ATLANTA – Two program records were broken, and two medals were won by the No. 5 California women's swimming & diving team Wednesday, the first day of the 2026 NCAA Championships at McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
 
The Golden Bears qualified for the A Final of all three day-one events thanks to their times during the regular season, including freshman Claire Weinstein who earned the eighth and final seed of the 1,650-yard freestyle event.
 
Weinstein looked like anything but the bottom seed in the first NCAA Championship event of her career as she burst out of the blocks to take a commanding lead from the sound of the horn. The freshman used an aggressive strategy and led for roughly the first 1,200 yards before finishing in second place with a school-record time of 15:36.52, over 14 seconds faster than her previous collegiate best and over three seconds faster than the 11-year old Cal record set by Cierra Runge (15:40.17). Weinstein tied Runge for the highest national finish in program history in that event enroute to a CSCAA First Team All-America award.
 
Weinstein's night wasn't done there. She along with fellow underclassmen Mia West, Teagan O'Dell, and Ella Cosgrove etched their names into Cal history by breaking the school record in the 800 freestyle relay. The Bear quartet posted a time of 6:47.91 to take third place and earn First Team All-America standing.
 
Cal was disqualified from the 200 medley relay for leaving the blocks early.
 
The Bears will head into day two of the NCAA Championships in seventh place with 49 points. Tomorrow's events include the 100 butterfly, 400 IM, 200 freestyle, 100 breast, and 200 freestyle relay. Eleven different Bears will be competing in the prelims which begin at 7 a.m. PT with the finals following later at 3 p.m. PT on ESPN+.