Stanford Cardinal Dominate SMU Invite, Secure Top Spot
DALLAS, TX - The Stanford Cardinal men’s swimming and diving team finished atop the leaderboard at the SMU Invite this weekend, showcasing impressive performances and securing multiple NCAA qualifying times. The three-day meet,concluding Saturday,saw a flurry of personal bests,season-leading times,and entries into the stanford record books.
Freshman Ben ekk made an immediate impact,posting the fourth-fastest time in the NCAA this season in the 200 fly with a 1:45.68, also the best in the ACC. He followed up with a 3:42.01 in the 400 IM, the second-fastest time nationally and the seventh-best in Stanford history.
Leon Fan also delivered a standout performance, winning the 100 breaststroke in 51.28 – the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season and tying his own personal record, which ranks second all-time at Stanford.
The Cardinal also excelled in freestyle events. Andrew McFadden won the 200 free with a time of 1:33.33,while Jonathan Gu secured a personal best and victory in the 50 free,clocking in at 19.13. Gu also contributed to multiple relay wins.
Stanford swept all four relays throughout the competition. They opened with a 1:16.31 in the 200 free relay (harrington, Tan, Dupont Cabrera, and Gu), an NCAA qualifying standard. they continued their success with a 3:03.89 in the 400 medley relay (Harland, Fan, Gu, and Dupont Cabrera) and concluded with a 2:48.01 in the 400 free relay (Dupont Cabrera,Harrington,Tan,and Gu).
Friday saw Daniel Li win the 200 breaststroke in 1:51.88, and Ekk achieve the second-best time in Stanford history in the 500 free with a 4:11.10, narrowly missing Grant Shoults’ 2018 record by just over a second.
Saturday’s competition featured three more individual wins. Omer Wiener claimed his first collegiate victory in the 200 IM with a time of 1:43.79, qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Dupont Cabrera won the 100 free in 42.24, and McFadden secured his second win of the meet in the 200 fly with a time of 1:42.77. Josh Zuchowski won the 200 backstroke in 1:40.98, also earning an NCAA qualifying time despite finishing second overall.
Stanford will resume team competition in January, with dual meets scheduled against UC San Diego on January 16 and USC on January 17.
