Stanford has won 30 consecutive Pac-12 men's swimming championships and is so overpowering at the Avery Aquatic Center that it is might be the most imposing road venue in the league, any sport, any gender.
On Saturday, Arizona beat the Cardinal 153-145. And when first-year UA coach Eric Hansen boarded a flight to Tucson, a most unusual thing happened:
Five Wildcat swimmers who walked past Hansen were at that moment ranked No. 1 in NCAA swimming. Has anything like that ever happened?
Cory Chitwood was No. 1 in the 200-yard backstroke and 200 IM.
Mitchell Friedemann was No. 1 in the 100 backstroke.
Kevin Cordes was No. 1 in the 100 breast stroke.
Carl Mickelson was No. 1 in the 200 breast stroke.
Austen Thompson was No. 1 in the 400 IM.
What's more, two UA relay teams had the NCAA's fastest times for 2011-12.
So, yes, Arizona is ranked No. 1 again this week, barreling toward the March championships, gathering momentum for what it believes will be another national title.
Read Greg Hansen's entire column in Wednesday's Arizona Daily Star.
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