Feb. 26, 2010

Feb. 26 Pac-10 Women's Swimming Championships Results | Feb. 26 Pac-10 Women's Diving Championships 3-Meter Springboard Final Results | Feb. 26 Pac-10 Women's Diving Championships 3-Meter Springboard Prelim Results

LONG BEACH, Calif. - An eventful 400-yard individual medley final and a strong showing by all the Golden Bears on Friday night helped California hold on to second place in the standings after the third day of the Pac-10 Women's Swimming Championships on Friday at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool. Cal, the defending Pac-10 champion, has 921 points, while Stanford leads the conference championships with 988 points. USC is third with 842.5 points.

Caitlin Leverenz and Heather White became the two fastest swimmers in Cal history in the 400 IM, while also contributing was freshman diver Kelsey Heiken on the second day of the Pac-10 Diving Championships at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Complex in Federal Way, Wash. Heiken took eighth place in the three-meter springboard final.

Leverenz took third place in a fast 400 IM final that produced four automatic NCAA qualifying times, including her Cal-record time of 4:06.61. Stanford's Julia Smit won in a qualifying time of 3:58.23 and USC's Katinka Hosszu was second in a qualifying time of 4:04.86. Stanford's Liz Smith notched the other automatic qualifier with a time of 4:07.16 to finish fourth.

White, a senior, became the second-fastest Bear ever in that event with a personal-best and NCAA consideration time of 4:11.07 to take sixth. Junior Kelsey Hoff also clocked a personal-best and NCAA consideration time in the 400 IM, swimming 4:15.14 to finish 12th.

"Setting a new record is great for Caitlin, and it's huge for Heather to move up the all-time rankings," Cal head coach Teri McKeever said. "You have to work hard to continue to improve at this stage in your career. It's a journey, and I'm really proud of the seniors who are really leading the team, whether it's Lauren Boyle, Blake Hayter, Heather or Alexandra Ellis. Those four have really taken the team on their back and said, `Here we go.'"

In the 100 butterfly, Cal junior Hannah Wilson took second behind Stanford's Elaine Breeden (51.24-51.79); both times were automatic NCAA qualifiers. Wilson's 51.79 is also Cal's fastest of 100 fly of the season. Bears senior Amanda Sims, the 2009 NCAA champion in the 100 fly, placed fourth tonight with an NCAA consideration time of 52.21.

After winning the 200 freestyle preliminary race, Cal junior Sara Isakovic finished second behind Stanford's Kate Dwelley in the final, 1:44.20-1:44.55; both swimmers notched NCAA consideration times. There were three Bears in the championship final, with Boyle posting a season-best and NCAA consideration time of 1:46.29 to take fifth and junior Erica Dagg swimming a season-best and NCAA consideration time of 1:46.54 to place sixth. Cal sophomore Liv Jensen won the B final with a season-best and NCAA consideration time of 1:45.92.

Ellis finished fifth in the 100 breaststroke in a Cal season-best and NCAA consideration time of 1:00.95, and in the 100 backstroke, Fotsch won the consolation final with a personal-best, Cal's season-best and NCAA consideration time of 53.30.

The busy Fotsch led off Cal's 400-medley relay, which included Ellis, Sims and Wilson and finished second with an NCAA consideration time of 3:32.76. Stanford won with an automatic NCAA qualifying time of 3:31.87.

"Hannah was a rock star tonight," McKeever added. "Hannah and Amanda did nice jobs in the 100 fly, and Colleen Fotsch did a great job tonight helping us on the relay and picking up her backstroke cut."

In Washington, Heiken posted NCAA zonal qualifying scores with both her score in the three-meter final (282.90) and in the prelim (289.30). The San Clemente, Calif., product had already claimed a zonal qualifier at three meters with a score of 284.10 in Cal's Feb. 13 dual meet at Stanford.

"We had a lot of good energy tonight," McKeever said. "It was a lot of fun. It's real important that we get refocused and have another good morning and finals tomorrow."

The Pac-10 Women's Swimming Championships conclude on Saturday in Long Beach with the 1650 free, 200 backstroke, 100 free, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and 400-free relay. The Pac-10 Women's Diving Championships end with the platform on Saturday in Federal Way.

Pac-10 Women's Swimming Championships
Feb. 26 in Long Beach, Calif.

Standings

Team	        Points
1. Stanford	988
2. California	921
3. USC	        842.5
4. Arizona	809
5. UCLA	        644.5
6. Arizona State	424
7. Oregon State	317
8. Washington State	237

Cal Results on Day 3

Finals

400-Yard Individual Medley

3. Caitlin Leverenz 4:06.61^. 6. Heather White 4:11.07*. 12. Kelsey Hoff 4:15.14*. 15. Courtney Eronemo 4:18.24*. 16. Shelley Harper 4:19.15*. 17. Katie Kastes 4:16.75*.

100-Yard Butterfly
2. Hannah Wilson 51.79^. 4. Amanda Sims 52.21*. 11. Colleen Fotsch 53.04*. 15. Ursula Dailey 53.67*.

200-Yard Freestyle
2. Sara Isakovic 1:44.55*. 5. Lauren Boyle 1:46.29*. 6. Erica Dagg 1:46.54*. 9. Liv Jensen 1:45.92*. 20. Blake Hayter 1:48.42*. 24. Amanda Larson 1:50.26.

100-Yard Breaststroke
5. Alexandra Ellis 1:00.95*.

100-Yard Backstroke
9. Colleen Fotsch 53.30*. 16. Amanda Sims 55.35*. 24. Samantha Pearson 56.36.

400-Yard Medley Relay
2. Cal A (Colleen Fotsch, Alexandra Ellis, Amanda Sims, Hannah Wilson) 3:32.76*.

Heats

400-Yard Individual Medley

2. Caitlin Leverenz 4:08.01*. 5. Heather White 4:12.42*. 9. Kelsey Hoff 4:15.89*. 11. Courtney Eronemo 4:16.83*. 13. Shelley Harper 4:18.22*. 17. Katie Kastes 4:19.19*.

100-Yard Butterfly
2. Hannah Wilson 51.92^. 4. Amanda Sims 52.12*. 11. Colleen Fotsch 53.53*. 12. Ursula Dailey 53.54*.

200-Yard Freestyle
1. Sara Isakovic 1:45.64*. 5. Lauren Boyle 1:47.20*. 7. Erica Dagg 1:47.24*. 9. Liv Jensen 1:47.35*. 20. Blake Hayter 1:49.05*. 21. Amanda Larson 1:49.50. 32. Sara Sun 1:51.93.

100-Yard Breaststroke
5. Alexandra Ellis 1:01.34*.

100-Yard Backstroke
14. Colleen Fotsch 55.22*. 16. Amanda Sims 55.31*. 24. Samantha Pearson 56.50. 25. Ursula Dailey 56.72.

Pac-10 Women's Diving Championships
Feb. 26 in Federal Way, Wash.

Cal Results

Final

Three-Meter Springboard

8. Kelsey Heiken 282.90+.

Preliminary Round

Three-Meter Springboard

7. Kelsey Heiken 289.30+. 11. Molly Hayes 260.65. 16. Laura Sanford 225.85.

^NCAA automatic qualifying time
*NCAA B qualifying time
+NCAA zonal qualifying mark