BERKELEY, Calif. - No. 3 Stanford women's swimming & diving closed the regular season in exciting fashion, battling back to defeat No. 5 California 154-145 in a matchup between two of the nation's top programs on Saturday afternoon.
A back-and-forth affair from start to finish, the Cardinal overcame a fast start by the Golden Bears to win 10 of 16 events.
Lucy Bell was the meet's standout performer with three race victories. Bell was especially dominant in the breaststroke events, swimming sub-58 seconds for the first time in her career in the 100 breast (57.60), before resetting her own program record in the 200 breast with a time of 2:03.72. Bell capped off her afternoon with a 1:52.50 race-winning swim in the 200 IM.
Torri Huske tallied back-to-back wins in the sprint freestyle events, capturing the 50 free title in 21.76, before adding the 100 free crown with a 46.62 effort. Gigi Johnson added an individual victory of her own in the 100 fly with a 51.77, while adding a career-best 200 free performance with a 1:43.22 mark.
The Cardinal relays bookended the meet with a pair of victories, as Alana Berlin, Lucy Thomas, Huske, and Annam Olasewere led off the meet with a 1:34.54 time in the 200 Medley Relay, while Olasewere, Johnson, Thomas, and Huske swam a 3:09.60 to close out competition with a 400 free relay win.
At the diving boards, Molly Gray secured pivotal points for the Cardinal by winning both the 1-meter (314.10) and 3-meter titles (329.63).
Stanford now turns its attention to the postseason, beginning with the ACC Swimming & Diving Championships in February 15-21 in Atlanta.
Meet Results (in order of competition):
200 Medley Relay: Berlin, Thomas, Huske, Olasewere (STAN) - 1:34.54
1000 Free: Camille Henveaux (CAL) - 9:41.51
200 Free: Claire Weinstein (CAL) - 1:42.13
100 Back: Teagan O’Dell (CAL) - 50.51
100 Breast: Lucy Bell (STAN) - 57.60
200 Fly: Mia West (CAL) - 1:53.32
50 Free: Torri Huske (STAN) - 21.76
100 Free: Torri Huske (STAN) - 46.62
200 Back: Teagan O’Dell (CAL) - 1:51.13
200 Breast: Lucy Bell (STAN) - 2:03.72
500 Free: Claire Weinstein (CAL) - 4:38.65
100 Fly: Gigi Johnson (STAN) - 50.76
200 IM: Lucy Bell (STAN) - 1:52.50
400 Free Relay: Olasewere, Johnson, Thomas, Huske (STAN) - 3:09.60
1-Meter Dive: Molly Gray (STAN) - 314.10
3-Meter Dive: Molly Gray (STAN) - 329.63