HOUSTON, Texas – Stanford women's swimming and diving had a strong Thursday to move into first in the team race at the 2021 Pac-12 Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.
The Cardinal picked up four podium finishes, led by Brooke Forde's victory in the 500 free, to move from fourth to first in the team standings, and enters Friday's third day with 592 points. Stanford scored 426 points on the day, including 122 in the 500 free.
Daria Lenz (3-meter diving) and Morgan Tankersley (500 free) joined Forde on the podium, finishing second in their respective events. The 200 free relay team of Anya Goeders, Amalie Fackenthal, Lauren Green and Emma Wheal took second in a NCAA A standard of 1:27.81 – the sixth-fastest time in the country – to also reach the podium.
"Today was phenomenal for our team," said the Paul A. Violich Director of Women's Swimming Greg Meehan. "Our diving crew set the tone earlier in the day with their performances in Tucson, and to follow that up with a 1-2 finish in the 500 was a great way to carry the momentum. No matter the place, I'm excited how they are embracing each and every opportunity to compete. There's still a long way to go and we'll just take it a day at a time."
Forde won the 500 free to claim her third individual Pac-12 title, while her performance is Stanford's fourth victory in the event in the last five years. She led Tankersley for the entire race with the junior closing her to lead a 1-2 Cardinal finish for 60 points. Forde swam 4:37.07 – 4-hundreths of a second ahead of Tankersley's 4:37.11.
AT THE WALL ??@forde_b wins the 500 free! ??@Morganp_t finishes .04 seconds behind as the Card goes 1-2!#GoStanford x #Pac12Swim pic.twitter.com/HtgIga8gzI
— Stanford WSwim/Dive (@stanfordwswim) February 26, 2021
Isabel Gormley (4:41.34) and Lauren Pitzer (4:48.38) scored in the A final, while Katie Glavinovich took fourth in the B final (4:48.11).
Across the country in Tucson, Ariz., Lenz took second in the 3-meter diving – her best finish in the event at the conference championship. Lenz scored 28 points for Stanford with a score of 335.55 in the 3-meter, a NCAA Zone qualifier. Mia Paulsen took sixth (302.25) and Julia Wortman took 11th (281.15) to give Stanford 68 points from the divers.
In the 200 IM, Stanford had a 4-5-6 finish from Hannah Kukurugya (1:56.67), Rudolph (1:58.01) and Zoe Bartel (1:58.03) to score 75 points. All three swam NCAA provisional marks and new personal bests in the event.
The Cardinal scored 105 points in the 50 free, led by Goeders and Fackenthal. Goeders tied for fifth in 22.28, while Fackenthal tied for seventh in 22.32. Wheal, Green and Alex Crisera swam provisional marks in the event.
The conference championships will continue Friday with the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast and 100 back. The divers in Arizona will conclude the week on the platform. The Pac-12 will provide live results, while the swimming finals will air on the Pac-12 Networks.