Senior Day Highlights Final Week Of Regular Season
Andrew Madsen/KLC Fotos

Senior Day Highlights Final Week Of Regular Season

No. 5 Bears Host Pacific, Travel To No. 8 Stanford

PACIFIC AT NO. 5 CALIFORNIA
THURSDAY, JAN. 29 | 12 P.M. PT | SPIEKER AQUATICS COMPLEX | BERKELEY, CA
LIVE STREAM: ACC NETWORK EXTRA | LIVE RESULTS: MEET MOBILE

NO. 5 CALIFORNIA AT NO. 8 STANFORD
FRIDAY, JAN. 30 | 1 P.M. PT | AVERY AQUATICS CENTER | STANFORD, CA
LIVE STREAM: ACC NETWORK EXTRA | LIVE RESULTS: MEET MOBILE




The No. 5 California men's swimming & diving team closes out the regular season this week, highlighted by Senior Day on Thursday against Pacific at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Golden Bears visit No. 8 Stanford the following day in the final dual meet of the 2025-26 campaign.

Thursday's meet begins at noon PT with the Senior Day ceremony immediately preceding it. Cal will honor nine student-athletes competing at their final meet at Spieker – Colby Hatton, Luca Pusateri Gissendaner, Hank Rivers, Tommy Roder, Joshua Thai, Eduardo Moraes, Nathan Wiffen, Evan Petty and Andrew Hallet.

Friday's rivalry showdown at Stanford will mark the Bears' final meet before commencing the postseason. The ACC Championships run Feb. 15-21 while the NCAA Championships take place March 25-28. Both events are set for the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta.

TOP TIMES: The Bears feature seven times that rank in the top 10 nationally this season, including two by sophomore Yamato Okadome (100 breaststroke, No. 3 – 50.48; 200 breaststroke, No. 4 – 1:50.04). Nathan Wiffen has the fourth-ranked time in the 1,650 freestyle (1:41.69), freshman Ryan Erisman is sixth in the 1,000 free (8:43.48), sophomore Lucca Battaglini is No. 7 in the 50 free (18.78) and senior Evan Petty ranks 10th in the 100 backstroke (44.83). Cal's 200 medley relay team of Battaglini, Okadome, Casper Puggaard and Nans Mazellier recorded the seventh-best time of the season at 1:22.33.

CLIMBING THE RANKS: In addition to putting up some of the best marks in the country this season, several Golden Bears have also made their mark on the program record book in 2025-26.

The new members of Cal's all-time top-10 list include: BIG BAT: Sophomore Lucca Battaglini has emerged as one of the top sprint freestylers in the country this season, compiling top 11 times nationally in both the 50 free and 100 free. Battaglini registered both of his top times at the Minnesota Invitational in December, ripping off a blistering 18.78 in the 50 free - which is the seventh-fastest time in the country this season and No. 6 all time at Cal – as well as a 41.56 in the 100 free, good for No. 11 nationally in 2025-26 and also No. 6 in program history. Battaglini was also part of the Bears' 200 medley relay team that swam a blistering 1:22.33 in Minnesota, which is No. 7 this season and all time at Cal.

ODE TO OKADOME: Sophomore Yamato Okadome is following up on a stellar freshman season with a strong encore as a sophomore, having registered four national top-10 times and setting a pair of pool records at Spieker Aquatics Complex. In addition to clocking the third-fastest 100 breast (50.48) and fourth-fastest 200 breast (1:50.04) times in the NCAA this year at the Minnesota Invitational, the 2025 ACC Freshman of the Year posted a 50.89 in the 100 breast and a 1:51.66 in the 200 breast in the team's double-dual with Stanford and Arizona State to set new standards at Spieker.

RIGHT ON, RYAN: The Bears have another freshman of the year candidate in Ryan Erisman, who made an immediate impact on the program when he set the school record in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 8:43.48 during a tri-meet against Stanford and Arizona State. That's the sixth-best mark in the nation this season in the event. Erisman also registered the No. 8 all-time mark at Cal in the 500 free with a time of 4:12.78.

PERPETUAL EXCELLENCE: The Bears placed second at last year's NCAA Championships, marking a staggering 15th consecutive season they have finished either first or second nationally. Cal has won six national titles during that span.

REIGNING CONFERENCE KINGS
In its first season as a member of the ACC, Cal showcased its dominance throughout the 2024-25 season. The Bears won their first-ever ACC title in a wire-to-wire finish, which included six event crowns at the 2025 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships. Cal had nine student-athletes receive All-ACC honors in at least one event while in total the Bears finished among the top three in 12 different events. Cal also swept the conference's swimming awards – Lucas Henveaux and Yamato Okadome were tabbed the ACC Swimmer of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively, while David Durden walked away with ACC Coach of the Year honor.

U.S NATIONAL TEAM
Seven current and former Bears were named to the 2025-2026 U.S National Team roster, announced by USA Swimming. The roster includes Jack Alexy, Ryan Erisman, Gabriel Jett, Keaton Jones, Trenton Julian, Destin Lasco and Dare Rose.


STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal men's swimming and diving, please follow the Bears on X/Twitter (@CalMenSwim), Instagram (@CalMenSwim) and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalMensSwimmingandDiving).
 
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