NO. 9 CAL AT MINNESOTA INVITATIONAL
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 4-SATURDAY, DEC. 7 | PRELIMS: 8 A.M. PT; DIVING 11 A.M. PT | FINALS 4 P.M. PT | JEAN K FREEMAN AQUATIC CENTER | MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
LIVE STREAM: YOUTUBE
LIVE RESULTS: MEET MOBILE



The No. 9 California women's swimming & diving team wraps up the fall segment of the 2024-25 season this week with its annual trip to the Minnesota Invitational.

The Golden Bears have had a unique fall season without any true dual meets but strong competition against nationally ranked teams such as Stanford and Arizona State.

Cal will face off against No. 23 Minnesota, Rutgers, UNLV, Harvard and Denver on Wednesday through Friday at the Jean K Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis. The format mirrors the NCAA Championships, with prelims in the morning each day and finals in the evenings.

The meet begins Wednesday evening with just 200-yard medley relay and 800 freestyle relay.


MAKING THE CUT: The Bears have produced 22 swims that have met the B-cut standard for the 2025 NCAA Championships in March, including three each in the 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 400 individual medley. Fifth-year senior Isabelle Stadden, the 2024 Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year, leads the way with provisional times in four events - the 100 backstroke (51.33), 200 backstroke (1:51.38), 200 individual medley (1:59.03) and 100 freestyle (48.89). Senior Leah Polonsky has registered B-cut marks in the 200 freestyle (1:45.32), 100 breaststroke (1:00.90) and 400 individual medley (4:11.14). Cal's 200 medley relay team has an A-cut time of 1:35.28, assuring itself a spot at NCAAs.

STADDEN TAKES PROGRAM'S FIRST HONOR: Isabelle Stadden became the first Cal women's swimmer to earn a weekly award from the ACC when she was named the conference's Women's Co-Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 12 for her performance in a tri-meet with No. 4 Stanford and No. 18 Arizona State. Stadden recorded four victories during the two-day event, taking both the 100 and 200 backstroke races while also helping the Bears win the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay.

DIVERS MAKE SPLASH: Freshman Rebecca Ciancaglini became the first diver in program history to compete at last week's World Junior Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ciancaglini advanced to the finals of the 1-meter dive before ultimately placing 11^th. She finished 21^st in the 3-meter event. Fellow freshman Violet Williamson was named to USA Diving's Senior High Performance Team earlier this fall and is scheduled to compete at next week's USA Winter Nationals in Bloomington, Indiana.

BEARS INK GENERATIONAL RECRUITING CLASS: Cal director of swimming & diving David Durden announced last month the addition of seven student-athletes to the program, including four of the nation's top 10 prospects. Teagan O'Dell of Chino Hills (No. 2 national recruit according to SwimSwam), No. 3 Claire Weinstein of White Plains, New York (No. 3, 2024 Summer Olympian), Annie Jia of Horsham, Pennsylvania (No. 8) and Elle Scott of Charlotte, North Carolina (No. 9) all signed to join the team for 2025-26 while Ella Cosgrove of Tucson, Arizona (No. 19), Alexa McDevitt of Bainbridge Island, Washington (honorable mention) and Gracyn Aquino of Santa Margarita (California state champion) are also headed to Berkeley.

STADDEN NAMED 2024 PAC-12 SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: Isabelle Stadden became the 11^th Golden Bear to be named Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year in 2024, winning two individual conference titles and adding a third as part of a relay. Stadden captured her third career crown in the 200 back while winning her first in the 100 back. She also swam the backstroke leg on Cal's Pac-12 winning 200 medley relay team. Stadden helped the Bears compile a 7-1 dual meet record (5-1 Pac-12) and a final national dual meet ranking of No. 4 while also setting Spieker Aquatics Complex records in both individual backstroke events.

2023-24 REDUX: The Bears finished last season at No. 4 in the CSCAA dual meet rankings and won the sixth Pac-12 championship in program history. Isabelle Stadden captured her third conference title in the 200 backstroke and added the 100 back crown to her resume while senior Mia Kragh captured the 100 butterfly championship and now-alum Rachel Klinker took the honors in the 200 butterfly. Cal finished 11^th as a team at the 2024 NCAA Championships, including A-final appearances by Stadden in the 100 back (2^nd) and 200 back (4^th), Klinker in the 200 fly (3^rd) and Kragh in the 100 fly (8^th). The Bears also took fourth in the 200 medley relay.

WELCOME TO THE ACC: The University of California, Berkeley, announced it was moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) on Sept. 1, 2023, and became an official member on Aug. 2 of this year. Cal's women's swimming & diving team will not play a round robin season against ACC opponents but will compete at the ACC Championships in Greensboro, N.C., in February.

NINE MAKE PARIS: Cal had nine affiliates compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, including senior Leah Polonsky (Israel) and French newcomers Mary-Ambre Moluh and Lilou Ressencourt. Alumna Abbey Weitzeil won a gold medal in the 4x100 mixed medley relay and the silver in the 4x100 freestyle relay. Director of Swimming & Diving Dave Durden served as an assistant coach for Team USA.

KRAGH'S LIST: Senior Mia Kragh had a breakout season in 2023-24, winning the Pac-12 title in the 100 butterfly and making the A-final in the event at the NCAA Championships and finishing eighth. Kragh now has the eighth-fastest time ever at Cal in the 100 fly at 50.89 and also holds the Spieker Aquatics Complex record in the event (51.30).

TALENT INFUSION: Fourteen of the 36 student-athletes on Cal's roster are new Golden Bears this season, a recruiting class that is ranked No. 7 nationally by SwimSwam. Leading the way are a pair of 2024 Summer Olympians in freshman Mary-Ambre Moluh and graduate student Lilou Ressencourt, each of whom have long-course times that could convert to point-scoring at the NCAA Championships. Graduate transfers Maya Geringer (Ohio State) and Margaux McDonald (Princeton) each have NCAA Championships experience.

 
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