Ladies’s swim grabs third place at NCAAs

After one other unbeaten season and a profitable Pac-12 title protection, the Cardinal (8-0, 7-0 Pac-12) claimed the third spot within the nation for the second yr working on the 2023 NCAA Ladies’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Knoxville, Tenn.

Bolstered by 9 medals (together with three within the relay occasions) on the four-day competitors from March 15-18, Stanford additionally continued its streak as the one program within the nation to have by no means completed outdoors of the highest 10.

Whereas ending third within the nation with 37 All-American honors is not any imply feat, head coach Greg Meehan (who was named the Pac-12 Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year) is assured that even higher issues might come from his group.

“Our ‘good’ was phenomenal,” Meehan stated, pointing to a number of lifetime bests and college file performances. “Sadly, our ‘misses’ actually damage from a factors perspective. We are going to rejoice a prime three end at NCAAs and on the identical time, we all know we may be higher.”

Relays rake in factors

The primary of Stanford’s 9 podium finishes got here on opening night time, as sophomores Torri Huske and Lillie Nordmann, fifth-year Taylor Ruck and freshman Kayla Wilson mixed for a silver medal-winning 6:50.77 within the 800-yard freestyle relay. They could have been out-touched by the dominant Virginia Cavaliers (who received every of the 5 relays contested en path to their third straight nationwide title), however that point nonetheless marked a season finest by simply over three seconds for the Cardinal.

Additionally that day was the 200-yard medley relay, by which freshman Claire Curzan, fifth-year Allie Raab, senior Emma Wheal and sophomore Amy Tang positioned ninth, one place higher than Stanford’s Tenth-place end a yr in the past. Later within the meet, Huske and Ruck then subbed in for Wheal and Tang within the 400-yard medley relay, which noticed the Cardinal end lower than a second shy of the rostrum, their 3:26.10 good for fourth place.

A 1:25.70 within the 200-yard freestyle relay, courtesy of Huske, Curzan, Ruck and Tang, marked each a season finest and an enormous leap up the standings from Stanford’s sixth-place efficiency on the nationwide championships final yr, incomes the Cardinal a silver medal in Knoxville.

On day 4, that very same foursome of Huske, Ruck, Tang and Curzan battled ultimate day fatigue to defend the Cardinal’s silver medal within the 400-yard freestyle relay with a season finest 3:08.54.

Huske goes three for 3 individually as Curzan grabs first nationwide title

On day two, Huske grabbed her first of three particular person medals with a silver within the 200-yard particular person medley, repeating her inserting ultimately yr’s NCAAs. Not solely was the sophomore’s new faculty file time of 1:50.06 for that medal greater than three seconds faster than her season finest coming into the meet, it additionally stands as a lifetime finest, beating her 1:51.81 efficiency ultimately yr’s nationwide championships and even dipping underneath the earlier NCAA file.

Huske, who was named Pac-12 Women’s Swimmer of the Year, then went on to medal in her remaining two particular person occasions with an extra two lifetime bests: a 48.96 for the 100-yard butterfly bronze (and one other faculty file) on day three, and a 46.46 for the 100-yard freestyle silver on day 4. Within the freestyle, Huske grew to become the Tenth quickest performer of all time as she jumped all the way in which up from the occasion’s ‘B’ ultimate final yr.

Unfazed by the strain of her first nationwide championships, Curzan threw down a 1:47.64 for the gold medal within the 200-yard backstroke on day 4, smashing the pool file and touchdown on the sixth quickest time within the occasion’s historical past, simply off her lifetime finest and college file mark from Pac-12s. 

The day prior, the freshman accomplished a tricky double of the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard backstroke. After being overwhelmed to the rostrum by Huske within the butterfly by a tenth of a second, Curzan bounced again for the bronze medal within the backstroke dash, clocking a 50.08. These performances, on prime of the common season and a stellar displaying on the Pac-12 Championships, noticed Curzan named the Pac-12 Women’s Freshman of the Year.

Different highlights: Ruck repeats as nationwide champion as underclassmen shine

Closing out her collegiate profession in model, Ruck dropped season bests in each the preliminary heats and the ultimate to retain her 200-yard freestyle nationwide title, touching first in 1:42.36. The fifth-year was joined within the ‘A’ ultimate of that occasion by Wilson, who put collectively a lifetime finest 1:42.90 to earn fourth place.

Alongside Wilson and Curzan, the three different Cardinal freshmen that joined the crew in Knoxville additionally proved helpful belongings to the crew’s efficiency. 

“Our freshmen and sophomores have been nice,” Meehan stated. “We had 5 freshmen on the meet and all of them scored individually — that is the primary time we’ve achieved that in my 11 years [with the team].”

Freshman Natalie Mannion set a lifetime finest by greater than two seconds within the heats of the 500-yard freestyle to kick off the meet’s particular person occasions, and adopted up that swim with an eighth-place end within the occasion’s ‘B’ ultimate that night. 

Fellow first-year Lucy Bell, in the meantime, lowered her personal lifetime finest within the 400-yard particular person medley twice in a day, ending up at 4:05.56 for seventh place total.

On the ultimate particular person occasion of the ultimate day of competitors, Charlotte Hook then made it 5 freshmen factors scorers out of 5 with a sixth-place end within the 200-yard butterfly, stopping the clock at 1:53.17.

Full outcomes of the 2023 NCAA Division I Ladies’s Swimming & Diving Championships may be discovered right here.

What’s subsequent?

That’s a wrap for the 2022-23 collegiate season — however it’s removed from the final time that the Cardinal’s swimmers will hit the water this yr. 

Make sure you observe @stanfordwswim on Twitter for updates on the place on the planet Stanford’s swimmers could also be headed subsequent, from the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis to the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, this summer season.