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Records: World (1) 100 Breast - SCM (1:04.79); American (6) 50 Breast - SCM (30.29); 100 Breast - SCY (58.41); 100 Breast - SCM (1:04.79); 200 Breast - SCY (2:07.13); 200 Breast - SCM (2:20.70); 400 Medley Relay - SCY (3:31.74) Personal-Bests (SCY/SCM/LCM): 50 Free (23.70/na/28.33); 100 Free (na/na/1:02.13); 50 Breast (na/30.29/na); 100 Breast (58.41/1:04.79/1:08.13); 200 Breast (2:07.13/2:20.70/2:26.36); 100 Fly (54.75/na/1:04.49); 200 IM (2:01.83/2:14.66/2:26.91) Stanford's All-Time Top 10 Rankings (All SCY): 100 Breast (#1, 58.41); 200 Breast (#1, 2:07.13); 400 Medley Relay (#1, 3:31.74) 16-Time All-American 11-Time NCAA Champion All Performances (1997-2004)
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General - One of the world's top breaststrokers with incredible talent and a potential 2004 Olympian who has qualified to compete in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials (July 7-14) in both the 100 and 200 breast Currently the world record holder in the 100 breast - SCM (1:04.79) Holds a current total of six American records, including the 50 breast - SCM (30.29), 100 breast - SCY (58.41), 100 breast - SCM (1:04.79), 200 breast - SCY (2:07.13), 200 breast - SCM (2:20.70) and 400 medley relay - SCY (3:31.74) Also holds the U.S. Open, NCAA, NCAA Meet, Pac-10, Pac-10 Meet and Stanford records in both yard breaststroke events, as well as the Pac-10, Pac-10 Meet and Stanford records in the 400 yard medley relay, and the Pac-10 Meet record in the 200 yard medley relay Very focused, intense and hard-working in a positive way that helps her teammates strive Excellent rate and strength Great out of the block A strong and explosive swimmer with lots of natural speed A real competitor who truly enjoys racing.
Tara Kirk and Stanford head coach Richard Quick enjoy a pre-meet ceremony on 2004 Senior Day
Cardinal Career - Ranks among the elite swimmers in Stanford history while competing intercollegiately from 2000-04 Won the NCAA title in the 100 breast during each of her four seasons on The Farm and the 200 breast in each of her last three seasons after a second-place finish as a freshman Became the first swimmer to ever win an NCAA title in a breaststroke event for four consecutive years in the 100 breast Won a total of 11 NCAA titles as she also swam the breaststroke leg on Stanford's winning 200 and 400 yard medley relay teams in both 2001 and 2002 in addition to her seven individual NCAA crowns in breaststroke events Also added 14 Pac-10 titles with four in the 100 yard breast and three in the 200 yard breast, as well as four as a member of Stanford's 400 yard medley relay squad and three with the 200 yard medley relay team Won all 35 of her collegiate races in the 100 yard breast (nine as a freshman, eight as a sophomore, 10 as a junior, eight as a senior) Won her final 19 collegiate 200 breast races, beginning with her NCAA title as a sophomore in 2002 Served as team captain in each of her final three seasons.
As a Senior in 2003-04 - Won the Honda Award as the nation's Most Outstanding Collegiate Women's Athlete for swimming and diving Nominated for the Honda-Broderick Cup (Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year), which will be announced on June 21, 2004 2004 NCAA Championships: Named the NCAA Swimmer of the Year Picked up her final two NCAA titles by sweeping the 100 (1:04.79) and 200 (2:20.70) breast - SCM, setting a SCM world record in the 100 and an American mark in the 200 Also set a new American record (SCM) in the 50 meter breast (30.29) during her first 50 meters of her world record breaking 100 meter performance Added All-American honors as a member of Stanford's second-place and third-place 400 (3:58.00) and 200 (1:49.80) meter medley relay teams 2004 Pac-10 Championships: Swept the 100 (59.14) and 200 (2:07.13) yard breast, breaking her own SCY American record in the 200 Also finished 17th in the 200 yard IM (2:03.56), while swimming exhibitions in the 50 yard free (24.38) and 100 yard fly (personal-best 54.75) Swam the second leg on Stanford's winning 200 (27.08/1:39.87) and 400 (58.52/3:35.93) medley relay teams 2003-04 Victories: Led Stanford with 33 victories and was unbeaten in both the 100 and 200 breast with nine and 10 victories, respectively Also a member of nine winning 200 medley relay squads and five winning 400 medley relay teams.
As a Junior in 2002-03 - Had another fantastic collegiate season, capping it off by sweeping the 100 (58.62) and 200 (2:08.79) yard breast at the NCAA Championships, setting an NCAA Meet record in the 100 Earned two other All-American honors by swimming the breaststroke leg on Stanford's second-place 200 (26.81/1:38.42) and fourth-place 400 (58.24/3:35.16) yard medley relay squads, both season-best times Also finished 35th in the 200 yard IM (2:02.92) at the NCAA's Swept the 100 (58.41) and 200 (2:07.37) yard breast at the Pac-10's, setting a new American record in the 100 and winning the event for the third consecutive season, while breaking the Pac-10 Meet record in the 200 and coming just .01 second shy of the American record (2:07.36) that she set at the 2002 NCAA Championships Also finished 11th in the 200 yard IM (2:03.56) at the Pac-10 Championships, while swimming exhibitions in the 50 yard free (24.00) and 100 yard fly (55.54) Led Stanford to victories in both the 200 (26.74/1:38.80) and 400 (58.52, 3:35.94) yard medley relays by swimming the breaststroke leg for the Cardinal in both races, setting a new Pac-10 Meet record in the 200 Dominated the breaststroke events during the regular season, leading Stanford with a total of 19 individual victories by winning all 10 times she swam the 100 yard breast and on each of the nine occasions she entered the 200 breast Broke her own Avery Aquatic Center record in the 100 yard breast versus Auburn/Pacific (59.74, 11/22-11/23) Added three regular season wins in relay events, helping the Cardinal to victories in the 200 yard medley relay at Pacific (1/11) and versus UCLA (1/31), as well as the 400 yard medley relay versus USC (2/1) Second Team Pac-10 and Verizon District 8 All-Academic.
As a Sophomore in 2001-02 - Won four NCAA titles and broke four American records Won individual NCAA titles in the 100 (59.03) and 200 (2:07.36) yard breast, setting an American record in the latter Swam the breaststroke leg on Stanford's American record-setting 200 (26.96/1:37.79) and 400 (58.16/3:31.74) yard medley relay teams at the NCAA Championships Had previously set an American record in the 100 yard breast (58.68) to win the Pac-10 title (she would later break her own record at the 2003 Pac-10 Championships) Finished second at the Pac-10's in the 200 yard breast (2:07.79), being edged by rival Agnes Kovacs of Arizona State who set a new Pac-10 record with a time of 2:07.75 that has been since broken by Kirk Helped Stanford to a Pac-10 title in the 400 yard medley relay (58.96/3:36.54) by swimming the breaststroke leg Won all eight of her 100 yard breaststroke events and seven of the 10 times she competed in the 200 yard breast Also placed 17th in the 200 yard IM at the Pac-10's (2:02.37) and 25th at the NCAA's with a career-best time of 2:01.83 Swam the breaststroke leg on Stanford's second-place 200 (26.89/1:39.88) and winning 400 (58.96/3:36.54) yard medley relay teams at the Pac-10's Won the 50 yard free (24.15) and 200 yard IM (2:04.58) in the "B" Finals at the Texas Invite (11/30) Contributed to a total of nine winning medley relay teams (five 200, four 400) Second Team Pac-10 All-Academic.
As a Freshman in 2000-01 - Won three NCAA titles and earned four All-American honors at her first NCAA Championships to conclude a dominating freshman campaign that saw her win all eight of her races in the 100 yard breast and seven of nine in the 200 yard breast Individual NCAA champion in the 100 yard breast (59.18) and runner-up in the 200 yard breast (2:09.18) Also swam the breaststroke leg of Stanford's NCAA champion 200 (27.20/1:38.43) and 400 (58.77/3:32.43) yard medley relay teams, helping Stanford set NCAA, NCAA Meet and US Open records in the latter Despite not winning the NCAA title in the 200 yard breast, still had the nation's fastest time of the year in the event by swimming a 2:08.54 to win the Pac-10 title, setting Pac-10 and Pac-10 Meet records Also won the 100 yard breast (59.58) at the Pac-10 Championships and picked up additional conference titles by swimming the breaststroke legs on the 200 (27.26/1:39.58) and 400 (59.62/3:35.40) yard medley relay squads Also swam the 200 yard IM at the Pac-10 Championships, finishing 20th (2:05.46).
International/National Competition - Has extensive experience at the international and national levels Has competed most recently at the 2004 Janet Evans Invitational after previous outings at the Santa Clara Invitational, Speedo Grand Challenge and Counsilman Classic following the end of her collegiate career at the NCAA Championships in March of 2004 Swept the 100 (1:08.50) and 200 (2:28.46) meter breast events at the 2004 Janet Evans Invitational Won the 100 (1:08.40) and 200 (2:28.26) meter breast at the 2004 Santa Clara Invitational Captured the 100 (1:08.47) and placed second in the 200 (2:26.36) meter breast at the 2004 Speedo Grand Challenge Won the 200 (2:27.87) and finished second in the 100 (1:08.89) meter breast at the 2004 Counsilman Classic Won her first U.S. national title when she captured the 100 meter breast (1:08.56) at the 2003 Senior Spring Nationals, while adding a third-place finish in the 200 meter breast (2:30.62) at the event Finished third in the 100 (1:08.90) and fifth in the 200 (2:32.56) meter breast at the Mutual of Omaha Duel In The Pool between the U.S. and Australian national teams in April of 2003 Finished fifth in both the 50 (31.87, career-best 31.40 semifinals) and the 100 (1:08.30, 1:08.24 semifinals) meter breast at the 2003 FINA World Championships Placed third in the 100 (1:08.93) and fifth in the 200 (2:31.46) meter breast at the 2003 Summer Senior Nationals Picked up a victory in the 100 meter breast (1:10.03) at the Santa Clara Invitational in the summer of 2003 Earned a silver medal in the 100 (1:08.66) and took sixth place in the 200 (2:29.85) meter breast at the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Placed third in the 200 (2:28.37) and fifth in the 100 (1:09.03) meter breast at the 2002 Summer Senior Nationals Swept the 100 (1:08.51) and 200 (2:29.45) meter breast at the 2002 Janet Evans Invitational Currently ranked fifth in the world in the 50 (31.40), seventh in the 100 (1:08.13) and 35th in the 200 (2:30.62) meter breast in the long course 50-meter pool rankings Won a gold medal at the 2001 World University Games in the 50 meter breast by setting a new Universiade record with a time of 32.12 Also finished fourth in the 100 (1:10.83) and sixth in the 200 (2:33.64) meter breast, while swimming the breaststroke leg for the U.S. silver medal 4x100 meter medley relay team at the event Finished second in the 100 meter breast (1:09.51) at the 2001 Summer Senior Nationals Placed eighth at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 200 (2:33.91, 2:30.97 semis) and ninth in the 100 (1:10.23) meter breast Finished third at the Short Course World Championships in the 50 meter breast in March 2000, twice breaking an American record in the event Placed third in the 100 meter breast at the 1999 Summer Senior Nationals.
High School - A 2000 graduate of Bremerton High School A two-year All-American and All-Conference performer Also earned a pair of Academic-All-American and National Student-Athlete selections Finished second twice in the 100 yard breast and fifth twice in the 100 yard fly at the state level.
Club - Maki Aquatics Coached by Gabe Mazurkiewicz.
Personal - Human Biology major Daughter of Jeff and Margaret Kirk Sister, Dana, is also an Olympic swimming hopeful and will be a junior on the Stanford women's swimming and diving team in 2004-05 Says that "special socks" are among her many pre-meet rituals.
Stanford Coaching Staff on Kirk - "Tara Kirk has meant everything to Stanford swimming since she arrived on campus. She is one of the finest swimmers we have ever had and ranks right in line with the top names in school history. She's also one of the best breaststrokers in the world right now and the best we've ever had at Stanford. She's a special athlete and her potential is incredible. Not only is she a great performer, she also helps to make everybody better with her work ethic and attitude in practice."
Last Updated: 10/13/04