Teams set for 2017 women's swimming and men's and women's diving Championships

Feb 21, 2017

WHAT:
2017 Pac-12 Women’s Swimming & Men’s and Women’s Diving Championships

WHEN:
Wednesday, Feb. 22- Saturday, Feb. 25

WHERE:
Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center
650 Southwest Campus Drive, Federal Way, WA 98003

TELEVISION AND LIVE STREAM COVERAGE:
The Pac-12 Women’s Swimming and Diving finals along with men’s diving finals will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Network, and all six regional networks, Saturday, Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m. PT / 7:30 p.m. MT.

Coverage of the prelims and earlier finals will be streamed live on Pac-12.com and the Pac-12 Now app, Wednesday, February 22, Thursday, February 23, Friday, February 24 and will conclude on Saturday, February 25.

MEET RESULTS:
Links to live results will be available on Pac-12.com and results will also be posted on the Pac-12 website (www.pac-12.com).

TICKETS:
Tickets are available online and will also be available for purchase at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center on the day of the event. Gates open at 10 a.m. for the morning session and 5 p.m. for the evening session. Tickets are general admission and seating is first come, first served.

Measured by national championships, national awards and Olympics success, the Pac-12 Conference has the most impressive legacy in collegiate swimming. The 2017 Pac-12 Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships will again showcase multiple Olympians and NCAA standouts from all over the world.

As of Feb. 16, five teams were ranked in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Top-25 poll, including Stanford and California at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, USC at No. 5, Arizona at No. 17 and UCLA at No. 21.

Last year, USC captured its first-ever Pac-12 title with 1481 points. The Trojans assembled a complete performance, where each USC student-athlete scored to contribute to the win. STANFORD assembled two relays which proved to be the fastest in American history. The Cardinal opened the first day of competition with a record-setting performance in the 200-yard medley relay with Ally Howe, Sarah Haase, Janet Hu and Lia Neal (1:34.15). The quartet combined again two days later to set the American record in the 400 medley relay (3:26.15).

ARIZONA: The Wildcats had a fall that saw five swimmers post personal bests at the Texas Invitational that also landed them on Arizona all-time top-10 list for their respective events, three of which were freshmen. Already this season, the team of Taylor Garcia, Kennedy Lohman, Annie Ochitwa and Katrina Konopka broke the school record in the 200 medley relay in a time trial at the Texas Invitational with 1:34.63. Pac-12 Women’s Swimmer of the Month for December, Konopka, has not finished lower than second all season in the 50 free, winning the prelim and final at the Texas Invitational, winning the event six of the nine times she has competed this season.

ARIZONA STATE: Entering his second season at the Sun Devils helm, head coach Bob Bowman is coming off a successful summer after serving as the U.S. Men’s Olympic coach in Rio last summer as Michael Phelps capped off a remarkable record-breaking career. ASU’s Kat Simonovic of Serbia and Anna Olasz of Hungary each earned a trip to Rio and are set to compete in Federal Way this week in both the 200 and 500 free. On the diving side, newcomer Rebecca Deacon joined the team midseason, and had just three meets to qualify for the NCAA Zone E championships and qualified in her first weekend of collegiate competition.

CALIFORNIA: After a third place finish last season, the Golden Bears look to continue its Conference and NCAA legacy led by 2016 Olympic medalists Kathleen Baker and Abbey Weitzeil. As of Feb. 14, Cal ranks second nationally with 15 NCAA “A” qualifying swims and is the only school in the country with all five relays ranked among the top three. Amy Bilquist leads the country in the 100 back (50.85), while Baker ranks first in the 200 back (1:49.83) and junior Noemie Thomas tops the charts in the 100 fly (50.67). On the boards, sophomore diver Phoebe LaMay has broken school records on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards this season. She scored 317.63 on 1-meter in Cal’s dual meet at Arizona State on Jan. 21 and 335.80 on 3-meter at the Texas Diving Invitational. She was also named the Pac-12 Diver of the Month for November.

OREGON STATE: Head coach Jennifer Buffin enters her first season for Oregon State after serving as the head coach of the Philippines at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The Beavers collected one dual-meet victory over Dartmouth, 172-111 in Hawai’i this season. Freshman Felicia Anderson ended the regular season against Idaho with a pair of first place finishes in the 100 and 200 backstroke.

STANFORD: No. 1 Stanford capped off a second straight undefeated regular season as the Cardinal has won 15 straight dual meets and 14 straight Pac-12 duals, dating back to its last visit to Cal on Feb. 14, 2015. 2016 Olympians Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel and Lia Neal highlighted the lineup that saw Ledecky break three pool records in the Cardinal’s 177-123 victory over No. 2 California. Diver and fellow Olympian Kassidy Cook remained undefeated in five dual meets on the one-meter and earned Pac-12 Women’s Diver of the Month honors for January.

USC: The Trojans are coming off their first-ever Pac-12 title in 2016 and USC’s depth will be a key this year. Sophomore Riley Scott is unbeaten in the 100 and 200 breast in dual meets, winning the 100 seven times and the 200 five times, including in wins over Arizona, Arizona State, California, Stanford and UCLA. USC’s 29 Pac-12 women’s diving titles (12 on 1-meter, 12 on 3-meter, five on platform) are second-most in Conference history (behind Stanford) and most have come under the direction of 18th-year diving head coach Hongping Li. USC has won at least two Pac-12 individual titles, including diving, in nine straight years and in 15 of the past 16 seasons, and has won at least one title in 22 of the past 23 seasons.

UCLA: After a fifth place finish last year, the Bruins look to senior Linnea Mack after posting four of the Bruins’ top individual times this season. She holds the top spot in the 50 Free (21.93), 100 Free (48.31), 200 Free (1:46.14) and 100 Back (51.61, set at USC on Feb. 10 and has also played a part in each of UCLA’s five top relay times, as a member of each quartet. On the opposite end, freshman Kenisha Liu has recorded a number of first-place finishes, including one in each of the team’s three most recent meets (at Stanford, at California and at USC).

UTAH: The Utes come to Federal Way finishing sixth at the championships the past three years and look to improve on that season. The Utes totaled a 4-6 dual meet record, including a 157-96 win over Oregon State, heading into the championships. Multiple event specialist Jordan Andersen recorded key victories for the Utes and senior breaststroker Stina Colleou recorded dual meet victories as well.

WASHINGTON STATE: Last year, the Cougars finished seventh at the Pac-12 Championships for the first time since the 2010-11 season. This year, the Cougars won four-straight dual meets including a 143-119 defeat over then-No. 23 UCLA. It marked the first win over the Bruins in school history. WSU defeated Utah for the third-consecutive year by a score of 151-111, and Oregon State, 170-87, for the Cougars’ fifth-straight victory over the Beavers. Freshman Angela Mavrantza recorded her seventh win of the season with a 1:03.34 in the 100 breast against OSU and a personal-best 2:15.29, the sixth-fastest time in school history and good for a NCAA B standard.

MEN'S DIVING: The men’s diving competition is set to feature some of the top talent in the nation once again. UTAH’s Josiah Purss was the January recipient of Pac-12 Diver of the Month. The senior looks top his performances of third on the one-meter, fourth on the three-meter, and 11th on platform from last year’s Pac-12 Championship. USC’s Dashiell Enos, the defending three-meter Pac-12 champion, was the December Pac-12 Diver of the Month. Enos looks to continue his momentum from a successful season thus far, including a 2016 USA Winter National title in the synchronized three-meter with teammate Henry Fusaro. David Hoffer of Arizona State was named the November Pac-12 Diver of the Month. Hoffer placed seventh in the one-meter and eighth in the three-meter at the 2016 Pac-12 Championships.