STANFORD, Calif. – No. 5 Stanford is set to compete in the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 22-25 this week in Indianapolis.
The Cardinal (4-1, 3-1 Pac-12) enters the national meet as conference champions for the second consecutive season after beating out Cal at the Pac-12 Conference Swimming and Diving Championships in Federal Way, Washington.
Fourteen Stanford swimmers earned invitations to the NCAA Championships, plus all four divers and two relay alternates (Spencer DeShon and Cole Cogswell). Tarek Abdelghany, Patrick Conaton, Abrahm DeVine, Ryan Dudzinski, Liam Egan, Tom Kremer, Ted Miclau, Curtis Ogren, Sam Perry, Grant Shoults, True Sweetser and Maxwell Williamson will each compete in three events.
Led by its stellar distance group, No. 5 Stanford heads to NCAA's next week -- top ? for Egan, Sweetser & Shoults ???? #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/KsYUpCycm8
— Stanford Swimming (@stanfordmswim) March 15, 2017
Freshmen Shoults, Sweetser and Cameron Thatcher will make their NCAA debuts. Shoults, the Pac-12 500 freestyle champion, owns the second fastest 500 free time in the nation. Sweetser's 14:35.03 mark in the 1,650-yard freestyle ranks fifth, an event that he won at the Pac-12 Championships.
Full Entries
| Name (Class) | Individual Event(s) |
|---|---|
| Tarek Abdelghany (Jr.) | 1-meter, 3-meter, platform |
| Matt Anderson (So.) | 100 breast, 200 breast |
| Bradley Christensen (Sr.) | 1-meter, 3-meter |
| Cole Cogswell (So.) | Relay alternate |
| *Patrick Conaton (Jr.) | 50 free, 100 back, 200 back |
| *Spencer DeShon (Sr.) | Relay alternate |
| Abrahm DeVine (So.) | 200 IM, 400 IM, 200 back |
| Ryan Dudzinski (So.) | 100 back, 100 fly, 200 back |
| Liam Egan (Jr.) | 200 free, 500 free, 1,650 free |
| *Tom Kremer (Sr.) | 200 IM, 200 free, 200 fly |
| Andrew Liang (Jr.) | 100 fly, 100 back |
| Ted Miclau (Jr.) | 1-meter, 3-meter, platform |
| Curtis Ogren (Jr.) | 200 breast, 200 IM, 400 IM |
| Sam Perry (Jr.) | 50 free, 100 free, 100 fly |
| Grant Shoults (Fr.) | 200 free, 500 free, 1,650 free |
| True Sweetser (Fr.) | 200 free, 500 free, 1,650 free |
| Cameron Thatcher (Fr.) | 1-meter, 3-meter |
| *Maxwell Williamson (Sr.) | 200 breast, 400 IM, 200 IM |
| Jimmy Yoder (Sr.) | 100 fly, 200 fly |
| Brad Zdroik (So.) | 50 free, 100 fly |
* denotes team captain
The meet begins Wednesday at 3 p.m. PT with the 800-yard freestyle relay final. Preliminary sessions begin Thursday morning at 7 a.m., with diving prelims taking place at 9 a.m. All finals sessions from Thursday to Saturday will take place at 3 p.m., with the 1,650-yard freestyle heats beginning at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday. ESPN3 will stream live coverage of finals sessions on Friday and Saturday, with all other sessions available to stream on the NCAA Championships microsite at www.indianasportscorp.org/ncaasd.
Meet Schedule
| Date | Time (PT)/TV | Event(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, March 22 | 3:00 p.m./Stream | Finals » 800 freestyle relay |
| Thursday, March 23 | 7:00 a.m./Stream | Prelims » 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free |
| Thursday, March 23 | 9:15 a.m./Stream | Prelims » 1-meter springboard |
| Thursday, March 23 | 3:00 p.m./Stream | Finals » 200 free relay, 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, 1-meter springboard, 400 medley relay |
| Friday, March 24 | 7:00 a.m./Stream | Prelims » 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 breast |
| Friday, March 24 | 9:15 a.m./Stream | Prelims » 3-meter springboard |
| Friday, March 24 | 3:00 p.m./ESPN3.com | Finals » 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 3-meter springboard, 200 medley relay |
| Saturday, March 25 | 7:00 a.m./Stream | Prelims » 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly |
| Saturday, March 25 | 9:00 a.m./Stream | Prelims » platform |
| Saturday, March 25 | 12:45 p.m./Stream | Early heats » 1,650 freestyle |
| Saturday, March 25 | 3:00 p.m./ESPN3.com | Finals » 1,650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, platform, 400 free relay |
Zone E Diving Championships
An outstanding showing at the NCAA Zone E Championships in Flagstaff, Arizona, propelled the Cardinal divers to the NCAA Championships. Senior Bradley Christensen was arguably the best diver of the meet, finishing second (713.90) in the 1-meter springboard and first (748.60) in the 3-meter. Miclau and Thatcher also secured A-cuts in the 1-meter, and Abdelghany rounded out the group with fifth place on the platform for his A-cut.
No. 5 @stanfordmswim is ready to dive into NCAAs with a full contingent.#GoStanfordhttps://t.co/fiaJh0OX19
— Stanford Athletics (@GoStanford) March 9, 2017
In total, Stanford will be represented on 10 boards at the NCAA Championships – Christensen on the 1-meter and 3-meter, Thatcher on the 1-meter and 3-meter, Abelghany on the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform and Miclau on the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform.
2017 Pac-12 Champions
Stanford successfully defended its Pac-12 Championship from 2016 with another trophy in 2017. The Cardinal received a nice head start from its four divers, who combined for two wins on three boards and six top-four finishes. Christensen (375.90) won the opening dive of the meet, the 1-meter springboard, for the second consecutive season. Abdelghany (399.45) won the platform with junior Ted Miclau (398.50) right behind him in second, giving Stanford an advantage ahead of the swimming portion of the meet.
A championship and program record swim in the 500-yard freestyle by Shoults (4:10.67) on Day 2 of the meet vaulted Stanford to the top of the leaderboard. On Day 3, an all-around showing of depth kept Stanford atop the field, led by DeVine (3:41.76), who took runner-up honors in the 400 IM. A big swim by Brad Zdroik (45.91) in the 100-yard butterfly time trials gave the Cardinal a boost to start the evening session, with the sophomore earning a trip to the national championships in the process.
Congratulations to the 2017 #Pac12Swim CHAMPS, @stanfordmswim! ?????? pic.twitter.com/ypaqs1er10
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 5, 2017
Day 4 began with a top-three sweep of the 1,650-yard freestyle – Sweetser (14:35.93) bagged his first conference championship with Shoults (14:50.06) and Egan (14:57.47) making it an all-Cardinal podium. Stanford wrapped up the meet with 784 points, ahead of Cal (757), USC (657), Arizona State (531), Arizona (360) and Utah (257). It was the 64th conference championship in program history, and the second since Ted Knapp was named Goldman Family Director of Men's Swimming in 2012.
A Look Back
Last season, the Cardinal finished 14th at the NCAA Championships in Atlanta, earning several individual All-America honors in the process. DeVine, Egan and Miclau led the Cardinal with first-team honors. DeVine (3:40.06) set a program record in the 400-yard individual medley en route to sixth place, adding an 11th-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley (1:43.63).
Egan earned his first career first-team All-America selection with fifth place in the 500-yard freestyle (4:13.27), backing it up with another All-America swim in the 1,650-yard freestyle (14:52.34) in 14th place. Miclau (378.00) gave the Cardinal a boost with sixth place in the platform diving finals, earning his first All-America selection.
Other individual All-America honorable mentions included Sam Perry in the 50 and 100-yard freestyles, Bradley Christensen on the 1-meter springboard, Curtis Ogren in the 400 IM and Gray Umbach in the 200-yard butterfly. Stanford added five All-America honorable mentions in relays, with returners Egan, Perry, DeShon, Dudzinski, Matt Anderson and Andrew Liang all collecting hardware.
NCAA Championships History
Stanford owns eight men's swimming national championships – 1967, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1998. One hundred and forty six Cardinal swimmers have won individual national championships, most recently David Nolan, who set an American record on his way to winning the 200 IM in 2015. First-year assistant coach Jeff Kostoff owns five individual NCAA titles, including the 1,650 free in 1984, 1986 and 1987, and the 400 IM in 1985 and 1987.