Back-to-Back Champs

Results (PDF) | Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap | Day 3 Recap

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – Junior Ella Eastin set Stanford's third American record of the week and put the finishing touches on the Cardinal's second straight Pac-12 women's swimming and diving championship on Saturday.  

Stanford claimed back-to-back Pac-12 titles for the first time since 2010-11 and won the conference meet for the 21st time overall, a record.

The top-ranked Cardinal's 1,776.5 points were the second-most ever scored at the Pac-12 Championships – only eclipsed by the 1,804 points scored by Stanford's 1992 national championship team that famously featured several Olympians, including Summer Sanders and Jenny Thompson.

No. 2 Cal finished as the runner-up with 1,487 points. It is the largest margin of victory at this meet since Stanford outscored runner-up USC, 1,533-1,177, in 1999. Over the four-day meet, the top-ranked Cardinal won nine of 21 events. Arizona State finished third with 996 points.

Sophomore Katie Ledecky, who won three individual Pac-12 titles and set the NCAA and American records in the 400-yard individual medley, was named the Swimmer of the Meet for the second straight year. 

"Sometimes when you get into a really good team competition, you can get the momentum going," said Paul A. Violich Director of Women's Swimming Greg Meehan. "We have some really good athletes and they were racing for each other, and I think this is the byproduct of it. It doesn't matter if they are an Olympian or trying to make their first NCAA Championships, they are all really supportive of each other, and that training environment is what helps us get better. It's a fun group, and it's fun to watch."

Eastin's Record

Eastin broke a nine-year-old NCAA and American record held by former Cardinal Elaine Breeden. Eastin knocked off two seconds from her previous career best and stopped the clock at 1:49.51. It was four-tenths faster than Breeden's winning time of 1:49.92 at the 2009 conference championships, and paced the rest of the field by two seconds.

"It's pretty exciting. This has been my goal ever since I stepped into the Stanford women's swimming locker room," Eastin said. "Even Elaine, who had the record before this, was really supportive and wanted someone on our team to go after it. I'm just really pleased. This weekend has been so much fun and so successful for everyone at Stanford."

Eastin is the first to repeat as champion in the event since Olympian Katinka Hosszu won three straight for USC (2010-12). Prior to that, Breeden won three in a row from 2007-09.

Sophomore Katie Drabot also made the podium with a third-place finish of 1:52.07. Junior Lindsey Engel was seventh at 1:54.78.

NCAA/American record! ????????@ella_eastin breaks a nine-year-old ???? record to win the 200 ?? and @pac12 title!

Incredible, Ella! #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/00I4GOWebd

— Stanford WSwim/Dive (@stanfordwswim) February 25, 2018

Manuel Three-Peats

Senior Simone Manuel won her third Pac-12 title in the 100 freestyle. On Thursday, she out-touched Cal's Abbey Weitzeil to win the 50 free, and the two went head-to-head again on the final night. Manuel hit the wall at 46.43 – the fastest time in the nation this year and two-tenths quicker than her counterpart.

The Sugar Land, Texas, native also won the event in 2015 and 2017 (did not compete as a redshirt in 2016). She is the first woman to win three Pac-12 titles in the event since Stanford's Catherine Fox (1997, 1998 and 2000).

"It was pretty painful, but I was pretty happy to see that time up there," Manuel said. "I'm pretty excited for NCAA's. We can be really good. We've been riding this momentum and I think we are all excited."

Another Title, More Podiums

Freshman Megan Byrnes won the 1,650 free for the second straight year, and junior Leah Stevens was the runner-up. The duo swam side-by-side for nearly the entire race as Byrnes finished the mile in 15:49.38, and Stevens stopped the clock at 15:52.54.

Stanford placed two more on the podium in the 200 backstroke. Janet Hu and Ally Howe took silver and bronze, respectively. Hu was 13-tenths from her school record time with a runner-up finish of 1:49.49, while Howe posted the second-best time in school history at 1:50.05. It took the fastest time in the nation to beat them as Cal's Kathleen Baker stopped the clock at 1:48.27.

Freshman Brooke Forde was on the podium again after she finished third in the 200 breaststroke. The Louisville, Kentucky, native finished with the fourth-fastest time in school history at 2:07.43. Since 2010, only 10-time All-American Sarah Haase has posted a faster time as a Cardinal. In addition, classmate Grace Zhao was seventh with a time of 2:10.57.

Freshman Mia Paulsen made the finals in all three diving events. On the final day, she was sixth on the platform with a score of 258.30. Sophomore teammate Haley Farnsworth scored for the second time this week with an eighth-place finish (239.20).

The Cardinal also finished second in the 400 free relay. Hu, Ledecky, Alex Meyers and Manuel finished in 3:09.76. It was the final career race for Meyers, who split in 47.98, faster than Ledecky's 48.08. In her four-year career, she is a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree and a team captain this season.  

Stanford's Pac-12 Champions

Up Next

Next up, a bigger trophy is on the line. The Cardinal looks to defend its NCAA title at the national championship meet, March 14-17 in Columbus, Ohio. Divers will look to qualify for the season's final meet at the Zone E Championships, March 5-7 in Flagstaff, Arizona.

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A post shared by Stanford W. Swimming (@stanfordwswim) on Feb 24, 2018 at 10:20pm PST

#GoStanford