ATLANTA - No. 2 Stanford women’s swimming & diving captured its first national title of the week and made several trips to the podium as the NCAA Championships continued Thursday at McAuley Aquatic Center.
Torri Huske opened the evening by winning the 100 butterfly national title, beating Virginia's Claire Curzan to the wall by six-hundredths of a second. Tightly contested from start to finish, Huske pulled ahead with a 12.72 third split and held off the Cavalier over the final 50 yards. The victory marks her third career NCAA title, adding to her 200 IM crown last season and an 800 free relay title in 2022.
Gigi Johnson also impressed with a fourth-place time of 50.06, tallying the best individual NCAA finish of her career. The Cardinal added a third 100 fly All-American in the morning session, where Emily Thompson clocked a 4:04.74 in the prelims to finish in 11th place.
Lucy Bell followed with a career-best performance in the 400 IM, touching in 3:58.72 to claim national runner-up honors. Bell closed the gap late in the breaststroke and freestyle legs, but ultimately finishing six-tenths behind Michigan’s Bella Sims. Caroline Bricker, the defending national champion in the event, finished sixth with 4:02.23.
Stanford added another runner-up finish in the final event of the night, as Annam Olasewere, Huske, Johnson, and Lucy Thomas combined for a 1:25.57 in the 200 free relay. It marks the group’s second silver medal of the meet after a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay on Wednesday.
Individually, Thomas led Stanford in the 100 breast with an 11th-place result, nearly matching her career-best at 58.49. Johnson picked up her second All-America honor of the day in the 200 free, finishing 14th in the 200 free at 1:43.24. Thursday also marked the start of diving competition, where Molly Gray (259.20) and Emilie Moore (243.00) finished 22nd and 38th, respectively.
Following two days of competition, the Cardinal maintains third position in the team standings with 173 points, chasing Texas (183) and Virginia (249).
Friday’s event slate includes the 100 back, 200 breast, 500 free, 50 free, 3-meter dive, and 400 medley relay. Prelims begin at 7 a.m. PT on ESPN+, followed by the finals session at 3 p.m. PT.