COLUMBUS, Ohio – Kathleen Baker had long set her sights set on breaking the American record in the 200-yard backstroke. She came within half a second last year when she won the NCAA title in the event and she lowered her personal best by a few hundredths of a second when she captured the Pac-12 crown just last month.
 
On Saturday night in the final session of the NCAA Championships, Baker at last hit her mark. The Cal junior led from the start and touched the wall first in 1:47.30 to defend her crown and break the record of 1:47.84 set by former Golden Bear Elizabeth Pelton in 2013.
 
Baker's victory gives Cal eight wins in the 200 back in NCAA history and continues a Golden Bear hold on the American record dating back to Natalie Coughlin in 2001. The victory also meant the fourth individual national title of Baker's career after she won the 100 and 200 back and 200 individual medley as a sophomore in 2017.
 
 

"I really wanted to put one in the books and I'm pretty confident in the 200 backstroke because it gives me a little more opportunity to swim," Baker said. "I think that is what I was really going for. I had a good race strategy and I think that really worked out the best for me. (The record) has been my goal for a while. It means a lot to keep it in the family."
 
"Kathleen's had her eye on that," head coach Teri McKeever said. "I thought Kathleen did a wonderful job of just executing her race and concentrating on her strengths. She continues to shine when it's important. It's a thrill to see her get that record and the national title."
 
As a team, the Bears placed second at the national meet for the second consecutive year and ranked among the top 3 for the 10th year in a row – the longest current streak in the country. Stanford won the meet with 593 points, while Cal had 373 points – seven more than the Bears scored last year. Texas A&M was third with 299 point and Michigan fourth with 267.
 
A few minutes after Baker's heroics, three Bears picked up key points in the 100 freestyle. Sophomore Abbey Weitzeil led the way for Cal, finishing third in 46.74, with junior Amy Bilquist going 47.82 for eighth place. In addition, freshman Robin Neumann was seventh in the B final in 48.40
 
Cal also had two swimmers in the 200 butterfly. Junior Katie McLaughlin came through in a season-best 1:52.64 – more than two seconds lower than her season best entering the meet – and captured fourth place. Senior Noemie Thomas, in the B final, got her hand in for second place in 1:54.17.
 
The Bears closed out the competition by breaking their fifth school record of the meet, lowering their mark by almost a full second in the 400 free relay by finishing second to Stanford in 3:08.05. Bilquist led off and was followed by Weitzeil, Baker and McLaughlin.
 
"The stat of being in the top 3 that last 10 years is something personally I'm incredibly proud of," McKeever said. "I'm really proud of our national titles, obviously, but the consistency of a program for a decade staying in the top 3 – any team or individual athlete that can do that really says a lot. It's about a group of women that have come in and bought into the program and bought into a philosophy and can continue to elevate and challenge and support each other day in and day out. It's a streak we intend to keep going."