2021 Pac-12 Womens Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap – SwimSwam

2021 PAC-12 WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

CURRENT TEAM SCORES

1. Stanford, 1091
2. Cal, 1074.5
3. UCLA, 789
4. USC, 732.5
5. Utah, 657
6. Arizona, 633
7. Washington State, 355

Day 4 Finals Heat Sheet

The team race for the 2021 Pac-12 Women’s Championships will be close here in Houston, will Cal just 16.5 points behind 4-time defending Pac-12 champion Stanford. In the race for third, UCLA has passed USC by 56.5 points. Meanwhile, Utah is 24 points ahead of Arizona for 5th place. Topping off the competition will be the top seeded heat of the 1650 free, followed by the finals of the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, and 400 free relay timed finals.

Stanford junior Morgan Tankersley comes in as the defending Pac-12 champion in the 1650 free, with Cal sophomore Sarah Dimeco‘s seed time just 4 seconds off of Tankersley’s. On the other hand, Cal freshman Isabelle Stadden will contend for her first Pac-12 title in the 200 back, where she leads by a second over junior teammate Alicia Wilson.

The 100 free championship final will feature four Cal Bears in the middle lanes, led by double 2021 Pac-12 champ junior Izzy Ivey and 200 free champion senior Robin Neumann. The 200 breast is a different story, as USC freshman Kaitlyn Dobler leads the long breast event coming off a runner-up finish in the 50 free and topping the 100 breast last night. She will be joined by USC teammate Isa Odgers, Stanford juniors Allie Raab and Zoe Bartel, and Cal junior Ema Rajic.

The last individual event, the 200 fly, will feature top seed Cal sophomore Rachel Klinker, USC junior Hallie Kinsey, Stanford senior Hannah Kukurugya, and UCLA freshman Sam Baron. Into the 400 free relay, Cal is seeded four-tenths ahead of Stanford while UCLA is seeded two-tenths ahead of USC.

WOMEN’S 1650 FREE – TIMED FINALS

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 15:40.17 – Cierra Runge (Cal) – 2015
• Pac-12 Record: 15:03.31 – Katie Ledecky (Stanford) – 2016
• NCAA “A” Cut: 15:52.41
• 2020 Champion: Morgan Tankersley (Stanford) – 15:50.81

1. Morgan Tankersley (Stanford)- 16:03.27
2. Sarah Dimeco (Cal)- 16:06.45
3. Isabel Gormley (Stanford)- 16:11.44

Defending her Pac-12 title was Stanford’s Morgan Tankersley, winning with the top time of 16:03.27. Taking second place points was Cal’s Sarah Dimeco, touching in at 16:06.45. Tankersley now ranks 6th in the NCAA this season while Dimeco now ranks 11th. Giving the Cardinals a 1-3 finish was Stanford’s Isabel Gormley, touching in at 16:11.44.

Out of the first heat that went off roughly two hours before the top heat, Utah freshman Taylor Kabacy swam the 7th overall time with 16:42.88. That knocks 7 seconds off her lifetime best of 16:49.72 from the 2017 WA Senior State meet when she was 16. UCLA sophomore Daniella Hawkins (16:48.21) placed second in the heat, which is 9th overall, followed by another Utah freshman Cameron Daniell (16:56.29, 11th).

UCLA and Utah had a solid showing the 1650 free timed finals, with UCLA picking up 108 points and Utah earning 105 mile points. Team scores now are Stanford with 1,150 points, followed by Cal (1,102.5), UCLA (897), Utah (762), USC (732.5), Arizona (633), and Washington State (369).

WOMEN’S 200 BACK – FINALS

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 1:48.27 – Kathleen Baker (Cal) – 2018
• Pac-12 Record: 1:47.30 – Kathleen Baker (Cal) – 2018
• NCAA “A” Cut: 1:50.50
• 2020 Champion: Erin Voss (Stanford) – 1:51.37

1. Isabelle Stadden (Cal)- 1:50.83
2. Alicia Wilson (Cal)- 1:52.67
3. Audrey Reimer (Utah)- 1:52.91

Winning her first Pac-12 title after taking second in the 200 IM and second again in the 100 back was Cal freshman Isabelle Stadden, clocking in with a dominant 1:50.83. Stadden still holds the #2 time in the NCAA at 1:49.77, only behind Alabama’s Rhyan White (1:48.55). The Bears picked up a 1-2 finish with Cal junior Alicia Wilson stopping the clock at 1:52.67.

Utah’s Audrey Reimer continued the squad’s momentum after a big point pick-up in the 1650 free with her 3rd-place finish at 1:52.91, just four-tenths off her career best. Meanwhile, picking up 4th-place points for Cal was sophomore Ayla Spitz (1:53.21). Cal freshman Tea Laughlin picked up 20 points with her B-final win at 1:54.11.

Cal is now leading Stanford by 5.5 points in the team standings.

WOMEN’S 100 FREE – FINALS

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 46.35 – Abbey Weitzeil (Cal) – 2019
• Pac-12 Record: 45.56 – Simone Manuel (Stanford) – 2017
• NCAA “A” Cut: 47.18
• 2020 Champion: Laticia Transom (USC) – 47.85

1. Izzy Ivey (Cal)- 47.54
2. Robin Neumann (Cal)- 47.94
3. Anicka Delgado (USC)- 48.44

Earning her 3rd Pac-12 title this week was Cal junior Izzy Ivey, winning the 100 free final with a 47.54. Her lifetime best of 47.24 was swum almost 2 weeks ago at the 2021 Cal/Stanford dual meet. Closing in on Ivey for a tight second-place finish was senior teammate Robin Neumann (47.94), giving the Bears another 1-2 finish.

In prelims, Cal put up the top 4 seeds. During tonight’s final, junior Elise Garcia (48.73) and sophomore Eloise Riley (48.77) placed 4th and 5th respectively, giving Cal 111 points from the A-final alone. Sandwiched between the Cal Bears was USC freshman Anicka Delgado, stopping the clock at 48.44.

Winning the B-final was Washington State senior Chloe Larson, punching the wall at 48.74, cracking 49 seconds for the first time in her career.

Cal now holds a 45.5-point lead over Stanford with just three events to go.

WOMEN’S 200 BREAST – FINALS

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 2:04.75 – Rebecca Soni (USC) – 2009
• Pac-12 Record: 2:04.75 – Rebecca Soni (USC) – 2009
• NCAA “A” Cut: 2:06.84
• 2020 Champion: Brooke Forde (Stanford) – 2:07.35

1. Kaitlyn Dobler (USC)- 2:06.53
2. Ema Rajic (Cal)- 2:07.19
3. Allie Raab (Stanford)- 2:07.31

Sweeping the breaststroke events in Houston was USC’s Kaitlyn Dobler, winning the 200 breast with a 2:06.53. That swim knocked two second off her prelims swim of 2:08.42 and ranks 8th in the NCAA this season. Cal’s Ema Rajic took the race out in a quick 1:00.12, and held on to place 2nd with a 2:07.19. Rajic swam her 2:07.16 lifetime best at the 2020 Stanford Invite this past November.

Stanford’s Allie Raab took third at 2:07.31 while teammate Zoe Bartel finished fourth at 2:08.26. USC junior Isa Odgers placed 5th at 2:09.28, putting the entire top 5 under 2:10.

Dobler and Odgers’ 1-5 finish for USC has regained the Trojans’ 4th-place position in the standings over Utah by 40.5 points. Cal remains ahead of Stanford for the 2021 team title.

WOMEN’S 200 FLY – FINALS

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 1:49.51 – Ella Eastin (Stanford) – 2018
• Pac-12 Record: 1:49.51 – Ella Eastin (Stanford) – 2018
• NCAA “A” Cut: 1:53.20
• 2020 Champion: Louise Hansson (USC) – 1:51.26

1. Rachel Klinker (Cal)- 1:52.82
2. Hallie Kinsey (USC)- 1:56.25
3. Hannah Kukurugya (Stanford)- 1:56.29

By the last 50 of the race, Cal’s Rachel Klinker had already established herself as the clear winner. Bringing home the last 50 a half second faster than the rest of the field, Klinker sealed her Pac-12 title with a 1:52.82, knocking a half second off her lifetime best of 1:53.51 from late January. Her time also makes Klinker the 19th-fastest U.S. performer in the 200-yard fly.

Touching out Stanford’s Hannah Kukurugya by 0.04s for second place was USC’s Hallie Kinsey, touching the wall at 1:56.25, taking two-tenths off her morning swim.

Cal now extends their lead to 62.5 points over Stanford for the Pac-12 team title. UCLA is now 165 points ahead of USC for third place.

WOMEN’S 400 FREE RELAY – TIMED FINALS

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 3:07.41 – Cal – 2019
• Pac-12 Record: 3:06.96 – Cal – 2019
• NCAA “A” Cut: 3:14.61
• 2020 Champion: USC – 3:10.76

1. Cal- 3:11.27
2. USC- 3:14.18
3. UCLA- 3:15.28

Sweeping all five relays was Cal, sealing the 400 free relay title and the team title with their winning time of 3:11.27, now #3 in the NCAA this season. Contributing to the relay were Riley (48.40), Neumann (47.96), Garcia (48.10), and Ivey (46.81).

Coming in for second place was USC, clocking in a 3:14.18, highlighted by senior Jemma Schlicht (48.37). Taking third place was UCLA, whose time of 3:15.28 was just 0.05s ahead of Stanford’s 4th-place time (3:15.33). UCLA junior Claire Grover anchored the Bruins in a 48.17, which was more than a half second faster than any Stanford swimmer.

Cal’s team title win here in Houston marks the Bears’ first Pac-12 win since 2015, snapping the Stanford Cardinals’ 4-year winning streak. UCLA also finished in a historic 3rd place, their highest team finish since 2006. Behind USC for 5th place was Utah, making it the program’s best finish since joining Pac-12s in 2012 and first time defeating Arizona.

Final Team Scores

1. Cal, 1519.5
2. Stanford, 1445
3. UCLA, 1169
4. USC, 1006
5. Utah, 951.5
6. Arizona, 827
7. Washington State, 533