STOCKTON, Calif. — Beginning the season at the PAC Invite, hosted by the University of the Pacific, No. Stanford men’s swimming opened the season in a strong way. Competing in both the morning and afternoon sessions, the Cardinal scored nine heat wins to leave Friday with a commanding lead.
The morning began with a win in the 200 medley relay, with Finn Harland, Zhier Fan, Rafael Gu, and Jonathan Tan posting a time of 1:26.87, a near three-second advantage over two other Stanford teams.
Gu and Tan had one of the most exciting heats of the morning in the 50 free. Tan was able to find just enough after the turn to finish in 19.80, a 0.13-second victory over Gu.
Henry McFadden got his first win of the season in the 500 free, beating teammate Liam Custer by nearly four seconds with a time of 4:28.60. Later in the morning, he finished fourth in the 200 IM with a 1:51.21
That 200 IM was a Stanford-dominated heat, with all eight lanes full of Cardinal. Gibson Holmes was fastest in the group with a 1:49.42, edging out teammates Daniel Li (1:50.06) and Fan (1:50.12).
The afternoon session saw Stanford’s Gu flip the script on Tan and win the 100 fly with a time of 47.33, the second year in a row he has won the 100 fly during the season-opening meet. Stanford took the top four spots, with Tan finishing a half-second behind Gu.
Ray Liu scored a win in the 400 IM in incredible fashion, stealing one from Holmes. Liu needed to come from behind after Holmes was in control for the first 350 yards of the race. Liu found something in the final 50 yards that vaulted him past Holmes for the win with a time of 3:56.44. The freshman from Arcadia earned his first collegiate win.
Sophomore Daniel Li impressed in the 100 breaststroke with a huge win and a time of 53.54. It’s his first win in the event and capped off a 1-2-3 finish for the Cardinal in the heat, with Fan (54.25) and Abram Mueller (55.72) following behind.
Hayden Kwan scored his first win of the 2025-26 season in the 100 back with a time of 49.40, part of another 1-2-3 finish for Stanford. Kwan won twice in the 200 back last year but had never won in the 100 back until Friday.
Complete results from the first two sessions of the PAC Invite can be found HERE.
The PAC Invite continues Saturday morning, but the Cardinal will not be competing. Stanford next returns to the pool for a tri-meet with California and Arizona State on Oct. 24 and 25. The Oct. 24 date is at home while the Oct. 25 portion takes place in Berkeley. Stanford hosts the Friday session beginning at 2:00 pm.