Tree-Peat

Day One Recap | Day Two | Day Three | Final Results 
Press Conference Audio: Seniors | Coach Meehan

AUSTIN, Texas - It's a tree-peat.

Stanford women's swimming and diving won its third straight NCAA championship on Saturday night at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.

Stanford is the first school to win three straight NCAA women's swimming titles since Auburn did so from 2002-04. Stanford, which last won three in a row during a five-year run from 1992-96, has won 12 national titles and 11 NCAA championships, both are the most all-time.

The Cardinal had 18 different All-Americans combine for 51 All-America honors, two individual national championships and one relay title during the four-day NCAA championship meet.

Stanford finished with 456.5 points and earned its 39th straight top-eight finish (every year the NCAA has sponsored a championship meet), including 15 top-five showings in the last 16 years. Cal was second with 419 points and Michigan was third with 314.

"They fought for each other," said Stanford's Paul A. Violich Director of Women's Swimming Greg Meehan, who became the fourth coach to win three straight NCAA women's swimming titles, joining David Marsh (Auburn), Jack Bauerle (Georgia) and former Cardinal great Richard Quick. "We talked from the beginning of the year about making an impact. Everybody has a role and can make an impact, and I think you could feel that. They just kept believing in each other."

??-Peat#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/fF0wF0wPWP

— Stanford WSwim/Dive (@stanfordwswim) March 24, 2019

Silvers on Saturday

Stanford clinched the title with some depth and several big finishes. Stanford had 13 different individual scorers on the final day, including senior Ella Eastin and freshman Taylor Ruck, who each earned silver medals.

Ruck set a school record in the 200 backstroke with a second-place finish of 1:47.59. She is the first Stanford swimmer to break 1:48 in the event as she topped the previous record by -- set by Eastin earlier this year -- by more than a second. Ruck, who finished the week with the maximum of seven All-America honors, was second to an NCAA record-setting effort by Wisconsin's Beata Nelson (1:47.24).

In her final individual race as a Cardinal, Eastin was second in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:50.46. The eight-time individual national champion finished the week with six All-America honors and concluded her collegiate career as a 20-time All-American.

"It's hard to put into words, but I think this championships has definitely had the most meaning behind it for me," Eastin said of the program's third straight national title. "It's been the most challenging, but the most rewarding four years of my life on this team and I wouldn't have wanted to share it with anyone else."

Eastin added, "everyone really made an impact on each of our performances and I think our momentum from the beginning of the meet helped us build and build. It got everyone excited and we were able to feed of each other's energy."
 

All-American Trios

Junior Katie Drabot joined Eastin in the A final of the 200 fly and finished fifth, while sophomore Brooke Forde was second in the B final. Drabot touched the wall at 1:51.94 for her third All-America honor of the meet. Forde, who won the 500 free on Thursday, finished 10th overall with a time of 1:53.93. 

Ruck was one of three Cardinal in the A final of the 200 back. Stanford finished 2-4-5 as junior Erin Voss was fourth at 1:50.92, and freshman Lucie Nordmann was the next to touch at 1:51.10.

In the 200 breaststroke, sophomore Grace Zhao and freshmen Allie Raab and Zoe Bartel each earned All-America honors. The trio swam together in the consolation final. Raab took the top spot and finished ninth overall with the third-fastest time in school history (2:06.85). Meanwhile, Bartel was third and earned her first career All-America recognition with an 11th-place finish of 2:08.27. Zhao added some key points with a 15th-place finish of 2:09.32.
 

Scoring Depth

Senior Leah Stevens added some big points in the 1650 free. In her final collegiate swim, she finished fourth in the 1650 free with a career-best 15:47.31 -- the fourth-fastest swim in school history. In the same event, junior Megan Byrnes was 16th with a time of 16:03.64.

In a close meet, Stanford relied on some extra scoring from its divers. On Saturday, freshman Daria Lenz added some points on the platform. She outlasted 44 divers to make the consolation finals, where she finished fifth with a score of 254.95. That placed the Altadena, California, native, who also scored on the 1-meter on Thursday, 13th overall. 

Freshman Amalie Fackenthal made the biggest jump into the scoring on Saturday. She entered as the 43 seed in the 100 free, but reached the B final with a career-best finish of 47.95 in the prelims, and placed 14th overall with a time of 48.13 in the final. 

Stanford capped the meet with a third-place finish in the 400 free relay. Lauren Pitzer, Eastin, Fackenthal and Ruck finished in 3:09.73.
 

Up Next

Stanford swimmers and divers are set to compete in national and international competitions throughout the summer. Stanford will host the U.S. National Championships at Avery Aquatic Center, July 31-August 4. Prior to that, the Cardinal will prepare for the World University Games in Naples, Italy, July 4-11, and the World Championships in Gwanju, South Korea, July 21-28.

You can follow Cardinal women's swimming and diving all year long on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook (@StanfordwSwim) | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

 

2019 National Champions
Relays/Individuals

2019 All-Americans

#GoStanford