Cal at Pac-12 Championships
Wednesday-Saturday, Feb. 27-March 2 | Federal Way, Wash.
MEET NOTES | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK

Cal moves into the next phase of its season this week when the Bears travel to Federal Way, Wash., for the Pac-12 Championships set for Wednesday through Saturday. Prelims begin at 10:30 a.m. with finals starting at 6 p.m. each day, except for Wednesday when only finals will be contested.

Finals sessions Friday and Saturday will air live on the Pac-12 Networks, on Pac-12.com and through the Pac-12 Now app with Rich Burk, Amy Van Dyken and Cynthia Potter calling the action. Visit pac-12.com/swimdivechamps for the complete coverage details.

The Bears have captured the Pac-12 team title four times - 2009, 2012, 2014 and 2015 - and they were the runner-up the past two years. Cal is the defending champion in four relays - the 200, 400 and 800 free relays and the 200 medley relay. The Bears set school records in the 200 free relay (1:25.87, since broken), the 400 free relay (3:09.04, since broken) and the 400 medley relay (3:25.50) at the 2018 meet.

• WEITZEIL, NEUMANN. RELAYS LEAD PAC-12 ENTRIES
A look at the psych sheet for the Pac-12 Championships shows junior Abbey Weitzeil atop the conference in both the 50 free (21.46) and 100 free (school-record 46.49), sophomore Robin Neumann is the No. 1 seed in the 200 free (1:43.38), and four of the Golden Bears' five relays rank first among the league schools. In addition, three individuals are seeded second - senior Katie McLaughlin in the 100 fly (52.01), freshman Alicia Wilson in the 200 IM (1:55.77) and Weitzeil in the  200 free (1:43.85). Cal also paces the Pac-12 in the 200 free relay (1:26.94), the 400 free relay (3:11.14), the 200 medley relay (1:35.65) and the 400 medley relay (3:29.87). The Bears are second to USC in the 800 free relay with a best time of 6:59.25.

• ACADEMIC HONORS ROLL IN FOR BEARS
With a 3.43 GPA for the fall semester, Cal has been named a CSCAA Scholar All-America team for the 18th consecutive semester - every time the coaching association has presented the award. The announcement comes of the heels of a fall release that showed the Bears with a 100% Graduation Success Rate, according to the most recent NCAA data. The women's swimming & diving team also claimed the athletic department's Newmark Award for having the highest GPA among all 30 Golden Bear programs with a 3.429 GPA for the 2017-18 academic year.

• WEITZEIL SETS CAL POOL, DUAL-MEET RECORD IN 50 FREE, 100 FREE
Abbey Weitzeil sprinted to a time of 21.92 in the 50 free vs. USC Feb. 1 to set the Spieker Aquatics Complex record as well as lower her own Cal dual-meet mark in the event. Weitzeil's time broke the pool record of 21.97 by Simone Manual of Stanford in 2017. Last year, Weitzeil established the Cal dual-meet record by swimming 22.04 at Stanford, and she matched the time earlier this season vs. Texas. Then against Stanford on Feb. 16, Weitzeil covered the 100 free in 48.06, which tied Natalie Coughlin's 2003 school dual-meet record and lowered the pool mark of 48.17 set by Manual two years ago.

• KATIE MCLAUGHLIN TABBED PAC-12 SWIMMER OF THE WEEK FOR JAN. 21-27
Senior Katie McLaughlin was named Pac-12 Swimmer of the Week after leading Cal to a pair of dual-meet wins at Arizona State and Arizona Jan. 25-26. Over the two days of swimming, she won five different individual events - the 200 fly and 500 free at ASU, and the 100 and 200 free, and 100 fly at Arizona - all by more than a full second. She also helped the Bears to three relay victories. Her splits on the 200 medley relay at Arizona State (23.42 fly) and 400 free relay at Arizona (48.86) were both the fastest of all swimmers.

• ABBEY WEITZEIL NAMED PAC-12 SWIMMER OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER
After posting NCAA-leading times in the 50 (21.46) and 100 free (46.49), including a school record in the 100, at the Georgia Fall Invitational, junior Abbey Weitzeil was named the Pac-12 Swimmer of the Month for November. In addition, she tied her own Cal dual-meet record in the 50 free (22.04) and won the 100 free in a meet with Texas on Nov. 10, and set a pool record in the 100 free (49.42) in a dual at Washington State Nov. 3.

• 2018 PAC-12 MEET RECAP
Cal finished second at the 2018 Pac-12 Championships and earned six event titles along the way. Kathleen Baker captured the 200 back and 200 IM, while the Bears won four of the five relays - 200, 400 and 800 free relay and 200 medley relay. In addition, Cal swimmers were runners up five more times - Abbey Weitzeil in the 50 and 100 free, Kathleen Baker in the 100 back, and Sarah Darcel in the 200 IM and the 400 medley relay.

• NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS
Heading into this week's action, junior Abbey Weitzeil and all five relays have automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in March. Weitzeil has earned her berths in the 50 free with a best time of 21.46 and in the 100 free with a school-record 46.49, both from the Georgia Fall Invitational. In addition, the Bears qualified the 200, 400 and 800 free relays and the 200 and 400 medley relays in Georgia. Three other Cal swims rank among the nation's top 16 with NCAA "B" qualifying marks - Robin Neumann (9th, 200 free, 1:43.88), Weitzeil (12th, 200 free, 1:43.85), Katie McLaughlin (11th, 200 fly, 1:54.63)

• TOP 10 CHANGES
So far this season, performances by the Bears have created 10 new entries on the school's all-time top-10 list, including school records from Abbey Weitzeil in the 100 free (46.49) and Briana Thai on the 1-meter springboard (319.58). Two freshmen have also made their marks, with Ema Rajic 10th in the 100 breast (1:00.96) and ninth in the 200 breast (2:11.72), and Alicia Wilson 10th in the 200 IM (1:55.77).

• GOLDEN BEAR TRIO ON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM
Three Golden Bears will be on the U.S. team for the 2019 World Championships in South Korea - Katie McLaughlin, Abbey Weitzeil and Kathleen Baker. McLaughlin, who will swim the 100-meter fly, returns to Worlds for the first time since 2015 when she earned gold in the 800 free relay. Weitzeil will be competing in her third World Championships, which included a bronze medal in the 400 free relay in 2015, and will swim the 50 free and on the 400 free relay. Baker is one of three swimmers on the roster to qualify in four events - 50, 100 and 200 back and 200 IM - and she will likely be on the medley relay. She earned three medals at the 2017 world meet - gold (400 medley relay), silver (100 back) and bronze (200 back).

• GOLDEN BEAR NOTES ...
Former Cal swimmer Kathleen Baker, who set a world record in the 100-meter back over the summer, earned a Golden Goggle Award for Female Race of the Year. Katie McLaughlin (Perseverance Award) and Teri McKeever (Coach of the Year) were also nominated ... Cal has finished among the top 3 at the NCAA Championships the last 10 consecutive years - the longest current streak in the country. Included in the stretch are NCAA titles in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015 ... head coach Teri McKeever was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame this past fall ... Cal welcomed two mid-year enrollees to the roster in January - Isabel Ivey and Chloe Clark. While Clark is redshirting this season, Ivey has posted four NCAA "B" times - 100 free (49.48), 200 free (1:45.70), 100 back (53.07) and 100 fly (53.32).