Pac-12 Weekly Recap: Ella Eastin Sets Pool Records; Stanford, Cal Sweep USC, UCLA

Seniors Ella Eastin, Leah Stevens and Kim Williams were honored prior to the final home meet of their careers, and behind two pool records from Eastin, No. 3 Stanford women’s swimming and diving defeated No. 14 USC, 187-107, on Saturday afternoon.

The senior trio finished undefeated at Avery Aquatic Center, and has yet to lose a dual meet in their careers with just one remaining — the regular season finale at arch rival Cal on Feb. 16. In all, Stanford has won 29 straight dual meets, including 27 straight Pac-12 duals, and 19 consecutive duals at home.

So far, the senior class has combined for 11 Pac-12 titles, 13 national titles and 23 All-America honors.That includes back-to-back Pac-12 and NCAA team championships in 2017 and 2018.

“I’m so proud of them and how much they have grown in their four years here,” said coach Greg Meehan. “They grabbed this group at the beginning of the year knowing how good we could be, and they have been great mentors. Now we just need to finish strong because that’s what they want.”

One of the few accolades missing from Eastin’s much-decorated collegiate career was a facility record at Avery Aquatic Center. Following her final home weekend, her name is now etched on the Avery record board in three places.

On Friday, she broke a nine-year-old record in the 400 individual medley (4:03.23). In her final home meet, she set the facility record in the 200 backstroke (1:52.35) and 200 IM (1:55.36). She bested Janet Hu‘s backstroke mark of 1:53.18 set last season, and dethroned Texas’ Madisyn Cox, who held the pool record at 1:55.87 since 2016.

Stanford also swept the diving events. Junior Haley Farnsworth earned the top score on the 1-meter. She finished with a 288.75 for her second win at the height in as many weeks.

A short while later, freshman Daria Lenz took the top spot on the 3-meter with a score of 341.40, while classmate Carolina Sculti was second with a score of 328.13.

On a day for the seniors, Stanford underclassmen were standouts as well. Freshman Taylor Ruck swept the 100 and 200 freestyles. She posted Stanford’s fastest time of the year in the 200 free at 1:44.52, and then sped through the 100 with a season-best finish of 48.10. Fellow first-year Allie Raab added the fastest finish of her collegiate career in the 100 breast with a winning time of 1:00.83.

Junior Megan Byrnes won the 1,000 free at 9:44.14, while sophomore Brooke Forde took home top honors in the 500 free (4:43.97), and junior Allie Szekely was the first to touch the wall in the 200 breast (2:10.69). Sophomore Lauren Pitzer stopped the clock at 22.45 to win the 50 free, and junior Katie Drabot won the 200 fly with a finish of 1:53.49.

Louise Hansson captured the only first-place finish for the No. 14 USC women, in the 100y fly in 52.38.

Check out complete Pac-12 coverage here.

Stanford tops No. 20 UCLA

Behind a pool record from senior Ella Eastin and victories from seven different Cardinal, the No. 3 Stanford women’s swimming and diving team topped No. 20 UCLA, 168-123, on Friday.

Eastin, junior Katie Drabot and junior Erin Voss each won twice in the first of two meets this weekend. Drabot pulled off a distance double with wins in the 500 and 1,000 freestyles. She was tops in the 1,000 with a time of 9:39.28 as she outlasted sophomore Lauren Pitzer (9:41.32), and later won the 500 at 4:45.77 — just in front of an impressive 4:46.64 from sophomore Katie Glavinovich and a 4:47.75 from freshman Morgan Tankersley.

Voss was tops in the 200 free with a finish of 1:45.92, and then took home the top spot in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:54.06.

Cal beats USC

California earned a 170-129 dual-meet victory over USC Friday with some fast swims at the top of the lineup and showcased its depth with key second- and third-place finishes throughout the afternoon.

Cal opened the meet with a quick 200 medley relay, as the foursome of Amy Bilquist, Ema Rajic, Katie McLaughlin and Abbey Weitzeil touched the wall in 1:38.42. USC held a half-second advantage midway through the race and the teams were virtually tied with only the 50 free remaining, but Weitzeil’s 21.35 split ensured the Bear victory.

Rajic held her own against a strong USC contingent in the 100 breast, taking second, before McLaughlin, Sarah Darcel and Cassidy Bayer placed 1-2-3 in the 200 fly, with McLaughlin’s 1:55.50 leading the way.

Weitzeil then sprinted 21.92 in the 50 free, breaking the both Cal dual-meet and pool records. Weitzeil had held the dual mark with a time of 22.04, while she lowered the pool record of 21.97 set by Stanford’s Simone Manuel in 2017.

Weitzeil returned to the victory stand one event later with a win in the 100 free, as McLaughlin took second. USC’s Louise Hansson then edged Bilquist in a backstroke rematch, winning the 200-yard event, 1:54.53 to 1:54.84, while Rajic was Cal’s top swimmer in the 200 break with her third-place result.

USC dominated the breaststroke, with Riley Scott winning the 100 in 1:00.95 and the 200 in 2:12.03.

On the 1-meter springboard, junior Naomi Gowlett led the way with a score of 291.08 while junior Carly Souza finished second with 281.03. On the 3-meter board, the duo switched places with Souza’s 329.85 good for first and Gowlett’s 319.88 good for second.

Cal beats UCLA

Eight different Golden Bears earned individual wins and Cal swept both relays en route to a 167-130 dual-meet victory over UCLA Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Center.

The result comes a day after the Bears defeated USC and ups their record to 7-1 with one regular-season meet remaining – a Feb. 16 home matchup with Stanford.

Cal ran off five wins in a row, starting with Sarah Darcel‘s 1:58.82 in the 200 fly. Maddie Murphy followed with a 22.84 in the 50 free, Briana Thai earned first in 1-meter diving with a score of 298.50, Bilquist edged out a victory in the 100 free (49.35) and Alicia Wilson claimed the 200 back in 1:58.12. McLaughlin won the 500 free, as she closed with a flourish to touch in 4:47.54.

The Bruins swept the 1000 free, placing the top three finishers in the race. Sandra Soe touched first with her second sub-10 minute time in as many days, 9:56.98. Junior Lisa Kaunitz placed second with a season-best time of 10:11.85 while freshman Katie Sulkevich was third at 10:21.14.

Claire Grover won the 100 breast in 1:02.20. Emma Schanz won with a time of 2:15.40 in the 200 breast. Amy Okada brought another event win home for the Bruins in the 100 fly, touching first in 54.12.

Washington State beats Oregon State

The Washington State swim team pushed its winning streak over Oregon State to seven after a 148-114 victory in Corvallis, Ore. Friday. The Cougars are now 36-19 over the Beavers after winning 10 events.

Sophomore Mackenzie Duarte had an outstanding performance for the Cougars, taking home three individual wins. Duarte led the way for the Cougars in the 100 breast, clocking a 1:04.19 and also won the 200 IM and 200 breast.

Junior Ryan Falk and freshman Keiana Fountaine each completed the meet with two individual wins. Falk continued her success in the distance freestyles, winning both the 1000 and 500 free.

Fountaine won her 11th and 12th individual events of the season, taking first in the 200 and 100 free. Chloe Larson won the 50 free in 24.04.

Sophomore Taylor McCoy won her 14th individual event of the season, clocking a 2:03.01 in the 200 back.

Oregon State tops Idaho

Oregon State ended their home season with a 159.5-96.5 win over the University of Idaho Vandals in front of an Osborn Aquatic Center packed with the Beaver faithful.

The Beavers set the pace early, picking up first and third place finishes in the 200 medley relay and the 400 IM to take a 27 to 9 lead into the first break. Freshman Lauren Yon took the individual event win in the 400 IM with a time of 4:32.40.

In events 3-8 the Beavers finished out in front four times with four different swimmers. Kristina Schneider got it kicked off with a first-place finish in the 200 free with a time of 1:54.26 followed closely by Felicia Anderson leading the way in the 100 back with a time of 56.09. Arianna Letrari and Lindsay Swail sent the Beavers into the second break with first place finishes in the 200 fly (2:07.31) and 50 free (24.30) respectively.

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