With a squad comprised of 11 swimmers and one diver, second-ranked Cal travels to the NCAA Championships this week in Columbus, Ohio, looking to extend its streak of top 3 national finishes to 10 years in a row.
The Golden Bears are coming off a strong showing at the Pac-12 Championships where they won four of the five relays - each in an NCAA-leading time - and junior
Kathleen Baker captured both the 200-yard back and 200-yard individual medley.
Cal also earned six victories at last year's NCAA meet, including three by Baker (100 and 200 back, 200 IM), who was named the CSCAA Swimmer of the Meet. In addition, the Bears claimed wins in the 200 free relay and 200 medley relay, and the since-graduated
Farida Osman won the 100 fly.
Cal, ranked second in the final CSCAA regular-season poll, enters the meet with 20 swims rated among the top 16 in the country and is atop the list in five events - 200, 400 and 800 free relay, 200 medley relay, and Baker's 1:48.27 in the 200 back.
• HOW TO FOLLOW THE NCAA MEET
ESPNU will broadcast the championship finals session Friday starting at 5 p.m. ET, and the finals session on Saturday will either be streamed live by ESPN3 or by live linear broadcast on ESPNU starting at 6 p.m. ET. All sessions not broadcast by either ESPNU or ESPN3 will be streamed at calbea.rs/2oRxCTR. For more details, click on the Championship Central Website link above.
• 9 IN A ROW AMONG NCAA TOP 3
Cal has finished among the top three at the NCAA Championships nine years in a row - the longest current streak in the country. Included in the run are four national titles, coming in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015. The Bears were also second in 2013 and 2017, and third in 2010, 2014 and 2016.
• NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
Of the 12 Golden Bears traveling to Columbus for the NCAA Championships, nine are making repeat appearances and six have won a national title either individually or on a relay. The most decorated is
Kathleen Baker, who won the 100 and 200 back and 200 IM last year, in addition to being on the winning 200 medley relay.
Amy Bilquist,
Maddie Murphy and
Noemie Thomas all have two relay crowns on their resumes.
• ADDING UP THE TITLES
Not only have the Golden Bears captured four team national titles in 25 seasons under head coach
Teri McKeever, but Cal has also secured 55 event wins at the NCAA Championships during her tenure - 37 individual races and 18 relays. At total of 32 of those victories have come since 2011 with the Bears claiming at least five national crowns in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2017. Last year, the Bears had six event wins -
Kathleen Baker (100 back, 200 back 200 IM),
Farida Osman (100 fly), the 200 free relay and the 200 medley relay.
• CAL TOPS IN RELAYS
Following its performance at the Pac-12 Championships, Cal enters the NCAA meet leading the country in four relays and ranks second nationally in the other. The Bears won the first three relays at the conference meet - 200 medley relay (1:34.13), 800 free relay (6:52.62) and 200 free relay (1:25.87). Both 200 relay times rank as the second fastest in school history, while the 800 free relay comes in at No. 4. Cal also closed out the championships with a school-record victory in the 400 free relay (3:09.04). And while the Bears were second to Stanford in the 400 medley relay, their time of 3:25.50 is the second fastest in history and broke the school record by more than 2.5 seconds.
• WEITZEIL BREAKS CAL MARK IN 100 FREE
Sophomore
Abbey Weitzeil lowered the Cal record in the 100 free when she swam the distance in 46.63 during a runner-up finish in the Pac-12 Championships final. Her time broke the mark of 46.66 set by Missy Franklin in 2015, which she set leading off the Bears' 400 free relay at the NCAA meet.
• BEARS SECOND AT PAC-12 MEET
Cal finished second in the team standings at the Pac-12 Championships in late February, posting six event wins and five runner-up performances. The Bears set three school records -
Abbey Weitzeil in the 100 free (46.63), 400 free relay (3:09.04) and 400 medley relay (3:25.50) - while
Kathleen Baker established a meet record with a PR 1:48.27 in the 200 back. Overall, Cal had 17 finals swims that were below the NCAA A qualifying standard.
• AN AMERICAN RECORD IN 200 FREE RELAY
When Cal captured the 200 free relay title at the Pac-12 Championships, the Bears did so with an American record that, oddly enough, was a tad slower than the school record. At the Pac-12 meet last month,
Maddie Murphy,
Amy Bilquist,
Katie McLaughlin and
Abbey Weitzeil touched in 1:25.87. The Cal record, though, is 1:25.59 from last year's NCAA meet when the team of Weitzeil, Murphy, Bilquist and
Farida Osman won the national title. Because Osman is an Egyptian, the time was not an American record.
• 20 SWIMS AMONG NCAA'S TOP 16
Cal enters this week's meet with 20 swims - 15 individuals and five relays - that rank among the top 16 in the country.
Kathleen Baker and
Amy Bilquist appear in three different events, while the Bears have the most swimmers in the 50 free top 16 with
Abbey Weitzeil, Bilquist and
Maddie Murphy.
• 50 free -
Abbey Weitzeil (4th, 21.41),
Amy Bilquist (8th, 21.74),
Maddie Murphy (T14th, 21.96)
• 100 free -
Abbey Weitzeil (2nd, 46.63)
• 200 free -
Robin Neumann (8th, 1:43.38)
• 100 back -
Kathleen Baker (3rd, 50.13),
Amy Bilquist (11th, 51.28)
• 200 back -
Kathleen Baker (1st, 1:48.27),
Amy Bilquist (7th, 1:50.23)
• 100 fly -
Noemie Thomas (5th, 50.77),
Katie McLaughlin (10th, 51.17)
• 200 fly -
Noemie Thomas (9th, 1:53.77)
• 200 IM -
Kathleen Baker (2nd, 1:52.70),
Sarah Darcel (9th, 1:54.50)
• 400 IM -
Sarah Darcel (6th, 4:03.00)
• 200 free relay - Murphy, Bilquist, McLaughlin, Weitzeil (1st, 1:25.87)
• 400 free relay - Bilquist, McLaughlin, Baker, Weitzeil (1st, 3:09.04)
• 800 free relay - Neumann, Baker, McLaughlin, Bilquist (1st, 6:52.62)
• 200 medley relay - Baker, Weitzeil, Thomas, Bilquist (1st, 1:34.13)
• 400 medley relay - Baker, Harrison, Thomas, Weitzeil (2nd, 3:25.50)
• CSCAA SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
With an impressive 3.51 GPA for the fall 2017 semester, Cal has been named a Scholar All-American team by the CSCAA. In fact, the Bears have been honored 16 semesters in a row - every time the award has been presented.
• WEITZEIL HONORED TWICE BY PAC-12
Sophomore
Abbey Weitzeil has been posting top times all season and the Pac-12 has recognized her twice for her efforts. First, she was tabbed the Pac-12 Swimmer of the Month for December after attaining NCAA "A" qualifying standards with victories in both the 50 and 100 free at the Georgia Invitational. She then claimed Pac-12 Swimmer of the Week honors Feb. 14 for her results at Stanford - a pool and Cal dual-meet record in the 50 free and a pool and Cal dual-meet record in the 200 free relay.
• THAI PAC-12 DIVER OF THE WEEK
Freshman
Briana Thai has made a big impact on the boards this season, moving into Cal's all-time top 10 with her scores on 1-meter, 3-meter and platform. The Pac-12 named her its Diver of the Week Jan. 31 after she won three of four competitions in meets at USC and UCLA, helping Cal to its first sweep in Los Angeles since 2012.
• CELEBRATING 25 YEARS WITH McKEEVER
Following Cal's dual meet against North Carolina State Nov. 4, more than 200 people, including dozens of alumnae and their families, remained at Legends Aquatic Center for a special ceremony celebrating
Teri McKeever's 25 years as the Bears' head coach. Chancellor Carol Christ and Director of Athletics Mike Williams were among the speakers, along with current swimmers, a former assistant coach and a pair of alums. Before the crowd heard from McKeever, Michael Go announced the formation of the
Teri McKeever Swimming Scholarship, which will be awarded to a deserving student-athlete beginning next year. McKeever, now in her 26th season at the helm, has guided Cal to four NCAA team titles and served as head U.S. Olympic coach at the 2012 Games in London.
• SUPER SUMMER FOR Kathleen Baker
Cal junior
Kathleen Baker shined on the international stage once again during the FINA World Championships in Budapest over the summer. One year after winning two medals at the 2016 Olympics, Baker added three more medals to her collection with silver in the 100-meter back, bronze in the 200-meter back and gold on the world-record-setting 400-meter medley relay. In addition, she placed fifth in the 50-meter back final after setting an American record in the event during the semifinals.
• SUMMER SWIMS AROUND THE GLOBE
In addition to
Kathleen Baker, several other Golden Bears swam on the international stage over the summer. At the World Championships,
Robin Neumann competed for the Netherlands, while recent Cal grad
Farida Osman (Egypt) claimed a bronze medal in the 50m fly. At the World University Games in Taipei,
Katie McLaughlin (USA) earned three relay medals and reached the finals in the 50m and 100m fly, and
Sarah Darcel (Canada) finaled in both the 200m IM and 400m IM. Finally, senior
Maija Roses (USA) claimed gold medals in the 100m and 200m breast and on the 4x100m medley relay at the Maccabiah Games in Israel.
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