Ok, there is no reason to by coy about it: Stanford’s women’s swimming and diving team dominated the national championship meet in March. It is the second national title in a row for the team and the 117th for the school, an all-time NCAA record. The numbers speak for themselves:
3 individual titles won by junior Ella Eastin, who was named Swimmer of the Meet. Eastin also was a member of two winning relay teams.
5 new American records set by Stanford swimmers.
8 individual titles, including one in the 100 backstroke by senior Ally Howe, representing the first time in 20 years Stanford has won that event.
9 days later sophomore Katie Ledecky, a five-time Olympic gold medalist, announced she would turn pro to prepare for the 2020 Games. Ledecky was an eight-time national champion and set 11 American records while at Stanford.
593 overall points for Stanford.
373 overall points for Cal, which finished second.
1993—the last year a national champion in swimming and diving finished with a larger margin of victory.