STANFORD, Calif. - Its the much-anticipated season debut for the Stanford women's swimming and diving team on Friday. The Cardinal visits Osborn Aquatic Center to take on Pac-12 foe Oregon State at 2 p.m. A limited amount of tickets are available here.
The Matchup: Stanford is 4-0 all-time against the Beavers dating back to the first dual meeting in 2007. This will mark the Cardinal's first matchup with Oregon State since hosting the Beavers in October of 2014. In their first home meet, then-freshmen Simone Manuel, Ally Howe, and Janet Hu each picked up two wins apiece to lead Stanford to a 134-117 victory. The last trip to Corvallis resulted in a 170-88 win on Oct. 25, 2013.
A Look Back: The Cardinal was 7-0 in dual meets last season and ranked as high as No. 1 in the nation. Stanford finished second at the Pac-12 Championships with 13 total Pac-12 titles (three relays and 10 individual wins) and boasted the Pac-12 Coach of the Year (Greg Meehan), Pac-12 Diving Coach of the Year (Patrick Jeffrey), Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year (Ella Eastin) and Pac-12 Diver of the Year (Gracia Leydon Mahoney). Stanford then finished second at the NCAA Championships -- a meet that came down to the final event. The Cardinal totaled 35 All-America honors and five national titles (three individuals and two relays).
Olympic Return: Stanford returns seven of its 10 All-Americans from last season, including five of six national champions. In addition, Olympians Simone Manuel and Kassidy Cook return to the team after redshirting the 2015-16 campaign. Manuel was a seven-time All-America honoree as a freshman for the Cardinal in 2014-15. She won four medals (two gold, two silver) at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio, and became the first African-American woman to medal in an Olympic event. Cook garnered All-America accolades in the 1-and-3-meter in 2015, and finished 13th at the Olympics.
Thanks to @StanfordFball for recognizing our Olympians at halftime tonight! #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/IaBdlv6iUp
— Stanford W. Swimming (@stanfordwswim) October 9, 2016
Additions: Stanford also finished with the top-ranked recruiting class which includes Katie Drabot, Allie Szekely, Erin Voss and Megan Byrnes. Standout Katie Ledecky will also join this class after deferring her freshman year for the Olympics, where she won five medals (four gold, one silver).
Captains: Head Coach Greg Meehan announced three senior captains for the 2016-17 campaign. Lia Neal, Lindsey Engel and Nicole Stafford were selected to lead the Cardinal for the upcoming season. The trio has helped guide Stanford to top-three NCAA finishes in their first three seasons.
Catch the Cardinal: There is free admission to all Stanford home meets at Avery Aquatic Center. Two Cardinal meets will be televised on Pac-12 Networks -- at home against USC on Saturday, Jan. 28 and at Cal on Saturday, Feb. 11. All three other home meets will be live streamed on GoStanford.com.
Follow the Cardinal (@StanfordWswim): Stanford women's swimming and diving can be found on instagram, twitter and snapchat (@StanfordWswim).
Up Next: Stanford has its first home meet on Thursday, Oct. 20 when the Cardinal welcomes Washington State to Avery Aquatic Center at 2 p.m. The meet will be live streamed at GoStanford.com. The following day, the Cardinal brings back many of its accomplished graduates for the annual Alumni Meet.
We are ready! Season starts next Friday #GoStanford????
A photo posted by Stanford W. Swimming (@stanfordwswim) on Oct 4, 2016 at 2:10pm PDT