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1986 Team
Led by Olympians Pablo Morales,Anthony Mosse, John Moffet and Jeff Kostoff, the Stanford men's swimming and diving team turned what was supposed to be a very close NCAA Championships into another lopsided Cardinal victory, giving Stanford its second consecutive men's swimming championship and the school's 25th NCAA team title.
The Cardinal took home six individual titles and one relay title to easily out-score runner-up Cal by 69 points. With Morales, Moffet, Kostoff and Sean Murphy all winning NCAA championships, the Cardinal took the lead after the first day and never relinquished it.
"Winning the NCAA's this year is more gratifying than it was last year," Cardinal head coach Skip Kenney said. Kenney was named NCAA Coach of the Year for the second straight year and the third time in the last five seasons. "Last year we got the monkey off our backs and finally won. It was very, very sweet but more of a relief. This year, it was a five-team battle and there was a lot of pressure to not make mistakes. "Our guys really rose to the challenge of the other four teams, "They knew they had to be on to win it."
Following Stanford's 404 points were Cal with 335, Texas 325.5, Florida 321, UCLA 288, SMU 169, USC (160), Alabama (136), Arizona State (120) and Arizona (105) to round out the top 10.
Morales, a junior from Santa Clara, was once again the catalyst of the Cardinal squad. All the former Olympian did was win three NCAA titles, swim the third leg of the team's NCAA winning 400 medley relay team and swim on the team's 400 and 800 free relay teams. Morales, who won two individual titles as a freshman in '84 and three as a sophomore in '85, earned eight individual NCAA titles through '86, tying him with former Indiana star and two-time Olympian Mark Spitz.
Morales won the 100 fly in 46.37, the third straight year he won that event. He set a new American, NCAA and meet record in racing to a 46.26 in the morning prelims. Morales also won the 200 fly in 1:43.05 and the 200 IM in 1:45.43.
Kostoff's performance was nothing new to those in swimming circles. The junior from Upland, California set an American record for the fourth consecutive year in winning the 1650 freestyle in 14:37.87, lowering his own American record of 14:38.22. He also placed third in the 500 free (4:18.03) and fourth in the 400 IM (1:45.43).
After being upset in the 100 breaststroke, senior John Moffet came back to win his fifth NCAA title. Moffet won the 200 breast for the third straight season in 1:56.91. He came in second in the 100 breast in 53.90 and 13th in the 200 IM in 1:49.50.
Lundberg, Morales, Murphy and Moffet helped lead Stanford's 400 medley relay team to the NCAA title in 3:12.47. Murphy took home the NCAA championship in the 200 back for the second straight season, winning in a time of 1:45.90. The sophomore from Toronto also placed fourth in the 100 back in 49.36.
Stanford also had plenty of depth to go along with its NCAA champions. David Lundberg, Anthony Mosse, David Louden and freshmen John Hodge and Jay Mortenson provided the Cardinal with the kind of depth needed to win the national championship.
Mosse, who competed in the meet despite two torn ligaments in his right ankle, finished second in the 200 fly (1:43.96) and fifth in the 100 fly (47.86). Lundberg had two top-eight finishes, taking sixth in the 200 breast (2:00.52) and eighth in the 100 breast (55.18). Mortenson gave the Cardinal a big lift by placing fourth in the 100 fly (47.71) while Hodge also produced some much-needed points by taking sixth in the 200 free (1:37.23) and 16th in the 100 free (44.83).
Another facet of Stanford's talent-laden squad was its diving contingent of Thor Johnson and Tom Rothenbucher. The Cardinal duo combined to score points in both one and three-meter diving. Johnson, who placed seventh in the one-meter at last year's NCAAs, took sixth in the one-meter and 10th in the three-meter at this year's meet. Rothenbucher competed at the 1984 NCAAs, where he placed 14th in the three-meter, but did not make the NCAAs a year ago. This time around, the senior from Pound Ridge, New York took seventh in the one-meter and 14th in the three-meter.
1985-86 NCAA Team Results
1. Stanford 404
2. California 335
3. Texas 325.5
4. Florida 321
5. UCLA 288
6. SMU 169
7. USC 160
8. Alabama 136
9. Arizona State 120
10. Arizona 105
1986 Individual NCAA Champions
Prelims Finals Place 1650 Free Jeff Kostoff *14:37.87 1st 200 Back Sean Murphy 1:47.20 1:45.90 1st 100 Fly Pablo Morales *46.25 46.37 1st 200 Fly Pablo Morales 1:44.86 1:43.05 1st 200 Breast John Moffett 1:58.85 1:56.91 1st 200 IM Pablo Morales 1:46.45 1:45.43 1st 400 Medley Relay Sean Murphy, John Moffet, 3:12.47 1st Pablo Morales, Dave Lundberg *NCAA, American Record