STANFORD, Calif. – Senior Janet Hu won two events and set a pool record to guide No. 3 Stanford women's swimming and diving to a 176-113 victory over Arizona State at a crowded Avery Aquatic Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Cardinal, which clinched a weekend sweep over the Arizona schools, also hosted Kids Autograph Day and spent 60 minutes after the meet signing for 200 young swim fans.
"We have all benefited so much from this sport, so it is important to find these small moments to give back," Paul A. Violich Director of Women's Swimming Greg Meehan said about the autograph session. "When you do this and see all the smiling faces, it is very rewarding and a great reminder of the impact that these young women have as role models."
Had a blast at Kids Autograph Day!
— Stanford WSwim/Dive (@stanfordwswim) January 20, 2018
Thanks to all our amazing fans! #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/C28JeCcguQ
In the pool, the Cardinal has now won 20 straight dual meets, 18 consecutive Pac-12 duals and 15 in a row at Avery.
In addition to Hu, freshman Grace Zhao, sophomore Katie Ledecky, junior Ella Eastin and senior Simone Manuel also won multiple individual events as Stanford was victorious in every swimming event.
Hu set the facility record in the 200-yard backstroke. Her time of 1:53.18 eclipsed the mark set by Amy Bilquist (1:53.80) in 2016. A short while later, Hu won the 100 butterfly at 52.16.
Returning from injury, senior Simone Manuel swept the 50 and 100 freestyles. In the final event of the first session, Manuel won the 50 with a time of 22.36, and then in the first event after the break, the Sugar Land, Texas, native blew past the competition with a two-second victory in the 100 (48.03).
Zhao continued an impressive rookie campaign with a sweep in the breaststroke. She was tops in the 100 with a finish of 1:01.21 and bested the field in the 200 at 2:12.19.
Eastin won twice more on Saturday to finish with five individual wins in five different events over the weekend. She was tops in the 500 free at 4:45.56, and won the 200 butterfly at 1:53.94.
Ledecky won two events for the second straight day as she claimed the 200 free at 1:44.21, and the 400 individual medley at 4:06.48. In both events, she bested a strong contingent of teammates as the Cardinal took the top four spots in the 200 behind Erin Voss (1:47.94), Lauren Pitzer (1:48.41) and Katie Glavinovich (1:49.17). In the IM, Stanford swept the podium as Allie Szekely (4:08.15) and Brooke Forde (4:09.47) were 11 seconds faster than the rest of the field.
Forde and junior Leah Stevens were the only swimmers to break 10 minutes in the 1,000 free -- Forde won with a career-best finish of 9:47.76, and Stevens touched second at 9:55.61.
Howe won the 100 back at 52.25, and was second to Hu in the 200 at 1:54.37 (Voss was third at 1:54.97). Szekely was the runner-up to Howe in the 100 back (55.02) and was also second in the 200 breast (2:12.78). Sophomore Megan Byrnes was a runner-up in the 500 free (4:49.74) in her return to the pool.
Stanford was tops in both relays as Hu, Zhao, Engel and Pitzer won the 200 medley relay at 1:38.92, and Manuel, Hu, Howe and Pitzer were tops in the 200 free relay (1:29.84).
On the boards, sophomore Haley Farnsworth was second on the 1-meter (305.55) and 3-meter (305.85).
Next weekend, the Cardinal heads to Los Angeles to take on UCLA (Friday, 2 p.m. PT) and No. 13 USC (Saturday, noon). Stanford returns home for Senior Day on Feb. 10 against Cal. The meet starts at noon, and the Cardinal will be accepting donations at the door for Stanford University's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.
#GoStanford