Stanford Strengthens Its Grip On 2nd With A Strong Morning (Day 3 Ups/Downs)

2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• March 19-22, 2025
• Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center — Federal Way, Washington
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• Start Times: Prelims: 10 AM ׀ Finals: 6 PM (Pacific Daylight Time)
• Meet Central
• Official Psych Sheets
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Live Results
• Live Stream
• Live Recaps:
  • Prelims: Day 2
  • Finals: Day 1

For those unfamiliar with swimming terminology, the concept of “Ups” and “Downs” is a good way to track which teams performed best during prelims. In prelims at the NCAA Championships swimmers qualify for one of three finals: the top eight finishers make the ‘A’ final (Ups) and places nine through 16 make the ‘B’ final (Downs). In finals, swimmers are locked into their respective final, meaning a swimmer in the ‘B’ final can only place as high as 9th or as low as 16th, even if they swim the fastest or slowest time of the event in any final.

With that in mind, we track “Ups” and “Downs” after each prelims session as a way to follow the team race. Thanks to Andrew Mering for running the numbers. 

Ups and Downs

For the second day in a row, Virginia has the most ‘A’ finalists (6) which will help the Cavaliers consolidate first place as they seek a fifth-straight team title.

Behind them, the race for second between Stanford and Texas remains hotly contested. The Longhorns were the solid favorites for second-place coming into the meet but after another strong morning that saw Stanford go +25.5 points versus the psych sheet, the momentum has swung in favor of the Cardinal.

The scored psych sheet projected that without including diving, Texas would hold a 14 point advantage over Stanford after two days of competition. In practice, Stanford are ahead of Texas by 26 points coming into the third day of the meet including the 1-meter, in which Texas had two ‘A’ finalists, which is a 40 point swing in Stanford’s favor.

The Longhorns were projected to have a 56.5 point advantage over Stanford based on the psych sheet for the whole meet. This morning, Stanford was +25.5 against the psych sheet while the Longhorns were -9 points, a net change relative to each other of +34.5 points for the Cardinal. So, 40 points from Day 2+34.5 swing from Day 3 prelims -56.6 projected difference= +18 for Stanford–without 3-meter diving–is where things stand.

In other words, the race for second is not over. The Longhorns can still catch the Cardinal, but Stanford is quickly picking up steam.

Projected Scoring

Projected Scoring By Event

As you can see from the projected scoring–don’t forget to scroll–mid-major teams showed up this morning. SIU, Princeton, Akron, and Washington State University (now a mid-major program) all put swimmers into finals tonight. Princeton has two ‘B’ finalists in the 400 IM, while SIU’s Celia Pulido sits third in the 100 backstroke after becoming the first mid-major woman to break 50 seconds in the event.

Day 3 Projected Scoring (No Diving or Relay)

Day 3 Projected + Actual

There are close races further down the standings as well. Indiana and Florida are projected to be tied for fifth based on the Day 3 prelims results, though there is still diving at the relay to factor in. Louisville, Cal, and Michigan aren’t tied, but are locked in a close team race as they shuffle for position in the bottom half of the top 10 teams.