GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Stanford’s Simone Manuel had the crowd at the Greensboro Aquatic Center buzzing Thursday night. The freshman won the 50-yard freestyle and had a huge comeback in the final leg of the 400-yard medley relay to send the Cardinal to third place after the first day of the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.
After taking the 50 free in a Stanford record time of 21.31 for her first national title, Manuel split the fastest 100 ever (45.45) to anchor the Cardinal’s record-setting 400 medley relay. She entered the water more than two seconds after Virginia’s Ellen Thomas, but caught up to win by .01 while also holding off Cal’s Missy Franklin. The Cardinal (3:26.41), Cavaliers (3:26.42) and Bears (3:27.17) clocked the three fastest times in history in the event.
“I think for starters, congrats to Virginia and to Cal because they had two great relays and it wasn’t easy to get a win there,” said head coach Greg Meehan. “It was a very impressive performance by both of those squads. Simone’s teammates put her in that position to do what she’s capable of. She’s capable of doing some pretty crazy things. To get her hand on the wall first was an amazing thing for our program and for our fans to celebrate that.”
Manuel was set up by freshman Ally Howe, senior Katie Olsen and freshman Janet Hu in the medley.
The comeback added to the momentum that Manuel’s dynamite 50 free and Kassidy Cook’s second-place showing in the 1-meter diving competition started.
After her 50, Manuel said, “I’m pretty excited. 50 free, first individual event at NCAAs, so I’m really excited for the rest of the week.” But little did she know the excitement would be taken to new levels on her very next swim in the 400 medley relay.
Cook nearly pulled off a national title in the 1-meter but Arizona’s Samantha Pickens clutch final dive ended Cook’s hopes. Stanford's sophomore put pressure on Pickens with a 60.00 on her last attempt (video below).
Pickens finished with 345.90 points, 5.7 ahead of Cook, who was in first with two dives remaining. Pickens and Cook had qualified 1-2, respectively.
To start the evening, California snuck past Stanford in the 200-yard free relay to win the event for the first time since 2011 and knock off the defending champion Cardinal. Farida Osman guided the Bears to the win by splitting 21.18 in the final 50 yards. Stanford’s squad featured three freshmen, Manuel, Hu and Howe, and one sophomore, Lia Neal.
Stanford and the rest of the field return to the Greensboro Aquatic Center tomorrow morning. Prelims being at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT with finals starting at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Team Standings
1. Georgia 172
2. California 162
3. Stanford 111
4. Texas A&M 82.5
5. Virginia 76
5. Louisville 76
7. Wisconsin 54
8. Tennessee 52
9. Southern California 46
10. Arizona 44