Although most Stanford students were able to kick back and relax during spring break, Cardinal student-athletes did anything but rest over the past week: The competition ramped up in a big way for many sports in the form of conference and national tournaments. Along the way, broken records and notable headlines were certainly plentiful. Here’s a sampling of what you might have missed over finals week and break:
- Freshman swimmer Simone Manuel had a legendary performance at the NCAA Championships, taking the national titles in both the 50 free and 100 free. And if that’s not enough, she shattered not one but two American records with her performance in the 100 free and her anchor leg in the 400 free relay.
- Not to be outdone, senior swimmer David Nolan also broke his own American record in the 200 IM at the men’s NCAA Championships, becoming the first swimmer in history to break 1:40 in the event.
- Stanford women’s basketball, which earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, blew by No. 13 Cal State Northridge and No. 5 Oklahoma before getting bounced by No. 1 Notre Dame in the Sweet 16.
- The men’s basketball team, on the other hand, are alive and well in the NIT. With the No. 2 seed in hand, the Cardinal bounced past UC Davis, Rhode Island and Vanderbilt to earn a Final Four berth and a trip to Madison Square Garden. They will play Old Dominion on Tuesday for a spot in the title game.
- Ty Montgomery ran a 4.38 40-yard dash and Alex Carter ran a 4.41 at Stanford’s NFL Pro Day under more favorable conditions than in Indianapolis for the NFL Combine.
- Redshirt sophomore wrestler Jim Wilson finished in eighth place at the NCAA Championships, becoming the 17th All-American in program history.
- Stanford soccer star Jordan Morris earned a call-up to the USMNT in advance of the squad’s upcoming match against Switzerland. He’ll replace Aron Johannsson after scoring a goal in the under-23 team’s 5-2 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Sophomore Akash Modi won three different events to power the men’s gymnastics team to a second-place finish at the MPSF Championships for the fourth straight season.