GREENSBORO, N.C. - Stanford began the NC State/GAC Invite and the Texas Diving Invite strong, with impressive performances across the board. The team recorded 16 total top-15 performances including five top-five swims among the five swimming events and a third place finish in the diving event.
"Overall, we are very pleased with our results today," said The Goldman Family Director of Men's Swimming Dan Schemmel. "The group is still broken down from training and we have people going personal bests."
The Cardinal came out of the gate fast, taking second place in the 200 free relay, only behind ASU. Luke Maurer, Jonathan Affeld, Leon MacAlister, and Rafael Gu combined for a 1:17.68, just shy of an NCAA B cut.
Avery Voss, Andres Dupont, Rick Mihm, and Neel Roy swam in the B relay for Stanford, finishing with a 1:19.19 to take sixth overall.
"We're better than we were here last year, which was the goal," added Schemmel. "Tomorrow should be a solid day for us."
In the 500 free, Stanford took fourth and fifth in the A final, as Preston Forst and Ron Polonsky both finished under 4:18 to earn NCAA B cuts. Matt Fenlon and Gabe Machado were the next highest finishers for the Cardinal, taking 10th and 15th with the former earning an NCAA B cut as well.
Three Cardinal earned spots in the A final of the 200 IM, with Jonathan Affeld taking fourth to lead Stanford with a 1:44.67. Zhier Fan and Luke Maurer also made the A final, finishing sixth and seventh overall as all three swimmers earned NCAA B cuts.
In the 50 free, Luke Maurer was the leader for Stanford with a 19.65 earning him another NCAA B cut and sixth place in the event. Rafael Gu was the next Cardinal finisher, taking tenth overall with a 19.76.
Stanford closed out the day in the 400 medley relay, earning third and seventh for yet another pair of top-ten relay swims. The third place team, consisting of Leon MacAlister, Zhier Fan, Ethan Hu, and Luke Maurer swam a 3:06.38 for an NCAA B cut.
Josh Zuchowski, Ron Polonsky, Aaron Sequeira, and Rafael Gu combined to earn seventh place in the event as well, clocking a 3:10.60.
Meanwhile, at the Texas Diving Invite, Jack Ryan earned a podium finish on the first day of action. He scored a 369.25 on the 1-meter to take third to start the three-day meet.
Ethan Foster finished 19th on the 1-meter, scoring 272.00.
The Cardinal is back in action tomorrow for day two of the NC State/GAC Invite and the Texas Diving Invite.
