STANFORD, Calif. -- Three individual wins from freshman Simone Manuel was not enough, as No. 3 California spoiled the No. 2 Stanford women’s swimming and diving team’s Valentine’s Day, 158-142. Manuel won the 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyles in the meet featuring numerous NCAA title contenders.
“While I’m disappointed we didn’t get the win, today was exactly why college athletics are so awesome,” said head coach Greg Meehan. “Two of the best teams in the country from amazing academic institutions battling it out back-and-forth all day. Specifically, I thought we raced well and at the same time had some areas where we could have been better. At the end of the day, those experiences will help us be more prepared for Pac-12’s and NCAA’s.”
Stanford (7-2, 5-1 Pac-12) held a 104-103 advantage but a 1-2-3 finish for Cal in the 200 IM sealed the win for the Bears with one event left. The Cardinal also pulled ahead at 47-46. Cal never led by more than 12 (43-31) between the second and 15th events.
Junior human biology major Sarah Haase (100 breaststroke), senior management science and engineering major Katie Olsen (200 breaststroke) and sophomore Kassidy Cook (1-meter diving) also picked up individual wins for the Cardinal.
Stanford shined in the breaststrokes, going 1-2-3 in the 100 and 1-2 in the 200. Haase, Olsen and freshman Heidi Poppe were the top three in the 100. Olsen and Haase were in front of Cal’s Marina Garcia Urzainqui in the longer version.
Cal (8-1, 7-0 Pac-12) was led by freshman Cierra Runge and junior Elizabeth Pelton, who each won two races. Runge took the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyles, while Pelton was first in the 100 back and outraced teammates Missy Franklin and Celina Li in the 200-yard IM.
The two teams look to be among the top of the NCAA Championships March 19-21 in Greensboro, N.C. Last season, Stanford won the dual with the Bears and finished second at the NCAA meet, one spot ahead of Cal.