Pac-12 women’s sports continue drumbeat of excellence throughout championships season
Mar 25, 2019
Stanford women’s swimming & diving captures NCAA title, Pac-12 women’s basketball remains perfect in March and women’s gymnastics provides thrilling championship event at Maverik Center
SAN FRANCISCO – Entering the final week of March, nearly halfway through the 2018-19 championship schedule, women’s 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 women’s sports experienced several highlights, including:
518 NCAA Titles & Counting
Stanford women’s swimming & diving this past weekend captured the program’s third-straight and 11th all-time NCAA title in Austin, Tex. to bring the Pac-12’s 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.
-Peat#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/fF0wF0wPWP
— Stanford WSwim/Dive (@stanfordwswim) March 24, 2019
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 Women’s Basketball Perfect in March
Two Pac-12 programs have already punched their tickets to the Sweet 16 in the 2019 NCAA Division I Women’s 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 women’s 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.
If you give her space, she will make you pay. @sabrina_i20 gets her 18th career triple-double with 29 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds, leading @OregonWBB to a 91-68 victory against Indiana.
The Ducks are back in action on Friday in the NCAA Sweet 16. pic.twitter.com/RWlczXdg5v
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 25, 2019
In total over the past four years, Pac-12 women’s 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 women’s basketball programs to a perfect 10-0 in postseason play so far.
Women’s 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 women’s gymnastics title this past weekend. With over 8,600 in attendance for a near-sellout audience, the Pac-12’s 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 women’s 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 Utah’s MyKayla Skinner, as well as the final season for UCLA’s gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field, fans of women’s gymnastics content on Pac-12 and Pac-12 Networks digital and social media platforms could not get enough this past season.
Watching this on loop...
We can't get enough of @Katelyn_Ohashi's Perfect at the #Pac12Gym Championships pic.twitter.com/vGEp7KvZP1
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 24, 2019
Across the Pac-12
In other women’s 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 women’s swimming & diving title this past weekend brings the Conference’s count for women’s sports to three on the year, with Colorado women’s cross country and Stanford’s women’s volleyball also capturing NCAA titles this season. For women’s 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 women’s 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 Conference’s programs, member institutions, and Commissioner Larry Scott, go to Pac-12.com/conference.