STANFORD, Calif. – It will be No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the final dual meet of the season for the Stanford women's swimming and diving team. The top-ranked Cardinal visit rival Cal at noon on Saturday.
WATCH: Fans can catch the meet on Pac-12 Networks. For those in the Bay Area, admission is free and gates will open at 11 a.m.
BACK IN BERKELEY: Stanford's last visit to Cal is its only loss in the last 15 dual meets. The 158-142 defeat came in Berkeley on Feb. 14, 2015. Three individual wins from then-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. Manuel won the 50, 100 and 200-yard freestyles in the meet featuring numerous NCAA title contenders.
PREVIOUS MATCHUP: On Senior Day at Avery last year, No. 2 Stanford capped an undefeated regular season with a 172-128 win the Bears. Then-freshman Ella Eastin emerged with a trio of victories as she topped the field in the 200 fly (1:54.60), 500 free (4:46.89) and then the 200 individual medley (1:58.23).
LAST TIME OUT: Last week, Stanford swept the Los Angeles schools at Avery Aquatic Center. On Friday, junior Janet Hu and freshman Katie Ledecky each won twice as the Cardinal topped No. 19 UCLA, 127-104. Then on Senior Day, Stanford closed out its home schedule with an impressive 202-98 victory over No. 4 USC.
POOL RECORDS: In her final competitive swim at Avery, Lia Neal capped her career on The Farm with a pool record in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The two-time Olympian touched the Avery wall for the final time and stopped the clock at 3:15.05 -- it was a half-second faster than the nine-year-old facility record. In addition, Simone Manuel topped the pool record set just one day earlier by Ledecky in the 200 free (1:42.72), and Janet Hu bested her old Avery record in the 100 backstroke (51.91).
STREAKS: Stanford has won 14 straight dual meets. The Cardinal's last defeat in a dual was 158-142 to No. 3 Cal on Feb. 14, 2015 – which also marks a string of 13 straight Pac-12 dual meet victories since that loss. The Cardinal has also won 11 straight dual meets at home dating back to Oct. 30, 2014 against Texas (156-144).
DIVER OF THE MONTH: Kassidy Cook won on the 1-meter at all four conference dual meets in January to earn Pac-12 Diver of the Month honors, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday.
SENIOR STANDOUTS: Saturday marks the final regular season meet for seniors Bridget Boushka, Tara Halsted, Lia Neal and Nicole Stafford. The foursome was honored on Senior Day at Avery Aquatic Center last weekend. Boushka is a three-year letterwinner and two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree; Halsted is a two-time Olympic Trials qualifier and Pac-12 All-Academic selection; Neal is a two-time Olympian, six-time national champion and scholar All-American; Stafford is a four-time All-American, 2014 national champion in the 200 MR and has earned two Pac-12 Academic honors. In their three years on The Farm, Stanford has never finished worse than third at the NCAA Championships with runner-up finishes in 2014 and 2016.
Thanks again to our seniors, and also a BIG thanks to our senior parents! #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/I78qW7Ep0l
— Stanford WSwim/Dive (@stanfordwswim) January 29, 2017
CSCAA HONOREES: Stanford earned Scholar All-America team accolades from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) on Wednesday. The Cardinal, which finished its Fall season ranked atop the CSCAA rankings, also earned one of the top team GPA's in the nation during that time with a combined 3.59 GPA.
MEEHAN TO LEAD USA: Head coach Greg Meehan will serve as head women's coach for Team USA at the 2017 World Championships as announced by USA Swimming. The 17th FINA World Aquatics Championships will be held in Budapest, Hungary, from July 14–30, 2017. Dave Durden, the men's head coach at Cal, will lead the American men.
CARDINAL IN THE COMMUNITY: Outside of the pool, the Cardinal has been just as active this year. Many members of the team were part of the Stanford SAAC event on the Sunday prior to Halloween. The student-athletes—most in full costume—joined groups of young children to #TrickorTREEt in Palo Alto. Also this Fall, the team hosted a group of young local swimmers from San Jose to talk water safety and spend some time in the pool as part of a PSA with USA Swimming. Most recently, the team taught some young fans swimming technique prior to a Stanford women's basketball game for National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
WHAT'S AHEAD: Saturday's dual meet concludes the regular season for the Cardinal. The Pac-12 Championships are on the horizon, and Stanford will be in search of its first conference crown since 2013 -- the first season under head coach Greg Meehan. The Cardinal has finished second each of the last three years. The championships are Feb. 22-25 in Federal Way, Wash.
SOCIAL SCENE: You can follow Cardinal women's swimming and diving all year long on instagram, twitter and snapchat (@StanfordwSwim).
A photo posted by Stanford W. Swimming (@stanfordwswim) on Feb 3, 2017 at 8:20pm PST