400 yard free relay (49.74/3:17.78) and 800 yard free relay (1:47.52/7:10.79) champions ... Also finished second in the 200 yard back (1:55.20) and swam the leadoff leg (25.21) of Stanford's second-place 200 yard medley relay squad (1:40.95) ... Versatility was a key during the regular season as she won a total of five individual events at one time or another during Stanford's seven dual meets (200 yard free, 200 yard back, 200 yard IM, 400 yard IM, 200 yard fly).
As a Freshman in 1998-99: A five-time All-American at her first NCAA Meet ... Placed fourth in the 100 yard back (53.05) at the NCAA Championships, breaking the national age-group record (17-18) ... Won the consolation final in the 200 yard fly (1:58.16) for ninth place and finished tied for 11th in the 200 yard IM (2:00.70, 1:59.48 prelims) ... Also swam the backstroke legs on two NCAA championship relays ... Led off both the 200 yard medley relay (25.00), which broke the American record, and the 400 yard medley relay (53.35), which broke the U.S. Open record ... Had a great Pac-10 Championships, finishing third in three events: 100 yard back (54.19), 200 yard back (1:57.79) and 200 yard fly (1:59.87, 1:59.03 prelims) ... Also swam on two Pac-10 Meet record-setting relays, swimming the third leg of the 800 yard free relay (1:49.43) and the lead-off leg of the 200 yard medley relay (25.64) ... Won the 200 yard back (2:00.31) and the 200 yard fly (2:00.08) at the USC Invitational ... Won the 200 yard back (2:01.01) and the 200 yard fly (1:59.15) at Arizona State.
National/International Competition: Just missed making the U.S. National Team for the 2000 Olympics after an outstanding U.S. Olympic Trials, finishing 3rd in the 200 meter back (2:14.25) and fourth in the 200 meter fly (2:13.30, 2:12.87 first round) ... Participated at the 2001 FINA World Swimming Championships, finishing sixth in the 100 meter fly (59.67) and eighth in the 200 meter fly (2:11.09, 2:10.62 semifinals) ... Won a gold medal as part of the 400 meter medley relay team at the 1998 Goodwill Games ... 1998 U.S. Swimming Scholastic All-American and All-American in 100 and 200 meter back ... Finaled in four events at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials, including a fifth-place finish in the 200 meter IM ... Won the Kiphuth Award as high-point scorer at 1995 Spring Nationals ... Member of the Short Course World Championships team in 1997 ... The 1995 U.S. National Champion in the 100 meter back, as well as the runner-up in the 200 meter back and 200 meter IM ... Earned a bronze medal in the 400 meter IM at the 1995 Spring Nationals ... Broke National and age-group record in the 200 meter back in 1995 and 200 meter IM in 1993 ... Has been a finalist at U.S. Nationals more than 20 times.
High School: A 1998 graduate of Parkview Baptist High School ... Four-time All-American ... 1996 Academic All-American ... Set a National Independent High School record in the 100 yard back in 1998 ... Holder of more than 60 Louisiana state records ... Graduated with a 3.9 GPA, eighth in a class of 116 ... Team won four straight high school state championships ... Mother, Jan, was her prep swim coach ... Also was All-City in cross country ... Voted Homecoming Queen ... Earned Citizenship Award her senior year.
Club: Swims for Crawfish Aquatics ... Coached by Jimmy Roberts.
Personal: Communication major ... Daughter of Steve and Jan Ripple ... President of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for two years ... Member of the National Honor Society ... Also uses spinning to work out ... Mother was a professional triathlete for 10 years and swam in the 1976 U.S. Olympic Trials ... Father played linebacker at LSU (1973-77) and was captain of the team as a senior ... Uncle, Rick Meador, qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic swimming team but was denied a trip to the Olympics by the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games ... Grandfather, Bob Meador, who passed away in March of 2000, played professional basketball and baseball, and was also a collegiate basketball player at LSU.
Coaching Staff on Ripple: "Shelly has really been awesome at Stanford. She'll swim just about any event you ask of her. She is someone that you can absolutely count on all the time and you can't count her out of anything. If you tell her the team needs it, she will get it done. She's going to give you 100% every time out and the only thing we ever have to ask Shelly to do is to slow down now and then to stay healthy."