2023 Women’s PAC-12 Championships Day 3 Ups/Mids/Downs: Stanford Puts 17 Into ‘A’ Finals

2023 WOMEN’S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, February 22 – Saturday, February 25, 2023
• Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way, WA
• Defending Champions:
  • Women: Stanford (1x)
• Live Results
• Live Video
• Championship Central
• Fan Guide
• Psych Sheet
• Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

For those unfamiliar with swimming terminology, the concept of “Ups” and “Downs” is a good way to track which teams performed best at prelims. In prelims, swimmers qualify for one of three finals heats: the top 8 finishers make the A final, places 9 through 16 the B final and places 17 through 24 the C final. In finals, swimmers are locked into their respective final, meaning a swimmer in the B heat (spots 9-16) can only place as high as 9th or as low as 16th, even if they put up the fastest or slowest time of any heat in the final.

In the Big 12, swimmers in the ‘C’ or “Bonus” final don’t score, which is different from other Power Five conferences.

With that in mind, we’ll be tracking “Ups and “Downs” after each prelims session. “Up” refers to swimmers in the A final,  and “Down” to swimmers in the B final.

Scores Thru Day 2

1. Stanford – 540
2. California – 454
3. USC – 428
4. UCLA – 330
5. ASU – 312
6. Arizona – 242
7. Utah – 184
8. Washington State – 153

Stanford had an absolutely monster morning on Day 3 of the PAC-12 Championships. The Cardinal showcased their depth by putting 17 swimmers into championship heats, highlighted by the five that they put in the ‘A’ final of the 200 freestyle alone. In fact, the 100 breaststroke is the only event where they have only one ‘A’ finalist. They have an impressive daily line of 17/5/1, and are projected to pick up 527 individual points in finals.

Many of swimmers are taking on doubles this session, but Arizona’s Julia Heimstead might have the toughest of them all. She represents the Wildcats’ two ‘A’ final swims, which come in back-to-back events–the 100 fly and 200 free. That’s a brutal double to pull off, but Heimstead managed it well in prelims, swimming lifetime bests in both events. Arizona is trying to climb out of the hole that they dug by only having one individual finalist on Day 2, and Heimstead is a key part of that effort. Thus, from a team standings perspective, it’s important that she maintains or improves on her #5 (100 fly) and #7 (200 free) seeds even though she will have much less time in between races tonight.

In the race for second between Cal and USC, the Golden Bears are expected to widen their lead. Coming into finals, Cal holds a 26 point lead, but with 20 finals swims compared to USC’s 18, they project to score 345.5 points to USC’s 292.

Day 3 Ups/Mids/Downs

Day 3 Scored Prelims

1. Stanford – 527.5
2. California – 345.5
3. USC – 292
4. UCLA – 260
5. ASU – 153
6. Arizona – 95
7. Utah – 72
8. Washington State – 65

Scored Prelims + Actual

1. Stanford – 1067
2. California – 799
3. USC – 720
4. UCLA – 590
5. ASU – 465
6. Arizona – 337
7. Utah – 256
8. Washington State – 218