INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Cal senior Ryan Murphy is often a candidate to make history when it comes to accomplishments in the pool.

Friday at the NCAA Championships proved no exception.

Murphy made it a four-peat in the 100-yard backstroke and the Golden Bears men's swimming team maintained its second-place standing when it came to the team race on night three at the IU Natatorium.
 
Entering the meet with his sights set on a pair of career sweeps, Murphy swam the first of his two backstroke events Friday and electrified the crowd in much the same manner as has been the case his whole career. He got out in 21.07 to take the early lead and came home with the fastest back half as well, closing in 22.92 to finish in 43.99.

"That was a goal of mine coming in, to win an event and try to get as many points for the team as possible," Murphy said. "I think it's pretty cool just seeing how far the event has come. I was talking to Shane Ryan, we were 1-2 my freshman year, and we were talking about how I think I flipped at 21.6 at the 50 my freshman year. If you flip at 21.6 now, you're last. I think it's cool to see how fast NCAA swimming has gotten and how fast specifically backstroke has gotten."
 
Cal's night got off to a roaring start, courtesy of sophomore Andrew Seliskar in the 400 IM. The McLean, Va. native jumped right out to the front and sat second after the butterfly. Sitting fifth after the backstroke, Seliskar made his move in the breaststroke, cranking out a split of 29.92 that was second only to eventual winner Chase Kalisz of Georgia.
 
That move gave the Pac-12 400 IM champion some room to work with on the freestyle leg and he touched the wall in a time of 3:36.18 that is the fourth-fastest in the history of the event. Seliskar's mark is also second in Cal history, trailing only 2016 NCAA champion Josh Prenot, who was in the stands to watch his former teammate on Friday.
 
Seliskar's swim was only the start. Justin Lynch jumped in next for the consolation final of the 100 butterfly and posted a personal-best time of 45.41 to win the heat and score maximum points for the Bears. A pair of Bears, Zheng Wen Quah and Matthew Josa, took their turn in the A final and Quah finished fifth with a time of 45.06 that puts the freshman second on Cal's all-time list behind only Tom Shields. Josa placed right behind his teammate in sixth but was disqualified for a non-simultaneous touch.
 
Connor Hoppe got his chance in the final of the 100 breaststroke and the junior produced a memorable swim of his own, placing fourth in a time of 51.41 that puts the Merced, Calif. native third on Cal's all-time list. The effort was also big from a team standpoint, as it pushed the Bears back into second place for the evening.
 
Cal finished the night with a third-place finish in the 200 medley relay and that result left the Bears a solid second in the team standings. Texas leads the way with 391.5 points, followed by Cal with 253. Florida sits third at 224.5.
 
Senior Long Gutierrez represented the Bears in the consolation final of the 200 freestyle on Friday night, placing sixth. Cal was especially busy in the morning session Friday, with Ken Takahashi (400 IM), Mike Thomas (100 fly), Jack Xie (100 fly), Ryan Kao (200 free), Michael Jensen (200 free), Hunter Cobleigh (100 breast), Matt Whittle (100 breast), Carson Sand (100 breast) and Connor Callahan (3-meter diving) also competing. For their times and scores, click the Results link.
 
The Bears return to the Natatorium at 10 a.m. (7 PT) on Saturday to kick off the final day of racing. Morning preliminaries will include the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, 400 free relay and platform diving. The 1,650 free will begin at 3:45 p.m. (12:45 PT) and swimmers return to the pool at 6 p.m. local time (3 PT) on Friday evening for the finals of each event. Saturday's finals will be streamed live by ESPN on WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.