COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 10 Stanford boat raced the field at the three-day Art Adamson Invitational hosted by Texas A&M, wrapping up the event Saturday with 1,523 points for the top billing.
The Cardinal, which led wire-to-wire, earned nearly 1,000 more points than LSU (573), which finished second among the seven-team field.
“The team got going this weekend,” said Ted Knapp, Stanford’s Goldman Family Director of Men’s Swimming. “We saw much improvement in many of the areas we’ve been working on. While there were some best times, it’s easy to look at the guys that placed near the top. But as a team, I was pleased with our efforts in each of the relays. Many, many swims were better than this point last year, and several freshmen contributed lifetime bests.
“I’m quite happy for this November performance, but March is always on our mind.”
The event concluded the first half of the 2014-15 men’s swimming and diving schedule, which also saw the Cardinal win a pair of dual meets. Stanford returns to action Jan. 10 for an 11 a.m. (PT) home meet with Pacific.
David Nolan narrowly missed an NCAA A-cut mark in the 200-yard backstroke, cruising ahead of the pack after the first 100 yards to a 1:41.03 win.
Thomas Stephens posted a standout 43.66 in the 100-yard freestyle with Connor Black contributing a 43.81 for second. Sam Perry put in a 44.22 for third.
Max Williamson’s 1:56.98 won the 200-yard breaststroke, including a 30.22 split on the last 50 yards.
Gray Umbach was on pace for an NCAA A-cut through 150 yards of the 200-yard butterfly, and his 1:43.20 was good enough for gold. Tom Kremer took third in 1:45.37.
Stanford went 1-2-3 in the 1,650-yard freestyle, headlined by Danny Thomson’s 15:06.40.
Nolan led off the 400-yard freestyle relay in 43.15 as the squad combined to go 2:53.01 for an NCAA A-cut to put a wrap on the championship-style format. Even more, Stanford’s B-unit went 2:55.84 for second.
