Cal enters the next phase of its season this week when the Golden Bears travel to Federal Way, Washington, for the Pac-12 Women's Swimming & Diving Championships. 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.

All finals sessions will be either streamed or televised live (see full schedule below), with Rich Burk, Amy Van Dyken and Cynthia Potter calling the action.

The Bears have captured the Pac-12 team title four times - 2009, 2012, 2014 and 2015 - and they have finished as the runner-up each of the past three seasons. Last year, Cal captured all five relays, Abbey Weitzeil won three events (50, 100 and 200 free) and the since-graduated Amy Bilquist took first in the 100 back, putting Bears at the top of the podium in nine of 18 swimming events. Weitzeil was named the Swimmer of the Meet, and later tabbed the Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year - the 12th time a Cal swimmer has received the honor - while Teri McKeever earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year recognition for the eighth time.

Golden Bear Notes ...
HOW TO FOLLOW THE PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS: Fans will be able to watch all finals sessions of the Pac-12 Championships either through the Pac-12 Now app, Pac-12.com or the Pac-12 Network using the following schedule. In addition, live results will be available online at pac-12.com/swimdivechamps.
 
 

Wednesday, Feb. 26
6:00 pm	800 free relay / 400 medley relay	Pac-12 Now app / Pac-12.com
Thursday, Feb. 27
4:00 pm	1-meter diving	Pac-12 Now app / Pac-12.com
6:00 pm	500 free / 200 IM/ 50 free / 200 free relay	Pac-12 Now app / Pac-12.com
Friday, Feb. 28
6:30 pm	400 IM / 100 fly / 200 free / 100 breast / 100 back / 3-meter diving / 200 medley relay	Pac-12 Now app / Pac-12 LA
Saturday, Feb. 29
6:30 pm	1650 free / 200 back / 100 free / 200 breast / 200 fly / platform diving / 400 free relay	Pac-12 Now app / Pac-12 Network

A PEEK AT THE PSYCH SHEET: According to the Pac-12 meet psych sheet, Golden Bears are seeded first in 10 events, including in all nine events they captured last year. Cal is ranked first in each of the five relays, while Abbey Weitzeil leads in the 50, 100 and 200 free, Isabel Ivey is first in the 100 back, and Ivey and Alicia Wilson are atop the 200 IM. In 2019, the Bears won all of their relay swims, and Weitzeil claimed victory in the three freestyle events. In addition, Amy Bilquist won the 100 back.
 
WEITZEIL LOWERS OWN AMERICAN RECORD: Senior Abbey Weitzeil lowered her own American record in the 50-yard free at the Minnesota Invitational when she touched the wall in 20.90 seconds Dec. 5 to become the first woman ever to break the 21-second barrier. Weitzeil, who was named the Pac-12 Swimmer of the Month for December, has held the American mark since March 4, 2016, when she went 21.12 before her enrollment at Cal. She reset the record on her way to the NCAA title last March with a time of 21.02. Overall, Weitzeil owns the top two times and five of the top eight times ever in the 50 free.
  
WEITZEIL BREAKS CAL DUAL RECORDS IN 50, 100 FREE: Abbey Weitzeil continues to show that she is the best sprint freestyler in school history. In addition to her American record in the 50 free from December, she has lowered the Cal dual-meet and Spieker Aquatics Complex records in the 50 and 100 free. Weitzeil went 47.79 in the 100 free against Arizona on Jan. 25 and then touched in 21.73 in the 50 free the next day vs. Arizona State. She also didn't limit her record breaking to Berkeley, as Weitzeil set the Stanford pool record in the 50 free (21.89) during Cal's dual meet with the Cardinal in February.
 
MORE WEITZEIL - TRIO OF PAC-12 AWARDS: Abbey Weitzeil's performances this year have earned her a trio of honors from the Pac-12 - Swimmer of the Month for December and Swimmer of the Week on Jan. 29 and Feb. 19. In December, she set her American record in the 50 free, while also taking first place with NCAA A cuts in the 100 free and 200 free. She claimed the January award following her Arizona/ASU swims - featuring Cal dual-meet records in the 50 free (21.73) and 100 free (47.79) and the February honor after the Stanford dual when she set the Stanford pool mark in the 50 free (21.89).
 
BRIANA THAI TABBED PAC-12 DIVER OF THE WEEK IN JANUARY: Junior Briana Thai swept the diving competition on the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards against Arizona and ASU to earn Pac-12 Diver of the Week accolades on Jan. 29. Her top scores were 294.60 on 3-meter against ASU and 250.95 on 1-meter vs. Arizona. Thai also received the conference award last season after winning three of four events in meets against USC and UCLA.
 
BEAR SMARTS: The Bears have continued to add to their string of scholastic honors this year with three distinct honors. First, the NCAA released its latest Graduation Success Rates in October, and Cal posted a 100% GSR for the fourth year in a row. Then came news that the Bears were the recipient of a second consecutive Newmark Award for having the highest GPA among all 30 Cal teams (3.370 for 2018-19). Most recently, Cal earned CSCAA Scholar All-America honors for the 20th semester in a row - every time the award has been presented - with a 3.46 GPA for the fall semester.
 
RECAPPING THE 2019 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS: Cal captured nine of 18 swimming events and raced to a runner-up team finish at the 2019 conference championships. Abbey Weitzeil won three individual titles (50, 100, 200 free), Amy Bilquist (since graduated) won the 100 back, and the Bears swept all five relays for the first time ever. Weitzeil was named the Pac-12 Swimmer of the Meet for her performance, which included a Cal and meet-record time of 46.35 in the 100 free. The Bears also closed out the championships with an NCAA record in the 400 free relay (3:07.41), a time they later lowered at the 2019 NCAA Championships.

TOP 10 CHANGES: So far this season, Golden Bears have made 12 entries into the school's all-time top-10 list, led by a school-record time of 20.90 by Abbey Weitzeil in the 50 free. Others near the top of the leader board include Ema Rajic, who posted the No. 2 time in the 200 breast (2:08.23), Sarah DiMeco, with the No. 6 time in the 1650 free (16:11.14), and Alicia Wilson with a pair of marks in the IMs (#8 200 IM, 1:54.68; and #6 400 IM, 4:07.51). In addition, Briana Thai improved her 3-meter score to 334.00 for the No. 3 mark in school history.

McKEEVER EARNS PARAGON AWARD: Cal head coach Teri McKeever is the recipient of a 2020 Paragon Award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame for her outstanding service and contributions towards advancing the aquatic discipline of competitive swimming. The honor will be presented officially on Friday, April 24 at the ISHOF's induction weekend in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

VOLLMER INTO CAL HALL OF FAME: Dana Vollmer, a seven-time Olympic medalist and multi-time world-record setter who competed for the Bears from 2007-09, was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame during ceremonies the weekend of Nov. 8-9. Vollmer captured three individual and five relay titles at the NCAA meet during her career and led the Bears to the 2009 national championship. As a senior, she earned the Honda Sports Award for swimming and was named the CSCAA National Swimmer of the Year and Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year.

LOOKING BACK AT 2019: Cal earned a national runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships last March, as the Bears claimed four event titles and head coach Teri McKeever was named the CSCAA National Coach of the Year. Abbey Weitzeil lowered her American record in the 50-yard free (21.02), and the Bears captured three relay crowns – the 200 and 400 free relays and the 400 medley relay. McKeever was also voted Pac-12 Coach of the Year, while Weitzeil earned Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year honors.

GOLDEN BEAR NOTES: Head coach Teri McKeever has signed a contract extension through the 2023-24 season ... Cal signed seven recruits for 2020-21, headlined by U.S. National Team member Isabelle Stadden, the bronze medalist in the 200m back at the Pan Am Games last summer. Others in the class are: Mara Allen, Francesca Colby, Emily Gantriis, Kayla Haigh, Tea Laughlin and Nicole Oliva ... Farida Osman ('17), who competes for Egypt, has been named the 2019 African Sportswoman of the Year.