Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
STANFORD, Calif. - It is hard to imagine a better Senior Day. The No. 2 Stanford women's swimming and diving team capped an undefeated regular season with a 172-128 win over rival and third-ranked Cal at Avery Aquatic Center.
Nine Stanford seniors were honored prior to their final home meet -- Julia Ama, Julia Anderson, Allison Brown, Alex Clay, Sarah Haase, Kelly Markle, KC Moss, Jaynie Pulte and Lilly Hinrichs.
"Obviously it is pretty sentimental because it was our last meet, but to go out with a bang, and to beat Cal was a really good feeling," Haase said. "I'm just really happy for all the seniors right now."
Saturday's meet was also #ForTheKids as Stanford and Cal fans made donations to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. A preliminary count put the total raised around $2,000. If you missed the opportunity at the meet, you can make a donation to LPCH here.
"We really want to thank all the fans for their support of this initiative today," head coach Greg Meehan said of the generous donations from Cal and Stanford fans alike. "It means a lot because we know that money is going directly to health care for children and expecting mothers here at Stanford hospital."
Stanford (7-0, 7-0 Pac-12) bookended the meet with a win in the 200-yard medley relay (1:38.25) and the 400 free relay (3:17.56).
Junior Lia Neal anchored both of those relays, and also claimed individual victories in the 200 freestyle (1:45.39) and 100 free (48.47) to give the Cardinal an early lead heading into the first break.
Among the senior standouts, Haase once again won the 100 breast with a season-best finish of 1:00.25. She doubled up with another first-place finish in the 200 breast at 2:12.18.
On a day to honor a very successful senior class, freshman Ella Eastin emerged with a trio of victories. She topped the field in the 200 fly (1:54.60), 500 free (4:46.89) and then the 200 individual medley (1:58.23).
Gracia Leydon-Mahoney and Clay extended that lead over the Bears (6-2, 5-2 Pac-12) with a pair of 1-2 finishes in the diving events. Leydon-Mahoney won the 1-meter with a score of 306.98 and the 3-meter at 341.48.
Up Next - Saturday's dual meet concludes the regular season for the Cardinal. The Pac-12 Championships are on the horizon. The diving conference championships are Feb. 24-27, and the swimming championships are set for March 2-5 in Federal Way, Wash.
Follow the Cardinal - You can follow Cardinal women's swimming and diving all year long on instagram, twitter and snapchat (@StanfordwSwim).
#GoStanford