PACIFIC 10 SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS : Thompson Helps Put Stanford in Control

The Stanford women’s swim team won all five events on the first day of competition Thursday at the Pacific 10 Conference championships at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach.

Even though the Cardinal is in first place with 431 points, 119 points ahead of second-place UCLA, and appears strong enough to win their eighth consecutive Pac-10 title, Coach Richard Quick said the championship could slip from their grasp at any moment.

“USC is a really, really good team and UCLA has a lot of talent, so I think both those squads, if we were to not have a good session. . . . could jump up and beat us,” Quick said.

But the chances of that happening are slim.

One reason is Stanford junior Jenny Thompson, who came from behind on the last leg of the 200-yard freestyle relay to help the Cardinal win the opening event in a meet-record one minute, 31.58 seconds. UCLA finished second in 1:32.71.

Thompson, a junior, later won the 50 freestyle in 22.61, edging the defending champion, Richelle Depold of UCLA, by .55 of a second.

Thompson, who won two gold medals for the United States at the 1992 Olympics, broke her own meet record in a preliminary heat with a time of 22.50. She will defend her title in the 100 freestyle on Saturday.