For those unfamiliar with swimming terminology, the concept of “Ups” and “Downs” is a good way to track which teams performed best at prelims. In prelims, swimmers qualify for one of three finals heats: the top 8 finishers make the A final, places 9 through 16 the B final and places 17 through 24 the C final. In finals, swimmers are locked into their respective final, meaning a swimmer in the B heat (spots 9-16) can only place as high as 9th or as low as 16th, even if they put up the fastest or slowest time of any heat in the final.
With that in mind, we’ll be tracking “Ups,” “Mids” and “Downs” after each prelims session. “Up” refers to swimmers in the A final, “Mid” to swimmers in the B final and “Down” to swimmers in the C final.
2016 PAC-12 WOMEN’s Championships
- Wednesday, February 24 – Saturday, February 27
- Federal Way, WA (Pacific Time Zone)
- Defending Champion: California (results)
- Live results
- Live Video (if available)
- Championship Central
- Fan Guide
Southern California has set itself up for its first conference title in Pac-12 history, leading all teams with 18 scoring swims on night 4.
USC already leads Stanford by 5 points, and has 9 A finalists compared to 6 for Stanford on the final night of action.
These numbers don’t include platform diving, the 1650 free or the 400 free relay, all of which could be big events for Stanford. But it’s still USC in the driver’s seat with a clear advantage in A and B finalists along with overall scoring swims.
California is tied with USC for the conference lead with 9 up, including 3 each in the 200 back and 200 fly. Arizona also had a nice morning, holding 15 scoring swims, 9 of them in the B finals.
Stanford’s saving grace is that the Cardinal should dominate diving and have title contenders in all four of this morning’s races. Ella Eastin aims for her third title and a probable Swimmer of the Meet nod as the top seed in the 200 fly. Sophomore Janet Hu leads the 200 back and senior Sarah Haase the 200 breast.
Ca’s Farida Osman is the top seed in the 100 free, with Stanford’s Lia Neal just behind.
Pac-12 Day 4 Ups/Mids/Downs
| Up | Mid | Down | |
| USC | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| California | 9 | 5 | 2 |
| Stanford | 6 | 3 | 5 |
| Arizona | 3 | 9 | 3 |
| UCLA | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Washington State | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Utah | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Arizona State | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Oregon State | 0 | 0 | 0 |
I’ve been swimming since college in the 1970s and followed my daughter’s college career ending in 2014. I’ve never heard of ‘Ups-Mids-Downs’ and I’m not sure I like it. There have been times when I was thrilled myself or to see my daughter make the C-Finals, then come back with a great drop, and there have been times when she made A-finals but came back slower and did not finish as high as expected. To consider a C-Final a “Down” gives a negative connotation that it may not deserve. Sometimes I would say “at least you get to come back tonight”. Any swimmer who gets to swim the race again, and post a time improvement (we hope), has achieved an… Read more »
These are standard terms in swimming these days…. never heard anyone offended by them. They are not meant to offend.
Also college swimming conference meets are about scoring points for your team to beat other teams.
“Yes, I cringe at the 9th-place finish by 1/100, but still there is the chance to at least show improvement at night”
There is chance to improve individually in a B final, but no matter how fast you go, you can not finish above 9th place at night. In college swimming scoring points for your team is what matters, not the time you go. Having an amazing performance in a B-final or C-final is great for the individual, but does little… Read more »
Let’s take that Pac12 trophy back to USC! Swim fast and enjoy this journey! Your hard work is paying off! Fight on Women of Troy!!!