STANFORD, Calif. - No. 3 Stanford brings 16 swimmers and divers to Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center this week, as the Cardinal closes the 2024-25 campaign at the NCAA D1 Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.
The Cardinal contingent set to compete from March 19-22 includes Lucy Bell, Caroline Bricker, Lauren Burch, Torri Huske, Gigi Johnson, Anna Lemkin, Natalie Mannion, Emilie Moore, Lillie Nordmann, Annika Parkhe, Aurora Roghair, Anna Shaw, Amy Tang, Lucy Thomas, Emily Thompson, and Kayla Wilson.
Each morning session will begin at 10 a.m. PT, followed by the finals sessions at 6 p.m. PT. All meet coverage will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with live updates on Twitter/X at @StanfordWSwim.
MEET CENTRAL » All information regarding the NCAA D1 Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. , including meet schedule, streaming, and live stats can be found here on the Atlantic Coast Conference's meet central page.
CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE » Stanford brings an experienced bunch to Federal Way this week, as the Cardinal group has combined for 69 NCAA All-America honors in their careers, with 13 student-athletes making return appearances at the NCAA Championships. Stanford's first-time competitors at this year's meet consists of just three freshmen - Anna Lemkin, Annika Parkhe, and Anna Lemkin.
WHAT'S AT STAKE » Stanford is looking to continue its streak as the only Division I program to finish inside the top 10 of every NCAA Championships, a stretch that dates back to the 1974-1975 season. During Paul A. Violich Director of Women's Swimming Greg Meehan's 13-year tenure at the helm, the Cardinal has won three NCAA titles and finished in the top-3 seven times.
LAST TIME OUT » In its first season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Cardinal finished second at the ACC Championships with 1141 points in the five-day event. Stanford collected five ACC titles in Greensboro - Torri Huske (100 Fly, 200 IM), Anna Lemkin (Platform Dive), Aurora Roghair (1650 free), 200 Medley Relay (Sim, Thomas, Johnson, Huske) - along with 16 podium finishes and two new program records.
SENIOR SENDOFF » Lucy Bell broke a new Stanford record in the 200 breaststroke, while three other Cardinal swimmers posted new "Stanford Top-10" times to lead No. 3 Stanford to a 180-119 victory over eighth-ranked California on Saturday afternoon. The feature performance of the meet was Bell's 2:05.10 performance in the 200 breast for the fastest time in Stanford program history, while Torri Huske led Stanford with three race wins on the day. The meet also served as Stanford's Senior Day, where the program honored each of its nine seniors - Lauren Burch, Meghan Lynch, Lillie Nordmann, Maria Papworth, Samantha Pearson, Anna Shaw, Aurora Roghair, Sam Tadder, and Amy Tang.
BELL TABBED ACC SWIMMER OF THE WEEK » After a record-breaking meet at Avery Aquatic Center on Saturday, junior swimmer Lucy Bell has been named ACC Swimmer of the Week on February 4. The junior out of Fort Collins, Colorado, had a record-breaking weekend in a 190-119 victory over No. 8 California. Bell earned two first-place wins in the 100 breast (58.30) and the 200 breast (2:05.10). Bell posted the fastest 200 breast time in program history, passing Katie Olsen's previous record of 2:05.88. She is now the fastest in the nation in the 200 breast and ranks 9th in the 100 breast for the 2024-25 season. It is Bell's first "Swimmer of the Week" honor of her career, and Stanford's first swimmer to win the award since joining the ACC conference.
SOCAL SWEEP » Stanford tallied a pair of wins at Avery Aquatics Center over in-state rivals, knocking off Southern California foes UCLA (188-111) and USC (207-92). Caroline Bricker shined on Friday with three race wins and a new "Stanford Top-10" in the 200 Fly against the Bruins on Friday. On Saturday, Lucy Bell stole the show with three race wins of her own, including new career bests in the 100 and 200 fly.
TEXAS TWO-STEP » Both the swimmers and divers closed out the fall slate at their respective Texas Invitationals in November. In the pool, Torri Huske led the way with three event titles, while Caroline Bricker and Lucy Bell each had one. Bricker's win in the 400 IM also moved her to sixth all-time in the "Stanford Top-10" with a sub-4:00 time, while Aurora Roghair posted two new "Stanford Top-10" times in the 500 and 1650 Free.
At the diving towers, Freshman Anna Lemkin earned Stanford's best individual result of the weekend with a second-place finish in the platform dive, while Emilie Moore made three event finals appearances.
TWO RANKED WINS » Stanford's fall campaign was highlighted by a pair of ranked wins over ranked opponents, notching wins over No. 8 California and No. 18 Arizona State in the two day event. The Cardinal defeated Arizona State 235-117, while tallying a 207-145 victory over the Golden Bears. Torri Huske led the way with a trio of race victories while Lucy Bell clocked the second-fastest 200 breast time in program history with a 2:06.32
BESTED THE BEARS » Stanford began its 2024-25 campaign on Oct. 18 with a Triple Distance Meet against No. 7 California, winning 16 of the 20 events in the non-scoring meet. Stanford swept all but one discipline in the meet, with Caroline Bricker (IM), Torri Huske (Fly) Aurora Roghair (Distance Free), and Lucy Thomas (Breast) leading the way with three wins in their respective disciplines.
GOLDEN GOGGLES » Cardinal junior swimmer Torri Huske was recognized for three awards at the 2024 Golden Googles ceremony, which was held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Most notably, Huske was recognized as the Female Athlete of the Year after enjoying a breakthrough Olympics campaign with five medals (3 golds, 2 silver). Her run included Olympic titles in the 100m butterfly, 400m Medley Relay and 400 Mixed Medley Relay. The Arlington, Va. native also earned Female Race of the Year for her 100m butterfly performance and Relay Performance of the Year for her anchor split of 52.42 in the 400m Medley Relay.
ROBINSON NAMED TO SHORT-COURSE STAFF » USA Swimming has announced Stanford women's swimming and diving associate head coach Katie Robinson will join the coaching staff for the 2024 World Aquatics Short Course Championships, as announced by the governing body on October 22. The meet takes place on December 10-15 in Budapest, Hungary at the Duna Arena, where Robinson will work closely with Cardinal junior Torri Huske as she competes in the 100 free and 100 fly. Robinson will serve as an assistant coach for Team USA under head coach Chris Plumb, joined on staff by Josh Huger, John Long, and Jake Shrum.
RETURNING EXPERIENCE » Stanford brings back all but one student-athlete from a team that finished fifth at the NCAA Championships a season ago, while welcoming back swimmer Torri Huske and diver Maria Papworth. The experienced Cardinal roster houses 13 individual NCAA All-Americans with 66 total All-America honors.
ELITE FRESHMAN CLASS » Stanford welcomed seven new student-athletes arriving on The Farm for the the 2024-25 season, as Lila Heffernan, Anna Lemkin, Bailey O'Regan, Annika Parkhe, Addision Sauickie, Levenia Sim, and Emily Thompson represent the latest Cardinal signing class.
A NEW ERA IN THE ACC » After building a dynasty in the Pac-12 with 25 team titles, 38 diving titles, 94 relay titles, and 225 individual titles, Stanford now prepares for its inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The ACC is home to seven programs ranked in the CSCAA Women’s Top 25, tied for the most of any conference with the SEC. This group includes fourth-ranked Stanford, as well as No. 1 Virginia, No. 7 California, No. 9 Louisville, No. 11 NC State, No. 15 Duke, No. 18 North Carolina, and No. 22 Virginia Tech. Current members of the ACC have accounted for each of the last seven NCAA championships and 11 of the last 15 national titles.
NCAA SUCCESS CONTINUES » Last season, Stanford capped off the 2023-24 campaign with a fifth-place finish at NCAAs, with 11 different individual swimmers becoming All-Americans. It was the Cardinal's ninth top-five finish under head coach Greg Meehan, as Stanford remained the only program in women's swimming to never finish outside the top ten at a national meet.
TREES IN PARIS » The Cardinal women's swimming and diving program was well represented at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, claiming 17 of Stanford's 39 overall medals. Torri Huske enjoyed a breakthrough Olympics campaign with five medals (3 Gold, 2 Silver), claiming the top step of the podium in the 100m butterfly, 400m medley relay, and 400m mixed medley relay. Alum Katie Ledecky won four medals (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) to become the most decorated American female Olympian of all time in any sport with 14 overall. Simone Manuel won a pair of silver medals in the 400m and 800m freestyle relay, while Kassidy Cook earned silver in the 3m synchronized springboard.
NATIONAL TEAM NOMINATIONS » USA Swimming, the National Governing Body of the sport of swimming in the United States, announced a roster of 106 swimmers named to the U.S. National Team in early September, with three Cardinal earning nominations - Lucy Bell, Torri Huske, and Aurora Roghair. The trio of Stanford student-athletes were selected based on results from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and times from January 1 through August 24, 2024. For Huske, it is her fifth time being named to the U.S. National Team, while Bell and Roghair are both first-time selections.
WILLIAMS RETURNS HOME » A cornerstone of Stanford's three-peat run from 2017-19 returned to The Farm during the offseason, as Kim Williams '19 was announced as the newest member of the Stanford coaching staff. Decorated in her career as a student-athlete for Stanford, Williams led Stanford to three consecutive NCAA and Pac-12 Championships from 2017-19, including being named team captain of the 2019 title-winning squad. Individually, Williams was a member of two national championship 400 medley relay teams and won another NCAA title in the 200 medley relay, garnering a total of six NCAA All-America honors in her career. Williams joins the Cardinal staff after one season with California, where she helped lead the Golden Bears to their sixth Pac-12 title in program history. Prior to her time in Berkeley, Williams spent a season as a volunteer assistant at Northwestern under the tutelage of current Stanford associate head coach Katie Robinson.