In the prelims, the University of Arizona Wildcats surprised the field—and their coaches—by qualifying first with a new American record (1:40.21) in this infrequently-contested event. Assistant coach Rick DeMont commented before the meet that the 200 would be the Wildcats’ weakest freestyle relay. Stanford qualified second, six-tenths of a second back, with Cal, the Pac-10 champion, another six-tenths behind in third.
The finals saw all eight teams battling for the crown, with Northwestern, in lane 8, the leader at the halfway point. Arizona took over at 150 meters, as a mere three-hundredths of a second separated the top three teams. Cal’s Jocelyn Yeo uncorked an awesome final leg to give the Bears the victory in 1:40.18, a new US Open record. Stanford was second (1:40.48), followed by Arizona (1:40.61) and Northwestern (1:41.12).