MINNEAPOLIS -- Three more national titles on the second day of the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships kept Stanford in second place with 297 points, behind only Georgia’s 369 points. Felicia Lee doubled up with wins in the 200 medley relay and 100 fly and Maya DiRado added a win in the 200 IM to sweep the meet’s IM races.
“If it’s possible, we out-did what we did last night, which is really hard to believe because last night was an amazing session,” said second-year head coach Greg Meehan. “It was pretty emotional to see Maya win another individual title and see Felicia win her first individual national title.”
Stanford started with a bang by winning the 200 medley relay in 1:34.95. Lee started it off with a 23.56, before Katie Olsen, Nicole Stafford and Maddy Schaefer kept the Cardinal in front throughout to win by .37 seconds.
DiRado was next and kept the Cardinal rolling. The senior picked up her second career individual NCAA win, and second of the meet, in convincing fashion. She won by .77 seconds with a final time of 3:58.12.
“I have been racing Beisel for a while in the 400 IM, so it’s always fun to come out on top,” said DiRado. “She is such a great competitor and you know that when you are racing her it’s going to be a good time. So, it was nice to get my hand on the wall first.”
Lee explained that the back-to-back titles aided Stanord, saying, "We were really building momentum and everyone was getting really excited. When I stepped up for the 100 fly, I could feel the energy from my team and I just went out there and had the best swim I could’ve had.”
She showed her excitement by going 50.89 in the 100 fly finals to win her first individual NCAA title. She was just .02 off of Elaine Breeden’s program record set in 2009 during her 12th swim of the meet.
But even after three championships, Stanford’s best event of the day may have been the 800 medley relay.
In a race the Cardinal was not favored to contend in, Stanford hung with Georgia during the first three swimmers of the relay. The event came down the final touch, when Cal’s Missy Franklin sneaked past Stanford and Georgia to take the race.
Stanford finished in 6:55.62 with a squad that included Julia Anderson, DiRado, who had done two 400 IM races, Stafford and Lia Neal, who had finished two 200 frees already. The Cardinal fought through the fatigue to drop more than two seconds from its time at the Pac-12 meet and set a school record.
“That was probably as impressive as anything we have done all weekend,” Meehan added. “It just continues the momentum.”
Stanford hopes to pick up where it left off in tomorrow’s final day of the meet. Seven more national championships will be handed out, along with the team awards after Saturday’s finals session.
All-American
Julia Anderson (1)
800 free relay (3rd)
Alex Clay (1)
1-meter (14th)
Maya DiRado (4)
200 IM (1st), 400 medley relay (1st), 400 IM (1st), 800 free relay (3rd)
Sarah Haase (1)
100 breast (10th)
Felicia Lee (6)
200 free relay (1st), 200 IM (6th), 400 medley relay (1st), 200 medley relay (1st), 100 fly (1st), 100 back (3rd)
Lia Neal (5)
200 free relay (1st), 50 free (10th), 400 medley relay (1st), 200 free (9th), 800 free relay (3rd)
Katie Olsen (4)
200 free relay (1st), 400 medley relay (1st), 200 medley relay (1st), 100 breast (5th)
Maddy Schaefer (3)
200 free relay (1st), 50 free (6th), 200 medley relay (1st)
Nicole Stafford (2)
200 medley relay (1st), 800 free relay (3rd)
Andie Taylor (1)
400 IM (14th)