Really happy to see former Assoc. coach Kristen attend the meet. Thought she was MIA for awhile. I arrived late to the meet (standing room) but almost the same time as Kristen. She went over to CoachT to give her a big hug. Unless they put bleachers where the swimmers were sitting there doesn't seem much room to expand sitting elsewhere. No doubt this was built strictly has a training facility for swimmers & divers.

BTW where is Caitlin Leverenz training? Is she back in AZ. Also is Missy still a student at Cal?

OBear073akaSMFan said:

---

Unless they put bleachers where the swimmers were sitting there doesn't seem much room to expand sitting elsewhere. No doubt this was built strictly has a training facility for swimmers & divers.

---

CAL HOSTS NEVADA FRIDAY AT LEGENDS

--------

Luvly to have a home opportunity during Big Game Week to see where our women are at in this stage of their training.

Not expecting any wickedly fast times, as some of our Bears are likely to be racing in off-events against a somewhat less challenging opponent in Nevada (who will still be tough).

The tell-tale indicator will be Cal's mid-season suited meet @ the UGA Fall Invite the weekend of 1 Dec, where attaining those NCAA cuts will be key to our massively underdog chances of giving that hoped-for upset of the furdette juggernaut a credible shot, given sufficient qualifying depth from a number of our less-heralded swimmers.

What will certainly be a very swift meet will be the Art Adamson Invite commencing this Thurs @ College Station, where LSJU are widely expected to engage in a slugfest with a very dangerous A&M squad and the rest of the competition, hobbled perhaps by the absence of Simone & Megan due to injury.

--------


UPDATE #1 =>

WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO MAKE THE 2018 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP MEETS?


--------


UPDATE #2 =>

LIVE RESULTS (Nevada v. Cal): http://collegeswimming.us/results/103635/


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I think Caitlin has retired and is working in SF.

Husmo said:

---

I think Caitlin has retired and is working in SF.

---

Possible. When she tweeted out the below during coach Teri's celebration I wasn't sure if she has officially retired

Quote:

---

I am no longer coached by her on a daily basis, but her teachings and inspiration are still embedded into my daily life. I am so grateful for Teri!

---

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• We're underway at Legends, with @CalWSwim kicking off the meet with a 1-2 finish in the 400 medley relay. #GoBears
• The Bears go 1-2 again ... this time it's @KatieMcLaugh1in (10:00.28) and @ChenoaDevine (10:03.74) in the 1000 free. #GoBears
• .@AbbeyWeitzeil takes an outside lane and cruises to victory in the 200 free in 1:46.62. #GoBears
• Swimming in lane 8, @noemie_thomas touches first in the 50 free in 23.51. #GoBears
• .@sarahdarcel races out to a 7-second win in the 400 IM, hitting the wall in 4:15.03. Through 5 events, it's @CalWSwim 75, @NevadaSwim 15.
• We've got another winner out of lane 8. Jasmine Mau takes the 200 fly in 2:03.09. #GoBears
• .@amybilquist cruises to a 1:58.25 victory in the 200 back. #GoBears
• .@neumann_robin claims the 500 free in 4:51.78. With 2 events to go, the score is @CalWSwim 105, @NevadaSwim 51.
• In the 200 breast, @sarahdarcel leads the field to the wall in 2:17.25. #GoBears

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BEARS SWIM FAST AGAINST WOLFPACK
Cal Earns 127-65 Victory in Final Tune-Up Before Georgia Invitational


Freshman Sarah Darcel won both the 400 IM and 200 breast vs. Nevada Friday.

• Cal vs. Nevada Results
• Lumberjack Invitational Results - Day 1
• Lumberjack Invitational Results - Day 2
• Lumberjack Invitational Results - Day 3

https://instagr.am/p/BbssYnZlfcv
https://instagr.am/p/BbsQBMgjMtr

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Stanford just had their invitational this weekend. Katie drabots 1:51 200 fly surprised me. Out of their freshmen, only Brooke forde, hannah kukurugya, and lauren pitzer looked solid. The rest were eh, some fast times but not fast enough for NCAAs. Ashley volpenhein is far from the sprinter they were looking for. Out of the sophomores, ledecky obviously and drabot were good. Allie szekley looked off.

zeldazcat said:

---

Stanford just had their invitational this weekend. Katie drabots 1:51 200 fly surprised me. Out of their freshmen, only Brooke forde, hannah kukurugya, and lauren pitzer looked solid. The rest were eh, some fast times but not fast enough for NCAAs. Ashley volpenhein is far from the sprinter they were looking for. Out of the sophomores, ledecky obviously and drabot were good. Allie szekley looked off.

---

LSJU isn't losing as long as both Manuel and Ledecky are still on the team together. They never replaced Neal and will have trouble replacing Hu and Howe. Post-Manuel/Ledecky/Hu/Howe, other than Eastin and perhaps Ruck, they'll have a lot of good complementary swimmers, but not a dominant core that can win a title.

https://instagr.am/p/BcAq6n1DrWW

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

The tell-tale indicator will be Cal's mid-season suited meet @ the UGA Fall Invite the weekend of 1 Dec, where attaining those NCAA cuts will be key to our massively underdog chances of giving that hoped-for upset of the furdette juggernaut a credible shot, given sufficient qualifying depth from a number of our less-heralded swimmers.

What will certainly be a very swift meet will be the Art Adamson Invite commencing this Thurs @ College Station, where LSJU are widely expected to engage in a slugfest with a very dangerous A&M squad and the rest of the competition, hobbled perhaps by the absence of Simone & Megan due to injury.

---

--------


Four Storylines for Winter Nationals and NCAA Swimming Invite Weekend


Cal's Kathleen Baker -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick


By David Rieder.


As usual, the weekend after Thanksgiving will provide the last significant racing opportunity of the year for college and professional swimmers in the United States. There's no championship or selection at stake, but Winter Nationals and the second wave of NCAA swimming invitationals are just a good checkpoint.

2. How good are the Golden Bears?

They're good--that we already know. Both Cal's women and Cal's men placed second at last year's NCAA championships, and there's little reason to expect much movement this year. But only one of these two teams has national title potential.

The Cal women are about as a deep a team as there is in the country, with Kathleen Baker leading the way and plenty of potential big point-scorers in Abbey Weitzeil, Katie McLaughlin, Amy Bilquist and Noemie Thomas. Farida Osman graduated, but Canadian freshman Sarah Darcel could be a big boost in the IM events.

Baker is in striking distance of both women's backstroke records, but this early in the season, it's not likely.


Abbey Weitzeil Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Cal has only one problem: Stanford. It's nearly impossible to see the Bears making up the 120.5 points they lost by last year at the NCAA championships. Stanford is the only team with more depth, the only team with more talent than Cal.

So, yes, the Cal ladies probably can finish no higher than second at the NCAA championships, but they must watch out for the likes of Texas A&M, who beat Stanford in the team race at the Art Adamson Invitational, and also Texas.

With both Golden Bear teams scheduled to swim at the Georgia Invite this week, it will become more clear how they stack up with the rest of the country's best heading into the fall.


Jean commented: "Doubt that Cal women have much to fear from Texas A &M at NCAAs. As typical, Aggies had basically their entire roster of about 40 swimmers and divers at Adamson Invitational, posting up 8 to 10 swimmers in certain events with scoring down to 16 places with not that many teams, which explains outcome there."


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https://instagr.am/p/BcBVNWZgVXV
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UPDATE =>

NCAA 'A' CUTS ACHIEVED THROUGH THE END OF NOVEMBER




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BIG TEST AWAITS BEARS AT GEORGIA INVITE



Cal heads to Athens, Ga., this weekend where the Golden Bears will attempt to post a number of individual and relay NCAA qualifying marks while facing some of the top teams in the country. Cal was the NCAA runner-up last season, and the meet also features host Georgia (4th at 2017 NCAA's), Michigan (11th) and Virginia (12th). In addition, Cal's men's team will make the cross-country trip and Harvard (diving), UCLA (diving) and Auburn (men only) will be present.

Last year, Cal prevailed in the team standings, ahead of Georgia, Auburn, Virginia, Florida State, Michigan and Harvard. The Bears won eight events, including four of five relays. Individually, Kathleen Baker claimed the 200 backstroke and 200 individual medley, Noemie Thomas touched first in the 200 butterfly, and Amy Bilquist was the winner of the 100 back.


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https://instagr.am/p/BcF5U0OlIj0
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https://instagr.am/p/BcGVSSpAPwy
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https://instagr.am/p/BcI8u84AWly
(ummm, where's Thleen?!)

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LIVE RESULTS => http://www.sidearmstats.com/ugeorgia/swimming/index.htm

Live Video Stream (Finals) => http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3233530/georgia-fall-invitational


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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

https://instagr.am/p/BcI8u84AWly
(ummm, where's Thleen?!)

---

bearz012 said:

---

In related news, the UGA Invite is tomorrow, and Thleen is not participating because of a sickness, I think?

---

Well, reckon we'll find out more when the race lineups are published, or perhaps not until after the 3rd event tomorrow morning (W 200 IM prelims).

Warm "get-well" wishes pouring out to Thleen if she's indeed trying to cope with a Crohn's flare-up or some other illness!

Would truly be a test of this team's resilience & character if Bears can bounce back and still fiercely go after those NCAA cuts in the absence of one of Cal's star play-makers! (just as the furdettes had to do without Manuel @ their invite).

Come to think of it, Thleen & Abbey have already obtained their A cuts from the College Challenge meet, so actually they are both fine individually in this respect - but it's their contributions to the relays which will be key (need to get 1 relay A cut in order to get all the relays in)...


--------


UPDATE 1 => Psych sheet's now out!

http://georgiadogs.com/documents/2017/11/30/UGA_Fall_Invite_Psych_Sheet.pdf

Haven't gone thru it properly yet, but Kathleen's actually entered in 4 individual events - 200 IM, 100 Breast, 100 & 200 Back...keeping our fingers crossed...


--------


UPDATE 2 => Ooops, sorry...should really have checked on Swimswam after bearz012's heads up earlier, my bad:


ANDREW SELISKAR IN IM AND BREAST, BUT NO 200 FLY AT UGA INVITE



Cal star and Olympic champion Kathleen Baker won't be racing this weekend, as she's sick and will rest and prepare for upcoming finals.


--------

UGA FALL INVITE

Day 1 Prelims Recap:
500 free:
- Katie McLaughlin: 4:42.15, 6th - A final
- Robin Neumann: 4:44.29, 7th - A final
- Chenoa Devine: 4:46.09, 10th - B final
- Jenna Campbell: 4:51.80, 20 - C final
- Elizabeth Bailey: 4:56.91, 25 - 1st Alt

Good drops for all swimmers (from their other times this season).

200 IM:
- Sarah Darcel: 1:56.70, 3rd - A final
- Keaton Blovad: 1:58.46, 8th - A final
- Dannie Dilsaver: 1:59.59, 13th - B final
- Ali Harrison: 2:01.46, 19th - C final
- Courtney Mykkanen: 2:04.12, 27th
- Alexa S-N: 2:04.31, 29th
- Maija Roses: 2:04.90, 31st
- Natalie Tuck: 2:05.28, 32nd
- Alexa Buckley: 2:06.93, 35th

Sarah seems to be transitioning quite well into yards, and it's a PB for Dannie (first time under 2 min!) and Ali!

50 free:
- Abbey Weitzeil: 21.44, 1st - A final
- Amy Bilquist: 21.99, 2nd - A final
- Maddie Murphy: 22.47, 5th - A final
- Valerie Hull: 22.59, 7th - A final
- Noemie Thomas: 22.88, 13thT - B final
- Jasmine Mau: 22.97, 15th
- Aislinn Light: 23.61, 26th, 2nd Alt

Great swims by all! Thinking our 2 free relay may be Abbey, Amy, Maddie, and Val?

Thanks. Just catching up on prelims... btw do rather approve of your tidy & easily readable format (compared to my usually hurried posts of the past lol).

***

500 Free: Encouraging to see Robin adjusting well to short course yards this early on, she was just a second off her converted PB pace (4:43.24 SCY conversion from Neumann's 4:07.84 in the 400m SCM, that PB done on Aug 2017).

Could have as easily raced the 50 Free on Day 1, but Bears need all the reinforcement we can get in the distance events, after having lost our distance hope to a double transfer a while back, also with Anina no longer on the swim team, thus leaving Chenoa at the helm in the mile, and calling upon Katie & possibly Jenna to help out in the 500.

Not a B cut, but Elizabeth Bailey did best her 4:58.25 PR from Dec 2015.

***

200 IM: As mentioned in the preceding post, PBs earned by Dannie (prev best = 2:00.37, Dec 2015) & Ali (2:01.67, Dec 2016), yay. Sarah also approaching her converted PBs (1:55.11 SCY from 2:07.78 SCM, Dec 2016 ... 1:56.32 SCY from 2:12.32 LCM, Aug 2017).

***

50 Free: Really great time for Abbey even by her elevated standards, this prelims swim represents her 5th fastest lifetime, is also the AR holder's fastest ever as a Bear! (she was 21.58 @ 2017 NCAAs). Promising sign for getting over her froski hump, though tonight's finals will be a truer test as Abbey has a history of swimming faster on relays (helping her team out), and also when on a lighter schedule.

Even more psyched for Amy, as this is her 2nd fastest 50 Free lifetime, and she has been under 22 sec only once before! (21.94 @ Bilquist's swimoff at 2017 NCAAs).

***

Well should be some great races tonight, even without Thleen. Michigan Wolverines will be dangerous...

Oh, and the Bear Bros are looking pretty good as well from this morning's session - Go Bears!

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

Could have as easily raced the 50 Free on Day 1, but Bears need all the reinforcement we can get in the distance events, after having lost our distance hope to a double transfer a while back, also with Anina no longer on the swim team, thus leaving Chenoa at the helm in the mile, and calling upon Katie & possibly Jenna to help out in the 500.

---

I didn't realize Anina was no longer on the team. Any idea what happened?

Very impressed with Dannie !!! 1:58.59 for 200 IM, huge drop!

UGA FALL INVITE

Day 1 Finals Recap:
200 free relay:
- 'A' team: Maddie (22.35), Amy (21.67), Val (21.78), Abbey (21.30) - 1:27.40, 1st & A cut
- 'B' team: Aislinn (23.42), Noemie (22.44), Jaz (22.72), Katie (21.53) - 1:30.21, 5th

I'm truly impressed with Katie's sprinting abilities, and her range is pretty darn good (50 - 500). Hoping for her to have a great recovery, and especially hoping for her 200 fly LCM to get back to the level that it was in 2015. Solid splits all around, though Katie might replace Val on the relay, idk.

500 free:
- Katie McLaughlin: 4:39.45, 4th, 2017 invite time
- Robin Neumann: 4:43.50, 7th
- Chenoa Devine: 4:42.63, 10th
- Jenna Campbell: 4:52.07, 20th
- Elizabeth Bailey: 4:56.43, 24th

Katie swims to a 4:39 after her relay contribution, and Chenoa had a great swim, just off her time @ Pac-12s. Robin also seems to be adjusting well to SCY.

200 IM:
- Sarah Darcel: 1:56.69, 5th, 2017 invite time
- Keaton Blovad: 1:57.08, 6th, 2017 invite time
- Dannie Dilsaver: 1:58.89, 11th
- Ali Harrison: 2:00.84, 17th

New PBs for everyone!! (Well, the PB for Sarah's SCY swimming so far, not counting the conversions). IM group still strong w/o Thleen.

50 free:
- Abbey Weitzeil: 21.60, 1st, 2017 invite time
- Amy Bilquist: 22.03, 3rd, 2017 invite time
- Maddie Murphy: 22.43, 6th
- Valerie Hull: 22.51, 7th
- Noemie Thomas: 22.80, 12th
- Jasmine Mau: 23.14, 14T

Solid performances, (don't have much to say lol)

400 medley relay:
- 'A' team: Amy (51.73), Ali (1:00.53), Noemie (50.50), Abbey (47.69) - 3:30.45, 1st & A cut
- 'B' team: Keaton (52.95), Sarah (1:01.96), Katie (50.79), Val (49.14) - 3:34.84, 5th
- 'C' team: Sophie (54.97), Maija (1:02.20), Jaz (55.15), Robin (49.11) - 3:41.32, 11th
- 'D' team: Aislinn (54.67), Alexa S-N (1:04.70), Elizabeth (55.11), Jenna (50.57) - 3:45.05, 13th

Looks seems like the relay @ NC's will be Kathleen, Ali, Noemie, and Abbey. Ali's split looked quite promising, with more practice and more rest, I think she can be 1:00 low or even sub minute on the relay split!

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WEITZEIL SPRINTS TO 3 WINS AT GEORGIA INVITE


On the first day of the Georgia Fall Invitational, Abbey Weitzeil won the 50 free and swam anchor on two winning relays.


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KATHLEEN BAKER STAYS HOME IN BERKELEY WHILE TEAM RACES IN GEORGIA


A team spokesperson says the decision was a precaution. Archive photo via Mike Lewis/Ola Vista Photography


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MICHIGAN'S HAUGHEY DROPS 1:53.4 200 IM AT GEORGIA INVITATIONAL




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Relays looking good so far (2 A cuts), but still have to get ideal line ups invited as individuals. Teri doesn't believe in relay only swimmers, so minor concerns about locking down individual invites for Hull (200 Free Relay) and Ali (breast legs on both medley relays).

Thleen and Abbey both already have A cuts so they're in for sure and could conceivably swim all five relays (including breast legs on medleys), but that would be far from optimal.

Quick thoughts from my glimpse at the meet results from the morning's prelims session ...

400 IM ----
Sarah seeded 1st going into tonight's finals with a 4:10.26 and Dannie 3rd at a 4:12.46 (I think a PB for her?), with Chenoa 8th with 4:15.98.

100 Fly ---
Noemie and Katie seeded 1-2 for tonight's finals with times of 51.00 (A cut) and 52.13, respectively Maddie also into tonight's A final with 53.05. Ali 11th with 53.32 (also a PB?), with Jasmine and Sophie K-Z 18th and 19th.

200 Free ----
Abbey 4th with 1:44.77, Amy right behind in 1:44.95 for tonight's A final, Robin 9th (1:45.5), Keaton 12th (1:46.87), Val 22nd for the C final (1:48.34).

100 Breast ----
Abbey and Ali right in with a 2-3 seed for tonight! Times of 1:00.98 (go Abbey!) and 1:01.2, respectively; Dannie 9th (1:01.89), Maija and Alexa B. also in the B final (14th and 16th).

100 Back ---
Amy taking top seed for tonight with a 51.84! Keaton and Sophie K-Z in B final (53.76 and 54.09 respectively). A little worried about the seeming lack of depth in the A final for our Bears in the A final, as it's just Amy, but guess this is because Kathleen isn't competing in Georgia this weekend (shows me how I'm spoiled to seeing Backstroke U more well-represented!).

Was pleasantly surprised by Abbey's breaststroke time, Sarah and Dannie's 4 IM swims, and Noemie's 100 fly performance off the top of my head, but excited to see what the ladies all get down to tonight!

UAC, what could have been.........Siobhan Haughey.

Dannie Dilsaver has been a revelation in the IMs. Did not see this coming. I'm pleasantly surprised.

Noemie is going to be missed next year. Her at Katie killed the rest of the field in the 400 MR by over 2 seconds.

My 400 MR A team is, Amy (back), Kathleen (breast), Noemie (fly), Abbey (free)

My 200 MR A team Kathleen (back), Abbey (breast), Noemie (fly), and Amy (free)

tedbear said:

---

UAC, what could have been.........Siobhan Haughey.

---

Haha my old sentimental fave Siobhan lighting it up in SCY, again!

To be fair, unlike Greg who has the luxury of dipping into the Furd's seemingly endless endowment funds, don't believe Teri had enough schollies remaining after splurging on the Dream Team that recruiting season...

tbh I wouldn't have passed on any of Thleen, Abbey, Amy & Katie even for the likes of Siobhan, taking into consideration all the brill qualities the Dream Team has brought to the table, including out of the pool!


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tedbear said:

---

Dannie Dilsaver has been a revelation in the IMs. Did not see this coming. I'm pleasantly surprised.

---

Dannie was dropping personal bests left & right soon after her commitment to Cal, only to be sidelined by injury that had her missing her State Championships that Spring - see my past posts below:

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

IMHO several of our latest :bear: are grossly under-rated, which is partially confirmed by their performances from this summer (#33 Robin, #58 Ali, #12 Sarah in particular), whilst others may start to hit their stride as recent injuries may have downplayed their results this past year (#97 Dannie).

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

Smashing news on Dannie's recovery below.

Dannie Dilsaver @ Woods Pool: 7 months later I am so happy to be swimming my favorite stroke again #noaclnoproblem



Dannie tore/sprained her ACL I believe, judging from that hash tag in her post.

Particularly tough on breaststrokers as theirs is such a leg-based discipline.

---

-------

tedbear said:

---

Noemie is going to be missed next year. Her at Katie killed the rest of the field in the 400 MR by over 2 seconds.

---

Our modest & unassuming Canuck fly/sprint stud has flown under a lot of people's radar, preferring to let her pool performance speak for itself.

Sort of reminds me of Farida, who contributed so selflessly to the team but didn't receive her well-deserved accolades until well into her senior year, culminating in that 2017 NCCA 100 Fly national title followed by that bronze medal @ Worlds over the summer (btw Farida's back with the postgrad group training for Tokyo, I believe).


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tedbear said:

---

My 400 MR A team is, Amy (back), Kathleen (breast), Noemie (fly), Abbey (free)

My 200 MR A team Kathleen (back), Abbey (breast), Noemie (fly), and Amy (free)

---

With you mostly on your proposed lineup, though a still a wee bit on the fence between using Ali or Abbey on the shorter medley's breast leg...have to see if Ali can drop more time in her sprint breast over the course of the season...

- 50 Free individual: Abbey at her best (21.12 AR on Mar 2016) has been 0.82 sec swifter than Amy (21.94 @ 2017 NCAAs).

- 50 Breast relay split: Abbey at her best (26.67 @ 2017 NCAAs) has been 1.01 sec quicker than Ali (27.68 on May 2017 - note that Ali had then gone on to smash a gaggle of lifetime bests in LCM in the course of the summer).

Hmmm, maybe Ema will render this decision-making even more challenging when she joins the team next year lol


btw Bears & UVa are the only 2 teams on the women's side not to bring their dive squads to this meet, forfeiting some potential diving points...


-------

Thanks for doing recaps, guys. I was busy this morning, but I still wanted to make a comprehensive + basic recap of everyone's times, just so I could compare them.

UGA FALL INVITE

Day 2 Prelims Recap:
400 IM:
- Sarah Darcel: 4:10.26, 1st - A final
- Dannie Dilsaver: 4:12.46, 3rd - A final
- Chenoa Devine: 4:15.98, 8th - A final
- Courtney Mykkanen: 4:27.27, 16th - B final
- Natalie Tuck: 4:27.93, 18th - C final
- Elizabeth Bailey: 4:28.28, 19th - C final
- Maija Roses: 4:29.33, 20th - C final

Strong performances from Sarah and Dannie (who's probably been the most underrated freshmen, and also our first 2017 recruit!)

100 fly:
- Noemie Thomas: 51.00, 1st - A final
- Katie McLaughlin: 52.13, 2nd - A final
- Maddie Murphy: 53.05, 8th - A final
- Ali Harrison: 53.32, 11th - B final
- Jasmine Mau: 54.92, 18th - C final
- Sophie K-Z: 54.98, 19th - C final
- Elizabeth Bailey: 55.90, 26th - 2nd Alt
- Alexa S-N: 58.17, 29th

Noemie gets her 'A' cut, which is good, and Katie doesn't look like she's dying as much on the last 50.

200 free:
- Abbey Weitzeil: 1:44.77, 4th - A final
- Amy Bilquist: 1:44.95, 5th - A final
- Robin Neumann: 1:45.50, 9th - B final
- Keaton Blovad: 1:46.87, 12th - B final
- Valerie Hull: 1:48.34, 22nd - C final
- Jenna Campbell: 1:49.51, 28th

I think for 2019, recruiting Ivey will be really beneficial in boosting our mid-distance free group, because currently, we just have sprinters (Abbey, Amy), other stroke specialists (Thleen, Katie), and 500 freestylers (Robin) who swim this event.

100 breast:
- Abbey Weitzeil: 1:00.98, 2nd - A final
- Ali Harrison: 1:01.21, 3rd - A final
- Dannie Dilsaver: 1:01.89, 9th - B final
- Maija Roses: 1:02.56, 14th - B final
- Alexa Buckley: 1:03.33, 16th - B final
- Alexa S-N: 1:05.66, 19th - C final
- Natalie Tuck: 1:06.02, 21st - C final

Ali showing steady improvement, and is poised for a drop.

100 back:
- Amy Bilquist: 51.84, 1st - A final
- Keaton Blovad: 53.76, 10th - B final
- Sophie K-Z: 54.09, 13th - B final
- Jasmine Mau: 55.56, 20th - C final
- Courtney Mykkanen: 55.70, 21st - C final
- Aislinn Light: 55.73, 22nd - C final

Not to be rude, but for a team that is considered the backstroke U, we don't have THAT much backstroke depth as compared to before, but solid swims throughout.

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

- 50 Breast relay split: Abbey at her best (26.67 @ 2017 NCAAs) has been 1.01 sec quicker than Ali (27.68 on May 2017 - note that Ali had then gone on to smash a gaggle of lifetime bests in LCM in the course of the summer).

---

Busy multi-tasking a bunch of non-swim related activities lol, but just a quick aside that Abbey's looking more & more the breaststroker of choice on our 200 MR for this season, even if Ali does go on to improve her times.

Weitzeil unleashed a 26.82 in finals just now, not far off her 2017 NCAA lifetime best br split of 26.67.

As noted earlier by bearz012, Katie also showing that she has some sprintz skillz with her 21.63 anchor after a very conservative relay RT of 0.42!

Bears' winning relay time of 1:35.04 now the 2nd fastest 200 Medley Relay in the NCAA this season, behind only Indiana's 1:34.58 from the Purdue Invite (Lilly slammed down a 25.83 split on breast there). Looking good with Thleen expected to be back on back duty in March, and Amy likely shuffled to the anchor position...

UGA FALL INVITE

Day 2 Finals Recap:
200 medley relay:
- 'A' team: Amy (24.14), Abbey (26.82), Noemie (22.45), Katie (21.63) - 1:35.04, 1st - A cut
- 'B' team: Keaton (24.62), Ali (28.45), Maddie (23.33), Val (22.06) - 1:38.46, 6th

Abbey looking to be the breaststroker on the medley relay, and Katie really showing her sprinting abilities. (If you can't tell, I'm a huge Katie McLaughlin fan)

400 IM:
- Sarah Darcel: 4:06.58, 1st - B cut, 2017 invite time
- Dannie Dilsaver: 4:13.56, 4th - B cut
- Chenoa Devine: 4:18.66, 7th - B cut
- Elizabeth Bailey: 4:21.46, 12th
- Natalie Tuck: 4:24.23, 13th

Excellent swim by Sarah, just missing the A cut but going under the 2017 invite time by 4 seconds. Looking to boost our IM group, which has previously just been mainly Kathleen.

100 fly:
- Noemie Thomas: 50.77, 1st - A cut, 2017 invite time
- Katie McLaughlin: 51.78, 2nd - B cut, 2017 invite time
- Maddie Murphy: 52.03, 5th - B cut, 2017 invite time
- Ali Harrison: 54.11, 13th - B cut
- Sophie K-Z: 54.51, 18th
- Jasmine Mau: 54.84, 19th
- Elizabeth Bailey: 55.58, 21st

Noemie flying to an A cut, Katie and Maddie going under the invite times for 2017 as well. Great improvement for our 'diamond in the rough' recruit from last year. Katie also had the second fastest (after Noemie) last 50, which is great for her 200 fly.

200 free:
- Abbey Weitzeil: 1:44.41, 4th - B cut, 2017 invite time
- Robin Neumann: 1:45.33, 8th - B cut, 2017 invite time
- Valerie Hull: 1:48.77, 21st
- Jenna Campbell: 1:49.32, 23rd

Teri needs to recruit more 200 freestyler specialists, but solid performances throughout. Robin makes it under the 2017 invite time!

100 breast:
- Ali Harrison: 1:00.54, 2nd - B cut
- Dannie Dilsaver: 1:02.78, 8th
- Maija Roses: 1:02.63, 12th
- Alexa Buckley: 1:03.97, 16th
- Alexa S-N: 1:04.47, 17th
- Natalie Tuck: 1:05.57, 20th

PB for Ali! She just needs to drop about 0.2 to be under the 2017 invite time, which is important because like you said, Teri doesn't like bringing in relay-only swimmers.

100 back:
- Amy Bilquist: 51.62, 2nd - B cut
- Keaton Blovad: 52.39, 9th - B cut
- Sophie K-Z: 53.84, 12th - B cut
- Aislinn Light: 54.25, 17th - B cut
- Courtney Mykkanen, 55.67, 20th

Keaton improving her backstroke, which is vital for us because we don't really have a 100 backstroker coming in (Alex is more of a 200 backstroker), and Thleen will be graduating, so good to see her improvement!

800 free relay:
- 'A' team: Katie (1:44.92), Amy (1:43.97), Abbey (1:45.32), Robin (1:45.17) - 6:59.48, 2nd - A cut
- 'B' team: Dannie (1:50.06), Sarah (1:46.25), Chenoa (1:47.42), Jenna (1:49.22) - 7:12.95, 5th

I don't know if I've said this: but Teri needs to try and recruit more 200 freestylers. Right now, the only real mid-distance swimmer we have is Robin and maybe Katie, and the other people on the 800 free relay and 200 free are all sprinters or specialists of other strokes. Still, solid performances.

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THOMAS LEADS BEARS ON DAY 2 IN GEORGIA


Noemie Thomas won the 100 fly Saturday in an NCAA "A" qualifying time of 50.77.


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AUBURN'S GONZALEZ BLASTS NATION-LEADING 3:39 400 IM AT GEORGIA INVITE


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The fly leg is incredible. It's probably her PR while her reaction time is still safe as always.

r:0.30 Thomas, Noemie (22.45)

UGA FALL INVITE

Day 3 Prelims Recap:
200 back:
- Amy Bilquist: 1:53.16, 2nd - A final
- Keaton Blovad: 1:56.23, 10th - B final
- Robin Neumann: 1:58.86, 15th - B final
- Courtney Mykkanen: 1:59.06, 16th - B final
- Katie McLaughlin: 2:00.19,19th - C final
- Sophie K-Z: 2:00.32, 20th - C final
- Aislinn Light: 2:00.42, 21st - C final

Solid performances.

100 free:
- Abbey Weitzeil: 47.16, 1st - A final
- Robin Neumann: 49.20,10th - B final
- Maddie Murphy: 49.25, 11th - B final
- Valerie Hull: 49.35, 13th - B final
- Jenna Campbell: 51.57, 24th - C final

Great performance by Abbey.

200 breast:
- Ali Harrison: 2:11.69, 4th - A final
- Sarah Darcel: 2:14.91, 10th - B final
- Maija Roses: 2:15.18, 12th - B final
- Dannie Dilsaver: 2:16.18, 14th - B final
- Chenoa Devine: 2:17.59, 17th - C final
- Alexa S-N: 2:20.13, 18th - C final
- Alexa Buckley: 2:20.21, 19th - C final
- Natalie Tuck: 2:21.87, 20th - C final

Big drop (I think?) for Ali! A second off the 2017 invite time of 2:10.55

200 fly:
- Noemie Thomas: 1:57.06, 4th - A final
- Katie McLaughlin: 1:58.03, 7th - A final
- Sarah Darcel: 1:58.43, 8th - A final
- Jasmine Mau: 2:00.62, 15th - B final
- Sophie K-Z: 2:01.09, 19th - C final
- Elizabeth Bailey: 2:01.27, 20th - C final
- Jenna Campbell: 2:02.02, 22nd - C final

Great for Noemie, and excited to see what the rest can do in finals.

UGA FALL INVITE

Day 3 Finals Recap:
1650 free:
- Chenoa Devine: 16:25.27, 5th - B cut

Solid performance, but we need more milers. B cut, but probably won't get a 2017 invite time.

200 back:
- Amy Bilquist: 1:50.48, 1st - A cut
- Keaton Blovad: 1:55.31, 9th - B cut
- Sophie K-Z: 1:57.87, 15th - B cut
- Courtney Mykkanen: 1:59.94, 16th
- Aislinn Light: 1:58.52, 18th - B cut

Great A cut for Amy

100 free:
- Abbey Weitzeil: 46.95, 1st - A cut
- Valerie Hull: 49.09, 9th - B cut
- Maddie Murphy: 49.26, 11th - B cut
- Robin Neumann: 49.32, 12th - B cut

200 breast:
- Ali Harrison: 2:10.92, 4th - B cut
- Maija Roses: 2:14.02, 10T - B cut
- Dannie Dilsaver: 2:14.02, 10T - B cut
- Alexa S-N: 2:18.63, 16th
- Alexa Buckley: 2:17.83, 17th
- Natalie Tuck: 2:19.53, 18th

200 fly:

400 free relay:

Thank you for posting all these results

A few quick notes on this afternoon's session before I head out for the eve...

- Brill that Amy had achieved her automatic cut, in the 200 Back!

- # of PBs today, notably Ali's 2 & a half sec drop in the 200 Breast (old PR = 2:13.53 from Dec 2016).

- Abbey's mojo is back, yay! 2nd fastest time in the NCAA so far this season in the 100 Free.

Of course Weitzeil's main arch-rival in this event, the American record holder from LSJU, missed out on their mid-season invite, and Comerford will be very dangerous too, having busted out a 46.70 this weekend @ Winter Nats...can't overlook Siobhan, Hansson, Baldwin & the likes either.

Still, v. encouraging to see that 46.95, which is Abbey's 4th fastest ever (lifetime best = 46.29 relay leadoff from Dec 2014), and her fastest thus far as a Bear, trumping her former Cal best of 47.22 from the 2016 edition of this invite.

What's more, Abbey backed this up at the end of a grueling 3-day schedule, laying down a commanding 46.63 anchor split to propel her teammates from 3rd to 1st in the 400 Free Relay, for the Golden Bears to lead the NCAA with a time of 3:10.95 (and incidentally, much to our collective pleasure here haha, overtaking the furdette's former top mark of 3:11.59).

I would go with the full Dream Team (Thleen, Katie, Amy, Abbey) on this relay come March...


Final swimming ranking (Top 3):

• 1. Wolverines - 903 pts (after deducting 88.5 diving points)
• 2. Bears - 830 pts
• 3. Dawgs - 753.5 pts (after deducting 80 diving points)

btw Thleen could have contributed an additional 60 points to the tally in her individual events alone...just saying...


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UPDATE #1 => Appropriately enough:

https://instagr.am/p/BcP5GNujcNY

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UPDATE #2 => Briefly interrupting me evening out to bring you this, oh such is my loyal dedication lol


CAL CLOSES OUT STRONG IN GEORGIA


Amy Bilquist captured the 200 backstroke in an NCAA "A" qualifying time Sunday.


Final Results: http://www.calbears.com/documents/2017/12/3//uga_fall_invite_final_results_all_days_all_sessions.pdf


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LYNCH CLOSES GEORGIA INVITE WITH PERSONAL BEST 42.01 100 FREE


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Yes, great to see Abbey back in her groove after her post Olympic hangover. Amy is so versatile. She will be an A scorer in both back events, plus a huge contributor to at least four relays. Ali is dropping time, but we still need another drop of at least a second on her on her 100 breast and another two seconds on her 200 breast for her to be a scorer. The fact that Sarah dropped the 200 breast in order to focus on the 200 fly, tells me that will be her third event. Our relays looked really good this weekend, and will only be better with the addition of Kathleen.

bears012, recruiting distance swimmers is usually not a priority for us, because of event versatility and lack of relay contribution. Now if they can do the 400IM or drop down to the 200, along with the 1650 and 500, then they would be a higher priority.

tedbear said:

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bears012, recruiting distance swimmers is usually not a priority for us, because of event versatility and lack of relay contribution. Now if they can do the 400IM or drop down to the 200, along with the 1650 and 500, then they would be a higher priority.

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I was trying to say that Teri should've put more people in the mile. I still believe that there needs to be more than one, especially since it's an event LSJU beats us in by a whole ton, as well as A&M, whereas most other events are pretty equal.

tedbear said:

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My 400 MR A team is, Amy (back), Kathleen (breast), Noemie (fly), Abbey (free)

My 200 MR A team Kathleen (back), Abbey (breast), Noemie (fly), and Amy (free)

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Ali was agonizingly close to NCAA invites in both breasts. Needs to drop 0.2 in the 100 and 0.4 in the 200. Would give Teri major flexibility with Thleen in back and Abbey in free on both medley relays. Ali will have two swims in each event plus time trials at PACs to punch her ticket. Teri will hedge by using multiple medley lineups during duals, but getting Ali qualified will be a priority even if she doesn't project as an individual scorer.

Teri has a lot more flexibility in sprint relays, but Hull still has work to do in both the 50 (needs a 0.3 drop) and the 100 (needs a 0.5 drop).

Thleen, Amy, Noemie, McL, Abbey, Maddie, Robin, and Darcel are all safely in already. In addition to Ali and Hull, Keaton's pretty close too.

Props to the team for getting A cuts in all relays without Thleen. Times are good enough that they won't have to worry too much about going for seeds. Can potentially juggle lineups (Keaton on back, Hull leading off) if they still need to get qualified without time trials.

Well, there was CR who would have been a senior this year.

Abbey Weitzeil and Amy Bilquist Review Georgia Invite

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TEXAS A&M WOMEN JUMP TO 1ST IN CSCAA DEC 6 DUAL MEET RANKS


Rank | Previous | Team | Points
#1 | 3 | Texas A&M | 273
#2 | 1 | Stanford | 266
#3 | 6 | California | 243
#4 | 4 | Michigan | 242
#5 | 2 | Texas | 238
#6 | 5 | Georgia | 221
#7 | 7 | Tennessee | 206
#8 | 10 | Louisville | 190
#9 | 8 | Southern California | 179
10 | 9 | Indiana | 178
11 | 16 | Virginia | 144
12 | 13 | Auburn | 143
13 | 23 | Ohio State | 134
14 | 12 | NC State | 131
15 | 17 | Kentucky | 116
16 | 15 | Minnesota | 113
17 | 22 | Arizona | 103
18 | 18 | Wisconsin | 91
19 | 14 | Florida | 78
20 | 11 | Alabama | 64
21 | 21 | North Carolina | 59
22 | 21 | Notre Dame | 54
23 | 20 | Purdue | 37
24 | NR | South Carolina | 19
25 | NR | Virginia Tech | 16

Also Received Votes:
Arizona State (15), UCLA (7), Florida State (6), Duke (4), Houston (3), Arkansas (2)


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