INDIANAPOLIS – The Golden Bears figured that this year's NCAA Championships were going to be fast. All it took was their first two finals to see by how much.
 
Cal's foursome of Abbey Weitzeil, Maddie Murphy, Amy Bilquist and Farida Osman kicked off the night by capturing their third consecutive title in the 200-yard free relay in an NCAA and U.S. Open-record time of 1:25.59. Then in the Bears' next race, sophomore Kathleen Baker broke the school record in winning the 200 individual medley in 1:51.69.
 
In the team standings, Cal is in second place with 136 points. Stanford leads with 213 points and Texas is third with 119.
 
In the relay, Cal trailed Stanford by just over half a second midway through the event when Bilquist, a sophomore swimming the third leg, posted a 21.26 split to bring the Bears within striking distance. Osman then brought home the title with a closing 20.91 anchor leg, surging to the lead on the final lap to out-touch the Cardinal by 0.32 seconds.
 
"We have like seven girls we can put on that relay," Bilquist said. "Honestly, I was lucky to be on the relay. We had a lot of energy, a lot of nerves, and I think we harnessed that in the best way possible."
 
Baker, the two-time Olympic medalist who was runner-up in the 200 IM as a freshman last season, took the lead during her backstroke leg and held off Stanford's Ella Easton through the breaststroke and freestyle for the victory. Her time is the second-fastest in history and broke Caitlin Leverenz's previous school mark of 1:51.77 from 2012.
 
"I'm having a lot more fun," Baker said. "I think that's sort of the vibe of our team right now. I was just enjoying the moment and having fun along the way. I think that's what makes a huge difference and taking my success this summer and incorporating it into short course and having it all come together this year."
 
Cal piled up 42 points in the 50 free with three swimmers in the A final. Osman led the trio in fourth place with a time of 21.38, which was just off her school record of 21.32. Weitzeil took fifth in 21.58, while freshman Maddie Murphy claimed sixth in a personal-best 21.76.
 
In 1-meter diving, sophomore Phoebe LaMay just missed scoring, finishing 18th with 269.95 points, an improvement from her 22nd-place showing last year.
 
The night ended on a sour note in the 400 medley relay. After an apparent victory, the Bears were disqualified when one swimmer left the blocks too early on an exchange. Still, Cal came away with a school record as Kathleen Baker led off with a time of 49.80 in the 100 back, breaking Natalie Coughlin's 15-year-old mark of 49.97.
 
"We got a little too aggressive," head coach Teri McKeever said. "We're going to have to shake it off and see what happens individually and collectively."
 
The NCAA meet continues through Saturday with prelims starting at 7 a.m. PT and finals at 3 p.m. PT.