COLUMBUS, Ohio — With four event wins on the afternoon, Stanford staked its claim as champions of the Jessica Beck Invitational for the second consecutive year. Stanford, which finished with 88 points, cleared national title contenders Ohio State by eight points with Wheaton and Michigan following in third and fourth with 52 and 46 points, respectively.
Stanford’s depth continued to showcase itself on Saturday - much like it had two weeks ago in the season opening win over Incarnate Word - with a handful of veterans and promising young talent paving the way toward an overall team win.
The Cardinal grabbed outstanding performances in the duet to start the afternoon strong, claiming both first and second in the event. Freshmen Megumi Field and Dalia Ovadia teamed up to grab their second duet title of the season with a routine score of 216.8 while freshman Calista Liu combined with senior Lindi Schroeder to claim second. Elisa Brunel and Ella Rau - who placed second at last weekend’s meet at Wheaton College (Ma.) - had a strong performance to claim sixth.
In the solo portion, the Cardinal’s lone entrant, Emmanuella Tchakmakjian, cleared the rest of the competition by over 33 points to claim the solo title with a routine score of 171.5.
With 10 groups performing in the trio, Stanford’s talent and experience showed well to bookend the podium placements. Earning a score of 218.7, Ovadia and Field stole the spotlight, partnering with 2024 Olympian Audrey Kwon to claim first place. Liu and Schroeder followed closely behind, grabbing a third place finish alongside Yara Elian to put Stanford in a good position to win the meet heading into the team performance.
The Cardinal eclipsed the sweep during the team portion as Stanford’s group of Elian, Field, Kwon, Liu, Ovadia, Schroeder, Tchakmakjian, Ivy Davis and Miko Begossi took the top spot with a routine score of 239.1, clearing Ohio State’s top team score by 20 points. Claiming the team event win at last weekend’s outing against Wheaton, Stanford’s group of Brunel, Rau, Haley Chu, Emily Ding, Cambell McMillan, Atira O’Neil and Manu Pindi claimed fourth place on the afternoon to sieze crucial points for Stanford as the Cardinal concluded Saturday’s meet as repeat champions.
Following a week off, Stanford hits the road to Norton, Mass., taking part in the MPSF Championships on Feb. 15-16 where the Cardinal will attempt to win its fourth consecutive conference crown. Since the MPSF began sponsoring artistic swimming in 2022, the Cardinal has been the only conference champion.