STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford women’s swimming and diving team will be back at Avery Aquatics Center for the first time since Nov. 2, when the Cardinal hosts Arizona (Jan. 24) and Arizona State (Jan. 25) this weekend. Friday’s meet is slated for 2 p.m. and Saturday’s will begin at 12 p.m. Each meet will be coed with the Stanford men hosting the respective visiting teams.
Stanford (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12)
• The Cardinal is 5-0 in dual meets behind some of the fastest times in the country. The quick start has Stanford ranked No. 4 in the latest CSCAA rankings, behind only California, Texas A&M and Georgia.
Related: CSCAA Rankings (Jan. 16)
• Felicia Lee and Maya DiRado each lead the team in three events, the most of any Cardinal. Lee logged Stanford’s best in the 100 back (51.46), 200 back (1:53.36) and 100 fly (52.46), while DiRado owns the top times in the 200 fly (1:54.47), 200 IM (1:53.50) and 400 IM (4:00.88).
Related: Stanford’s Top Times Report
Last Time Out
Stanford started the 2014 calendar year with a 154-146 win over Texas Jan. 4 in a meet that came down to the final event. The Cardinal won the 400-yard freestyle relay to produce the eight-point edge. Head coach Greg Meehan said, “Coming off our training camp, we didn’t get out to a good start through the front half of the meet, but we rebounded really well.”
Related: Last Event Leads Cardinal
Nation’s Best
The Cardinal have a pair of times that rank first in the nation. Maddy Schaefer’s 21.78 in the 50 free is tied with Arizona’s Margo Geer. Maya DiRado’s blazing 1:53.50 in the 200 IM is 0.18 faster than the No. 2 time in the country and better than her third-place NCAA performance from a year ago. DiRado is also second nationally in the 400 IM with a time of 4:00.55.
Related: USA Swimming Top Times Search
Top Matchups
There will be exceptional matchups at Avery this weekend, highlighted by the nation’s two premiere 50 freestylers squaring off on Friday afternoon. Here’s a rundown of events with competitors from both teams ranking in the top 20 nationally:
vs. Arizona
50 free: Maddy Schaefer (t-1st, 21.78), Margo Geer (t-1st, 21.78)
100 free: Margo Geer (2nd, 47.35), Maddy Schaefer (7th, 47.75)
200 free: Lia Neal (3rd, 1:43.86), Bonnie Brandon (4th, 1:43.89), Margo Geer (11th, 1:44.74), Julia Anderson(19th, 1:45.55)
500 free: Bonnie Brandon (2nd, 4:35.43), Andie Taylor (19th, 4:41.81)
100 back: Felicia Lee (5th, 51.46), Maya DiRado (8th, 51.90) Maddy Schaefer (13th, 52.30), Bonnie Brandon (19th, 52.64)
200 back: Bonnie Brandon (3rd, 1:50.70), Felicia Lee (9th, 1:53.36), Annemarie Thayer (11th, 1:53.99)
vs. Arizona State
500 free: Tristin Baxter (16th, 4:41.08), Andie Taylor (19th, 4:41.81)
Arizona
Team Page | Roster | Schedule
The Wildcats come to the Bay Area with just one dual meet loss this season, a 167-133 outing against USC. Last year Stanford took down Arizona, 161-139, in Tuscon before the Wildcats finished fourth at the Pac-12 Championships.
Arizona State
Team Page | Roster | Schedule
The Sun Devils sit at 1-3 against Pac-12 foes in 2013-14 with their lone win coming against Oregon State. ASU has dropped meets against USC, UCLA and Utah. Arizona State lost to Stanford, 125-110, a year ago and finished in sixth place at the Pac-12 meet.
Order of Events
Coed vs. Arizona – women go first and alternate
400 Medley Relay
1000 Freestyle
200 Freestyle
100 Back
100 Breast
200 Fly
50 Freestyle
1 meter diving
100 Freestyle
200 Back
200 Breast
500 Freestyle
100 Fly
3 meter diving
400 IM
200 Freestyle Relay
Coed vs. Arizona State – women go first and alternate
200 Medley Relay
1000 Freestyle
200 Freestyle
50 Freestyle
200 IM
1 meter diving
200 Fly
100 Freestyle
200 Back
500 Freestyle
3 meter diving
200 Breast
400 Freestyle Relay
Off Weekend Antics
Members of the Cardinal squad took last weekend’s absence from competition to cheer on their favorite NFL teams in the playoffs. Their fandom even got the attention of the Seattle Seahawks…
https://twitter.com/Seahawks/
…there’s no word yet on plans for a duplicate effort for Super Bowl XLVIII.
On the Tube
The Pac-12 Networks will broadcast two Stanford women’s swimming and diving dual meets, as well as the Pac-12 Championships this year. The Cardinal are on the air at UCLA (Jan. 31) and at Avery Aquatic Center against Cal (Feb. 15). The conference meet is slated for February 26-March 1 in Federal Way, Wash.
Related: Pac-12 Networks completes winter sports event telecast schedule
For the Right Reasons
https://twitter.com/
Join the Conversation
Follow Stanford Athletics’ official Twitter account, @GoStanford, to stay up-to-date on the Cardinal. For news on the Stanford women’s swimming and diving team, follow @StanfordWSwim. Fans can also join the conversation by tagging #gostanford, the official hashtag of Stanford Athletics.
Up Next
Stanford travels to Los Angeles to face UCLA (Jan. 31) and USC (Feb. 1) next weekend. Both meets will start at noon and the Friday dual will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
Press release courtesy of Stanford Swimming and Diving.
