Stanford women power to NCAA swim title

Back-to-back national champions.

Stanford won its second consecutive women’s swimming and diving NCAA team title on Saturday. The Cardinal had 16 All-Americans combine for 51 AllAmerica honors, five American records, eight individual national championships and five relay titles during the four-day NCAA championship meet in Columbus, Ohio.

Stanford’s 13 event victories tied the all-time record set several times, last by Stanford in 1993. Stanford is just the third school to sweep all five relays at the NCAA championships.

Stanford’s 593 points were the most since Georgia had 609.5 in 2005 and the most for the program since the Cardinal totaled 649.5 in 1993. Cal was second with 373 points.

This is Stanford’s 10th NCAA women’s swimming and diving title and 11th overall, the most in the nation, and marks the program’s first back-to-back NCAA championships since winning five straight from 1992-96.

Kathleen Baker had Cal’s highlight Saturday, leading from the start and touching first in 1:47.30 to defend her 200-yard backstroke crown and break the record of 1:47.84 set by former Golden Bear Elizabeth Pelton in 2013. Baker’s victory gives Cal eight wins in the 200 back in NCAA history and continues the Bears hold on the American record dating to Natalie Coughlin in 2001. The victory also meant the fourth individual national title of Baker’s career after she won the 100 and 200 back and 200 individual medley in 2017.

Stanford’s Ella Eastin was named the Swimmer of the Meet, and Greg Meehan won NCAA Coach of the Year for the second year in a row.

Rugby

CAL ROLLS >> Cal completed a season sweep of its conference schedule with an 80-0 road victory over Utah. Cal (18-1, 6-0 PAC) kept Utah out of the try zone for its sixth shutout of the spring.

The Bears now return to Berkeley, where they host Ivy Conference power Dartmouth College on Saturday. That match against the Big Green is the last regularseason home date for the Bears prior to the national collegiate postseason.