The University of Southern California showed up to finals swinging after mediocre relays on day one, but it was Stanford’s depth that out-shined USC’s first place finishes. Haley Anderson of USC started the night with plenty of excitement as she took down an eighth year-old Pac-10 record in the 500 free while teammate Katinka Hosszu just missed breaking the NCAA record in the 200 I.M. In the final event of the evening, the foursome of sprinters from Stanford came off individual swims in the 50 free to take on the rest of the Pac-12.

500 Free

USC is keeping the 500 free conference meet record in the family. Haley Anderson broke the eight year-old record, previously help by her fellow Trojan Kalyn Keller, with a time of 4:36.52. This is Anderson’s second consecutive 500 free title. Anderson was the only swimmer in the field to make the NCAA A cut.

Behind Anderson was Cal Berkley’s freshman Catherin Breed finishing with a time of 4:38.58. Third place was Anderson’s big sister Alyssa Anderson, a senior from the University of Arizona and last year’s third place finisher at the NCAA Championships in this event.

USC had three swimmers in the A-final. Senior Amanda Smith was seventh and sophomore Lynette Lim eighth.

200 I.M.

Reigning NCAA champion and USC senior Katinka Hosszu defended her Pac-12 title for the last time. Hosszu’s time of 1:52.37 was just .06 seconds away from Stanford’s Julia Smit‘s Pac-10 and NCAA records set in 2010.

The top four finishers all swam times to automatically qualify for the NCAA championships next month. Cal Berkley’s junior Caitlin Leverenz finished just behind Hosszu with a time of 1:52.43, which makes her the 3rd-fastest 400 IM’er in NCAA history; Stanford’s Maya DiRado, 1:55.42, and USC’s Stina Gardell, 1:56.00.

50 Free

Senior Liv Jensen of Cal Berkley won the title of the fastest woman for this year’s Pac-12s. Her time of 21.70 won the sprint over Arizona’s Margo Geer by .18 seconds.

Stanford had four girls make it to the final heat with third, fourth, six, and seventh place finishes by Betsy Webb, Sam Woodward, Maddy Schaefer, and Andi Murez. These girls teamed up in the next event to take on the rest of the Pac-12.

200 Free Relay

Wrapping up the night was Stanford’s first win of the meet. The relay consisting of Sam Woodward, Maddy Scaefer, Andi Murez, and Betsy Webb swam a time of 1:28.07. Arizona was second at 1:28.55 and Cal third with 1:29.46.

Standings

1. Stanford University 462

2. University of California Berkeley 426.5

3. University of Southern California 390

4. University of Arizona 385

5. University of California Los Angeles 341.5

6. Arizona State University 298

7. University of Utah 233

8. Oregon State University 142.5

9. Washington State University 134.5