Felicia Lee and Katie Olsen each won two individual events to lead the fourth-ranked Stanford women’s team to a 157-139 victory over visiting Arizona in Pac-12 action Friday.
Maya DiRado would have been a double-winner had she not swam her final race as an exhibition.
“Any time there is a Pac-12 opponent it is a heightened environment and I think the team gets more excited,” Stanford coach Greg Meehan said. “It also helped that we were in our home pool. We haven’t been here in a while.”
Stanford won five of the first six events of the meet to take a commanding lead at the first break. The Cardinal’s 400 medley relay team started things with a win and Arizona’s Bonnie Brandon won the 1,000 free, before Stanford captured the next five events.
Lia Neal (200 free, 1:47.06), Lee (100 back, 53.68), Olsen (100 breast, 1:00.41), DiRado (200 fly, 1:57.40) and Maddy Schaefer (50 free, 22.24) all won during the run.
Schaefer won the showdown between the nation’s two best 50 freestylers, as her and Arizona’s Geer own the best time in the country to date (21.78). Schaefer was 0.61 better than the Wildcats’ senior today (22.24 to 22.85).
“Regardless of the times, being forced to race someone of Margo’s caliber is great,” Meehan said. “She’s absolutely a sensational swimmer; she’s the defending champion in both the 50 and 100. It was a great environment for those two to go at each other.”
Olsen was first in the 200 breast by touching the wall in 2:11.96, only .07 off of her season best.
After Lee placed at the top in the 100 fly (53.36) and Nicole Stafford was third (54.79), Stanford had clinched the win.
Men’s swimming
David Nolan, Danny Thomson and Kristian Ipsen each won two individual events to help Stanford pull away from No. 5 Arizona, 185-113, Friday at Avery Aquatic Center.
“It was a very competitive meet and I was really proud of the way the guys prepared and then executed,” Stanford coach Ted Knapp said. “It’s our first Pac-12 meet and the first of only four. It’s really important that we take advantage of these four opportunities to get race ready, work on strategies and build confidence. I think we accomplished that today.”
Thomson won both distance swims in a pair of 1-2-3 Cardinal finishes that propelled Stanford. First he took the 1,000 free in 9:16.79 and later he started Stanford’s breakaway run by claiming the 500 free. He was ahead of Jimmy Yoder and Justin Buck, with a time of 4:27.03 in the 500 and edged Buck and Bryan Offutt in the 1,000.
Nolan led a Cardinal trio in the top three spots of the 100 free, winning the event in 44.34, and also owned the 100 back, an event he has an NCAA title in. The junior also played a part in Stanford’s 200 free relay and 400 medley relay wins.
Ipsen won both diving competitions in convincing fashion. His 409.13 off of the one-meter board was nearly 50 points ahead of the field and his 429.15 in the three-meter won by 31.30. Conner Kuremsky scored for Stanford by placing third in each event.
Drew Cosgarea (200 free, 1:38.83), Tom Kremer (200 fly, 1:47.13), Connor Black (100 fly, 48.18) and Max Williamson (3:51.58) were also individual winners for the Cardinal.
Women’s tennis
Top-ranked Stanford easily cruised past UC Davis, 7-0, on Friday afternoon in the season opener for both teams at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Collecting win No. 900 in program history, Stanford (1-0) captured the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead. The Cardinal allowed only three games combined over three doubles courts.
Stanford dominated singles play against UC Davis (0-1), with Ellen Tsay providing the clincher while all three Cardinal freshmen picked up wins in their dual match debuts.
Taylor Davidson put Stanford ahead 2-0 following her 6-0, 6-0 win over Kamila Kecki at the No. 6 spot. Krista Hardebeck rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 victory on court two, extending Stanford’s advantage to 3-0.
Tsay booked a 6-0, 6-1 win on court five to secure the match, seconds before Caroline Doyle came through with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at the No. 5 position. Carol Zhao added a 6-2, 6-1 win at the No. 3 spot while Kristie Ahn delivered a 6-3, 6-0 triumph in her third career appearance at the top of the lineup.
Stanford is back in action on Tuesday, hosting Princeton at 1:30 p.m.
Men’s volleyball
The No. 6 Cardinal dropped a 20-25, 25-19, 23-25, 21-25 decision at No. 7 BYU in front of a hostile crowd of over 5,000, Friday, at Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah. The Cardinal has now lost its last three matches, falling to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Cougars move to 5-2 on the year and 5-0 in the conference.
Senior outside hitter Steven Irvin led Stanford with 15 kills and seven digs on a .370 attack percentage. Senior Brian Cook added 13 kills and a team-best 13 digs, while also hitting .370 on the night. Sophomore setter James Shaw totaled 47 assists, six digs, five kills and two blocks.
“I thought our team was consistent throughout the match,” Stanford coach John Kosty said. “I think the crowd elevated BYU’s play at times and helped them out in key points.”
Senior Eric Mochalski chipped in with 10 kills, four digs and a block for the Cardinal, while junior middle Spencer Haly finished with eight kills on nine swings with no errors (.889).
“Eric came off the bench and played well tonight,” added Kosty.
Wrestling
Stanford won eight of 10 bouts en route to a 35-7 victory over visiting Simpson on Friday night.
Donovan Halpin (149 pounds) and Alan Yen (197 pounds) scored bonus points for the Cardinal (12-4).
Synchronized swimming
Stanford opened the season with a strong showing in the A element competition Friday at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., as the Cardinal posted an average score of 75.950.
“The girls each had solid performances this evening in the element competition,” Cardinal coach Sara Lowe said. “Our focus in the fall was on strengthening basic skills and working on new elements.”
Stanford captured four of the top five spots in the A elements competition against Lindenwood.
Freshman Isabella Park was the highest Cardinal finisher with an 80.125, which was good for second overall.
She was followed by freshman teammate Marisa Tashima (77.667), junior Megan Hansley (77.516) and sophomore Evelyna Wang (76.437).
Squash
Stanford claimed one victory on the day but it was not in the top nine of the lineup so it didn’t count in Stanford’s 9-0 loss to host Yale.
Junior Alex Yorke, who returned to her home state of Connecticut, defeated Nina Kempner in straight sets 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 for her second win of the year.
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics