Women's Swimming and Diving Pac-12 Conference

Pac-12 women’s sports continue drumbeat of excellence throughout championships season

Stanford womens swimming & diving captures NCAA title, Pac-12 womens basketball remains perfect in March and womens gymnastics provides thrilling championship event at Maverik Center
SAN FRANCISCO Entering the final week of March, nearly halfway through the 2018-19 championship schedule, womens programs throughout the Pac-12 continue to dominate on the court, in the pool and across the Olympic sports arena. This past weekend, Pac-12 womens sports experienced several highlights, including:
518 NCAA Titles & Counting
Stanford womens swimming & diving this past weekend captured the programs third-straight and 11 th all-time NCAA title in Austin, Tex. to bring the Pac-12s all-time count to 518. Already the all-time leader in NCAA titles, Pac-12 programs have now won a total of five championships this academic year with several opportunities remaining. For Stanford this weekend, senior Ella Eastin became the first woman in NCAA history to win four-straight national titles in the 400-yard individual medley, while freshman Taylor Ruck added another silver and bronze to her resume and sophomore Brooke Forde captured a national championship in the 500 free while also bringing home a bronze in the 400 IM.
With a tradition as the "Conference of Champions," the Pac-12 has led the nation in NCAA championships in 52 of the past 58 years, with 518 NCAA team titles overall. Last season, nine of the Conference's nation-leading 12 titles were captured in women's sports.
Also this past weekend, UCLA's Maria Polyakova capped off a strong campaign with the 3-meter diving crown at the 2019 NCAA Championships while also being named the 2019 CSCAA Women's Division I Diver of the Year.
Pac-12 Womens Basketball Perfect in March
Two Pac-12 programs have already punched their tickets to the Sweet 16 in the 2019 NCAA Division I Womens Basketball Championship in Arizona State and Oregon, and four more programs will compete for a Sweet 16 berth later this evening in California, Oregon State, Stanford and UCLA. Thus far through the tournament, Pac-12 womens basketball programs are 8-0. Over the past four years, Pac-12 teams have gone 23-1 in the first round of the tournament. With four teams playing for a Sweet 16 opportunity tonight and two teams already in, the Pac-12 has a chance to place at least four teams in the round for the fourth-straight year.
In total over the past four years, Pac-12 womens basketball programs have secured 49 wins, the most among any conference, as well as the best winning percentage (.731) in the NCAA tournament.
In addition to the NCAA tournament, in the WNIT, Arizona has also advanced to the round of 16 with a pair of wins thus far, bringing Pac-12 womens basketball programs to a perfect 10-0 in postseason play so far.
Womens Gymnastics a Hit at Maverik Center and on Digital & Social
In its inaugural year at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah, UCLA captured its second-straight Pac-12 womens gymnastics title this past weekend. With over 8,600 in attendance for a near-sellout audience, the Pac-12s first year of three at the venue provided a thrilling competition among several programs, including UCLA and Utah who currently rank second and sixth in the country, respectively, along with five more Pac-12 programs currently in the Top 25.
Selections for the 2019 NCAA womens gymnastics championship will also take place this evening at 2 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. MT via live broadcast on NCAA.com .
Across Pac-12 and Pac-12 Networks digital and social media platforms this year, viral sensation Katelyn Ohashi and her floor routine has displayed the top-performing video content across all such platforms. Along with fellow UCLA teammates Kyla Ross and Madison Kocian and Utahs MyKayla Skinner , as well as the final season for UCLAs gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field , fans of womens gymnastics content on Pac-12 and Pac-12 Networks digital and social media platforms could not get enough this past season.
Across the Pac-12
In other womens sports still taking place:
  • The Pac-12 currently holds four softball programs ranked in the Top 25, with No. 1 UCLA, No. 7 Washington, No. 11 Arizona and No. 18 Arizona State.
  • With beach volleyball more than halfway through its season, the Pac-12 currently boasts five programs in the Top 20, including No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 USC, No. 12 California, No. 14 Stanford and No. 15 Arizona.
  • For women's golf, six Pac-12 programs currently rank in the Top 25 with No. 2 USC, No. 7 UCLA, No. 12 Arizona (defending NCAA champion), No. 16 Arizona State and No. 22 Washington. Individually, the Pac-12 boasts nine golfers ranked among the Top 25, led by top-ranked Stanford junior Andrea Lee .
  • For women's track & field, defending NCAA champion USC ranks No. 1 entering the 2019 outdoor season, headlining a pack of six Pac-12 programs in the Top 25.
Stanford womens swimming & diving title this past weekend brings the Conferences count for womens sports to three on the year, with Colorado womens cross country and Stanfords womens volleyball also capturing NCAA titles this season. For womens volleyball, claiming the title this year made Stanford the all-time leader in NCAA titles for the sport, while the Pac-12 continues to be the leader for womens volleyball with 16 overall championships.
In women's soccer, Stanford sophomore Catarina Macario brought home the 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy, honoring the United Soccer Coaches National Players of the Year in NCAA Division I men's and women's soccer based on voting conducted by NCAA Division I coaches.
About the Pac-12 Conference
The Conference has a tradition as the "Conference of Champions," leading the nation in NCAA Championships in 52 of the last 58 years, with 518 NCAA team titles overall. The Conference comprises 12 leading U.S. universities - the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Colorado, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of Utah, the University of Washington and Washington State University. For more information on the Conferences programs, member institutions, and Commissioner Larry Scott, go to Pac-12.com/conference .