FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - One event. One win. One American record. The No. 1 Stanford women's swimming and diving team opened the 2016 Pac-12 Championships with a record-setting 200-yard medley relay on Wednesday night at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.
Ally Howe (23.62), Sarah Haase (26.20), Janet Hu (22.82) and Lia Neal (21.51) combined to finish the 200 medley relay in 1:34.15 -- the fastest finish in American history. It surpassed a four-year-old record set by Cal at the 2012 NCAA Championships.
#AmericanRecord🇺🇸 #Pac12Champ🏆 https://t.co/B3DRGQB6Fr
— Stanford W. Swimming (@stanfordwswim) February 25, 2016
Diving also started on the first day as senior Alex Clay finished as the Pac-12 runner-up in the 1-meter with a score of 297.05 and Gracia Leydon-Mahoney was fourth at 293.55. The duo combined for 54 points for the Cardinal.
"I'm really proud of the team's performance today," said fourth-year head coach Greg Meehan. "Our divers got us on a good roll this afternoon and then we had a great relay session tonight. More important than the (American) record, I'm proud of how everyone swam. Specifically, Nicole Stafford leading off our 800 free relay in a time that will qualify her for NCAAs for the first time as a junior was a really meaningful moment."
As a team, Stanford is in second place with 202 points -- just 12.5 behind UCLA.
"It's only two events and we need to come out tomorrow and have a great prelims session," Meehan added.
Competition amps up on Thursday with preliminaries start 11 a.m., including the 50 and 500 free, 200 individual medley, and 3-Meter Diving. Finals begin at 6 p.m., which will also feature the 200 Free Relay.
Pac-12 Networks will broadcast the first two days of action on tape delay on Friday, Feb. 26. Day Three can be seen on Saturday, Feb. 27, and the final day will air Sunday, Feb. 28. Each broadcast will begin at 10 a.m.
Follow the Cardinal - Senior Julia Ama will be taking over the team's snapchat during Pac-12 Championships week. You can follow Cardinal women's swimming and diving on instagram, twitter and snapchat at @StanfordwSwim.
#GoStanford
Now THAT'S what a new #Pac12Swim AND American Record in the 200 medley relay looks like, @stanfordwswim! 🏊🇺🇸🏆https://t.co/pLOBEPQB4A
— Pac-12 Networks (@Pac12Networks) February 25, 2016
