Cal holds onto 10th following the 1 mtr diving. Good news is they are only 1 pt from tied for 8th and 6.5 pts from 5th. Big relay coming up!

I think Cal just misses out on top 8 scoring in the relay (UVA also broke the meet record that Cal set in 2019), but 9th is still a move up from seed for the team. Keep it up, Bears!

waterbear2013 said:

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This morning was projected to be Cal's weakest session of the meet. Relays alone should put Cal around 7-9th nd Texas are, they will suck up a large number of points leaving the rest of the top 10 closer.

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Great projection Cal 8th after end of 2nd session. Was hoping Emily Gantriis would have a better season but think she was one that was impacted greatly by coach McKeever's abuse.

Cal surprised to grab 10th place in the 200 free relay. Isabelle Staden (21.63) & anchor McKenna Stone (21.57) swam excellent times. The relay team lowered their prelim time by .51 seconds and picked up 14 points. Bears are in 8th place, 2 points behind Florida. Izzy Ivey will swim for the Gators next season. GO BEARS!

NC State DQ for early take off was big.

Also funny that Ledecky was there not with the Furd but with Florida, even sporting a Florida t-shirt . I know she trains with them but still, this is a college meet!

Ouch, Polonsky 9th in the 400 IM with a 4:06.94. However, she looked much better than yesterday's swims in the 200 IM.

Mia Kragh makes the 100 fly B-final in a 51.38 PB, good for 14th. Lizzy Cook right on her entry time with a 52.38 for 31st, Klinker 52.99 for 43rd. Cook's time bodes well for her 200 fly tmrw, her primary event.

Wow, Motekaitis' time from the first circle-seeded heat (1:44.47) barely held up for the last B-final spot. Spitz 23rd (1:45.01), right on her seed time. Davidson 40th, 1:46.38. Spitz still trying to back half the race, had she gone out a bit faster like her 500 yesterday I think she could have gotten into scoring position.

Stadden with a new PB 50.73 to make the A-final in 5th. McEnroe adds about a half second to finish 30th in 52.55, on par with her adding half a second in the 200 IM yesterday.

4:07.49 for Polonsky, unfortunately another gain from morning (and seed) to place 6th in the B final.

51.58 for Mia for 7th in the B final of the 1 fly (just off from her morning time of 51.38).

1:44.69 from Mia M. in the 200 free gets her 8th in the B final, also off her morning swim showing and her PB.

Stadden 51.03 for 6th in the 100 back, added 0.3 from the morning

Stadden (51.04), Neser (59.57), Kragh (51.19) and Davidson (48.16) combine for a season best 3:29.96 and 11th place, two spots up from seeding.

Panitz was 58.06 on the Ohio State 6th place relay which bodes well for next season, as Stadden and Kragh are returning and Davidson may return for a 5th year.

Cal now in 11th after Friday.
1. Virginia 374.5 2. Texas 272.5
3. Stanford 239 4. Louisville 191.5
5. NC State 190 6. Ohio St 170
7. Florida 146 8. Tennessee 135
9. UNC 125 10. Indiana 121
11. California 105 12. Southern California 86
13. Lsu 79 14. Alabama 75

Stadden is 4th going into tonight's 200 back final (1:50.44), but Klinker gets the dreaded 9th in the 200 fly (1:54.16).

200 Back: McEnroe 28th (1:53.69), Spitz 33rd (1:54.04), Motekaitis 36th (1:54.45)

100 Free: Davidson 26th (48.33)

200 Fly: Polonsky 22nd (1:55.81), Cook 25th (1:55.96)

Virtually every Cal swimmer has failed to come close to their seed times. The individuals are swimming slower each race. Cal had chances to score points today in the backstroke and the butterfly but failed to qualify for the A or B heats tonight. Bears will not finish in the top ten.

Out of four years, the seniors had two years of covid and one year of coaching change. It'd be nice if all seniors get to come back to show off their talents without distractions. They are better than what is seen at NC.

solobear said:

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Out of four years, the seniors had two years of covid and one year of coaching change. It'd be nice if all seniors get to come back to show off their talents without distractions. They are better than what is seen at NC.

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As Solobear stated, this year's seniors and the whole team has been through a lot. A top 10 finish would have been nice, and was seemingly within reach.

But as the team & coaching staff turns to focus on next year there needs to be an assessment of talent on the team. There is a serious lack at the top end. Cal's best swimmer (Stadden) was a 2 event A finalist w/ no 3rd event, Cal's 2nd best swimmer (Polonsky) failed to make either A final in the IMs and no third event, and Cal's 3rd best swimmer (Motekaitis) scored just 14th and 16th place points. To get back to top 4-5 Cal needs 2-3 swimmers making 2-3 A finals and another 3-5 swimmers making maybe 1 A final or 3 B's.

With the Covid bonus year in effect for this years Junior and Senior Classes, Cal should not just look to recruit top tier highschoolers but seek out any grad school transfers that are looking to capitalize on their extra year. (This would have been Maggie MacNeil last year) Good news is that the coaching staff has already been doing this on the men's side and likely have feelers out on the women's. The only thing that could set this team back again is if there is another change in coaching staff now that McKeever is permanently gone.

Josie Pantiz not transferring to Cal next year. Staying at Ohio St. Eeeek.

https://swimswam.com/josie-panitz-staying-with-ohio-state-for-5th-year-instead-of-transferring-to-cal/

PalyBear said:

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Josie Pantiz not transferring to Cal next year. Staying at Ohio St. Eeeek.

https://swimswam.com/josie-panitz-staying-with-ohio-state-for-5th-year-instead-of-transferring-to-cal/

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Shame. That :57 breaststroke split on the medley relays and scoring in Breast Events would've made a world of difference.

Emma Davidson is headed to Texas for her 5th year: https://swimswam.com/ncaa-qualifier-emma-davidson-announces-transfer-from-cal-to-texas-for-5th-year/

From what I recall, 4 Bears are projected to return for a 5th year. Rachel Klinker, Mia Motekaitis, and Eloise Riley are confirmed. One of Ayla Spitz or Sarah DiMeco is probably the 4th, but Spitz is also in the transfer portal and hasn't declared her next steps. Spitz has already received her undergrad degree last spring and is working on a master's currently.

Former age group standout Claire Tuggle, a freshman at Virginia, entered the transfer portal with the intent to leave and was seen in Berkeley a couple weekends ago.

Is Darden taking control of the women's team permanently or are we hiring a new women's coach? Who's in charge of recruiting women swimmers?

Darden is in charge. There has been no announcement as to when Cal may revert to the old model.

Polodad said:

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Darden is in charge. There has been no announcement as to when Cal may revert to the old model.

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If you're looking to swim for a winner, he's tough to beat. Would think they should be able to recruit well.

Dave Durden

Small group of Bears at US Nationals this week, with some highlights:

- Stadden: finished 5th in the 50/100 back (27.73, 59.07) and 6th in the 200 back (2:08.65)

• Her 5th place in the 100 backstroke gets her onto Team USA for the Pan Am games in October

- Klinker: finished 30th in the 50 fly (27.52), 27th in the 100 fly (59.72), and won the B final of the 200 fly (9th, 2:09.87)
- Motekaitis: finished 55th in the 200 free (2:04.45), 44th in the 200 back (2:22.46) and 49th in the 400 free (4:24.98)

Side note, confirmed that Klinker and Motekaitis (and E. Riley) will return for a 5th year this fall leading up to Trials/Paris.

Abbey Weitzel top seeded after 50 fr. Already on the team after placing 2nd in the 100fr. Great to see Abbey swimming well. Go Abbey!

Former Bear, Izzy Ivey loss in a swim-off for 8th plc in the preliminary of the 200IM.

Is Abbey training with Durden?

I reviewed the new roster that is up but I did not notice any transfers or freshmen recruits. Does a list exist of transfers and/or 2023 recruits?
2023-24 Women's Swimming & Diving Roster - California Golden Bears Athletics (calbears.com)

GO BEARS!