2018 WOMEN'S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY 2 FINALS LIVE RECAP

Tonight in Federal Way, Washington, swimmers are set to compete in the first individual event finals at the 2018 Pac-12 Women's Championships. Swimmers are slated to compete individually in the 500 free, 200 IM, and 50 free. The men's 3-meter diving finals will take place after the 50 free, followed by the women's 200 free relay. The reigning NCAA champions are featured in each of tonight's individual races: Stanford's Katie Ledecky (500 free), Cal's Kathleen Baker (200 IM), and Stanford's Simone Manuel (50 free).

WOMEN'S 500 FREE:
1. GOLD: Katie Ledecky, Stanford, 4:26.09
2. SILVER: Ella Eastin, Stanford, 4:34.04
3. BRONZE: Lauren Pitzer, Stanford, 4:36.61
6. Chenoa Devine, Cal, 4:40.62
8. Robin Neumann, Cal, 4:40.92
10. Katie McLaughlin, Cal, 4:41.19

-----

WOMEN'S 200 IM:
1. GOLD: Kathleen Baker, Cal, 1:52.70
2. SILVER: Sarah Darcel, Cal, 1:54.50
3. BRONZE: Brooke Forde, Stanford, 1:54.98
6. Keaton Blovad, Cal, 1:55.72
13. Dannie Dilsaver, Cal, 1:59.97
20. Maija Roses, Cal, 2:01.13

Cal's Kathleen Baker broke away from the field early, flipping in 51.57 after a quick 27.22 back split. Baker finished nearly 2 seconds ahead of the field with her 2nd fastest performance ever, touching 4 hundredths ahead of her time from last season's Pac-12s. Freshmen Sarah Darcel (Cal) and Brooke Forde (Stanford) battled for the silver. Darcel was about 2 seconds ahead through the back, but Forde cut into that lead significantly on the breast leg. Forde continued to close the gap down the final stretch, but ran out of room as Darcel hit the wall for silver to Forde's bronze.

Cal's Keaton Blovad, who was 2nd through the halfway mark at 52.20, held off Stanford's Kim Williams, 1:55.72 to 1:55.74, for 6th place. Blovad and Williams each broke 1:56 for the first time.

-----

WOMEN'S 50 FREE:
1. GOLD: Simone Manuel, Stanford, 21.10
2. SILVER: Abbey Weitzeil, Cal, 21.41
3. BRONZE: Amy Bilquist, Cal, 21.74
6. Maddie Murphy, Cal, 22.10
12. Valerie Hull, Cal, 22.43
14T. Noemie Thomas, Cal, 22.71

Stanford's Simone Manuel took down her own Pac-12 Meet Record, putting up her 2nd fastest swim ever to win it in 21.20. Cal's Abbey Weitzeil was just a hundredth shy of her time from 2017 Pac-12s as she took the silver. Teammate Amy Bilquist shaved 2 tenths off her lifetime best to give the Bears 2 on the podium. Stanford's Janet Hu dipped under 22 as well, touching in 21.98 to clip USC freshman Marta Ciesla (22.04). Ciesla knocked a couple of tenths off her time.

-----

-----

WOMEN'S 200 FREE RELAY:
1. GOLD: Cal, 1:25.87
2. SILVER: Stanford, 1:26.81
3. BRONZE: USC, 1:28.43

Cal took down the American Record tonight, clearing the former mark by 4 hundredths. Maddie Murphy lead them off in 21.96, handing off to Amy Bilquist, who put up a 21.24 on the 2nd leg. Katie McLaughlin took on the 3rd leg in 21.67, while Abbey Weitzeil brought them home in 21.00.

CAL WOMEN DOWN 200 FREE RELAY AMERICAN RECORD WITH 1:25.87 AT PAC-12S

-----

TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 2:
1. Stanford University 611.5
2. University of California- Berk 510.5
3. Arizona State University 354
4. University of Arizona 302.5
5. University of California - LA 288.5
6. University of Southern Calif 270
7. Utah, University of 155
8. Washington State University 142
9. Oregon State University 87

4:41.19 for Katie, second in B-Final to Leah Stevens (4:37)

4:40.62 for Chenoa, 4:40.92 for Robin for 6th and 8th in A-Final... 1-2-3 sweep by the Furd

HBear said:

---

4:40.62 for Chenoa, 4:40.92 for Robin for 6th and 8th in A-Final... 1-2-3 sweep by the Furd

---

PBs for both Chenoa & Robin, and should land them around 30th place. Last year, Chenoa made it with a 4:41, so this should get her an invite.

2:01.13, fourth for Maija in the C-final so far, 1:59.97 for Dannie, fifth in the B-final

Thleen with the win! 1:52.7 for the champ, 1:54.50 for Sarah, and 1:56 for Keaton... Go Bears!

Abbey second in the A final (21.41) to Simone (21.20)

HBear said:

---

Abbey second in the A final (21.41) to Simone (21.20)

---

2 - Abbey Weitzeil (21.41)
3 - Amy Bilquist (21.74)
6 - Maddie Murphy (22.10)
11 - Valerie Hull (22.43)
14 - Noemie Thomas (22.71)

Keaton went 1:55 high

Also note that due to diving and the trees being stacked in 500 free, we're more than 100 points behind even after 50 free...

And a victory for the Bears to end the night! 3 for 3 in relays, and what might be a new AR to boot -- Go Bears!

--------

Missed all of tonight's excitement due to another engagement - cheers for all the updates, which I'm trying to catch up on!

So luvly that Bears ended the session with a veritable bang - 3/3 on relays, and an American record to boot (appropriately ousting the former furdette record)!!!

Katie's sprint speed has impressed all season long, so fitting that she joined the 21 sec club along with all her relay teammates on that 200 FR (McL's 500 Free result wasn't ideal in an event that she is still learning to swim in order to help out her team, but nothing that a spot of taper won't fix in 3 weeks' time, IMO), with Madds' relay leadoff 50 free split elevating her to a an even safer invite position than her strong swim in the individual.

Bunch of A cuts & PBs achieved all around, and I'm not just talking about our "stars" ... kudos to everyone involved!

Obviously stacking the A final of the 500 Free with 5 furdettes that ended in a 1-2-3 sweep for the trees (reminiscent of the Georgia Bulldogs during their deep freestyle era) + LSJU's diving + the Card's depth in the 200 IM with 4 A finalists (however this was mitigated in part by Cal's 1-2 win in the guise of Thleen & Sarah, supported by Keeks' almost 1.5 sec besting of her pre-meet PR) currently has the Furd ahead by just over 100 points in the team scoring in spite of their not winning a single relay up to this point - but I'm massively impressed by our Bears' truly "team effort" tonight - Go Bears!!!

--------

CAL MAKES IT 3-FOR-3 IN PAC-12 RELAYS


Amy Bilquist, Katie McLaughlin, Maddie Murphy and Abbey Weitzeil smile with their 200 free relay trophies.

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. Cal continued its dominance in the relays with its third win in as many tries, while junior Kathleen Baker captured first place in the 200-yard individual medley on the second night of competition at the Pac-12 Championships.

The Golden Bears won both the 200 medley relay and the 800 free relay on Wednesday. Then on Thursday, Cal came through again, this time in the 200 free relay with an NCAA-leading and meet-record time of 1:25.87. Maddie Murphy got the Bears started with a 21.96 leadoff leg, and Amy Bilquist, Katie McLaughlin and Abbey Weitzeil brought it home to out-touch runner-up Stanford by nearly a full second.

In the 200 IM, Baker led a 1-2 finish for the Bears, finishing in 1:52.69 the No. 2 time in the country this season with teammate Sarah Darcel right behind in a personal-best 1:54.50. Both times are below the NCAA "A" qualifying standard. In addition, Keaton Blovad swam a PR 1:55.72 to take sixth place.

"I'm having a lot of fun with my teammates, and having freshman Sarah Darcel come in and get second right behind me is incredible," Baker said after the race. "It sets a great tone heading into NCAA's. I can't wait to go out there and kill it there."

In the 50 free, Weitzeil came up a close second to Stanford's Simone Manuel, falling 21.20 to 21.41. Weitzeil's time was just one one-hundredth shy of her collegiate best. Taking third was Bilquist, who posted a lifetime-best of 21.74 No. 4 all-time at Cal while Murphy came in sixth in 22.10.

Cal had a pair of finalists in the 500 free, as Chenoa Devine placed sixth in a PR 4:40.62 and Robin Neumann took eighth in 4:40.92.

Diving also got underway Thursday with the 1-meter springboard, and Phoebe LaMay came through in sixth place with a score of 280.00 in the final.

Stanford leads the overall team standings with 611.5 points, with Cal second with 510.5 and Arizona State third with 354. Racing resumes with prelims Friday at 10:30 a.m., and finals will begin at 6 p.m.


--------

--------


Cal Women Swimming and Diving at Pac-12 Championships


The perennial Pac-12 and NCAA contender, Cal Women's Swimming and Diving, is vying for Pac-12 titles at the Pac-12 Championship this week (Wednesday through Saturday).

Golden Bears opened the meet on Wednesday night by winning both relays, besting Stanford and their Olympic star power of Simone Manuel and Katie Ledecky.

This post will be updated daily with the results from that day. I'll keep a running list of the Cal Pac-12 titles earned at this meet at the bottom.

The Pac-12 championships involves scoring by the 3 finals for each individual events - meaning that the top 24 swimmers can score points.


--------





https://instagr.am/p/BfhtxqWlmQR




https://instagr.am/p/Bfhp2kbgoSe

https://instagr.am/p/Bfhu8NrgnXL

https://instagr.am/p/BfhsTFPHPzq

https://instagr.am/p/BfhtryDD17Q

--------

Some interesting stats:

--------

Pac-12 Championship

200 MR
2017: Cal #2 (1:34.42) Amy-Abbey-Noemie-Farida
2018: Cal #1 (1:34.13) Kathleen-Abbey-Noemie-Amy

800 FR
2017: Cal #2 (6:53.37) Kathleen-Katie-Abbey-Amy
2018: Cal #1 (6:52.62) Robin-Kathleen-Katie-Amy

200 FR
2017: Cal #2 (1:26.49) Abbey-Amy-Maddie-Farida
2018: Cal #1 (1:25.87) Maddie-Amy-Katie-Abbey


Team Scores after Day 2
2017: Stanford 546 - Cal 490 (56 pts differential)
2018: Stanford 611.5 - Cal 510.5 (101 pts differential!)

--------

Bears are performing so exceptionally well @ 2018 Pac-12s after Day 2, winning all 3 relays + 1 individual v. zero individual or relay titles at the same point last year (not to mention all the personal bests achieved top to bottom)

Yet we are almost double the deficit v. LSJU compared to 2017!

I guess season after season of snagging the top recruiting class down on the Farm didn't hurt the Furdette cause, not only their top names but just the overall depth of potential scorers available in their pool (esp since our conference scores down to 24 instead of 16).

Still, so very impressed & proud of our women, regardless of the ultimate outcome after this weekend and in March!

Sidenote: Hmmm, whatever's going on with those Trojanettes???!! Currently #6 in overall team scoring, behind UCLA, UofA, ASU!!

Dave Salo had recruited some very large classes these past few years too - not only in quantity, but snagging quite a number of top quality prospects in the process (Scott, Vose, Wade, Wright, Mann, Hansson, Aroesty, Ciesla, Tycz,, Rongione, to name but a few)...

Just watched the 400 IM morning heats, and Furd has landed a whopping six swimmers into the A-final for tonight: Ledecky, Eastin, Forde, Szekely, Stevens, and Kukurugya. Yowch. Sarah qualified fifth for tonight, and she and ASU's Marlies Ross break up the train of Trees going into this evening, but wow.

Of somewhat brighter note, cheers to the Bears for the 100 fly performances - I believe all of our swimmers from the morning have a finals swim lined up for tonight: 3 in the A-final (Maddie, Katie, NoNo), 2 in B (Ali and Jaz -- particularly excited for one of our seniors who seems to be on an upward trend again, go Jaz!), and Sophie leading the C-final. Roll on, Bears! Louise Hansson leading the A-final with the only sub-51 split of the morning (50.39), just 0.01 off Janet Hu's meet record, but Noemie seeded second right behind her in 51.01.

Looks like Katie swam a 1:44.42 this morning that would have qualified her for the A-final, but she exhibitioned. Why?

Update: silly of me; assuming that she exhibitioned the event since she's swimming the 100 fly right before it, of course. Slightly worried about depth in the 200 free; we have A-finalists Robin and Abbey but nobody in the B-final, then only Jenna C. in the C-final. (Wistfully thinking of years past with Camille, Missy, Acker, Vredeveld, etc., maybe!)

HBear said:

---

Slightly worried about depth in the 200 free; we have A-finalists Robin and Abbey but nobody in the B-final, then only Jenna C. in the C-final. (Wistfully thinking of years past with Camille, Missy, Acker, Vredeveld, etc., maybe!)

---

Not to forget Lizzie, Bootsie, Caroline Piehl, Cierra, Kaylin Bing, Cat Breed etc

Then there's Dana, Natalie, Sara Isakovic, Liv Jensen, Lauren Boyle, Madison Kennedy, Hannah Wilson - if you want to time travel a wee mite further back... hehe

We actually do presently have a number of additional heavyhitters in the 200 Free - Amy, Thleen & McL (feel that Sarah D can prob throw down a decent time there too)...unfortunately they are even more accomplished at their other events!

Ali is smack dab on the invite bubble: 1:00.34 in the 100 Breast (last invited time in 2017). Teri needs Ali for the 400 MR since she won't use Abbey on five relays. Fallback would be Thleen on the breast leg, but would mean pulling Amy off another relay.

BearDevil said:

---

Ali is smack dab on the invite bubble: 1:00.34 in the 100 Breast (last invited time in 2017). Teri needs Ali for the 400 MR since she won't use Abbey on five relays. Fallback would be Thleen on the breast leg, but would mean pulling Amy off another relay.

---

Ali's 50 Breast has been beastly as a Bear - let's see if she can pull off a similar drop at the 100 distance tonight!

Having a 1:43 potential leadoff in Robin should excuse Abbey from 800 FR duty, thus saving Weitzeil for the other 4 relays where she can make the most significant contribution.

Love Thleen who can do (almost) anything - but personally don't have as much confidence as you re putting Kathleen on breast in the 400 MR, since Baker's best times there have all been from her HS days...


Anyway, reckon I'd mention a few lifetime bests & noteworthy performances from this morning's prelims (Day 3):

-------

• 400 IM

Sarah - 4:06.56 (prev PB=4:06.58 @ 2017 UGA Invite) - A final

-------

• 100 Breast

Ali - 1:00.34 (prev PB=1:00.54 @ 2017 UGA Invite) - A final
Alexa B - 1:02.02 (prev PB=1:02.51 @ 2017 Pac-12s) - B final

Maija - A final!
Natalie Tuck - (0.15 off her PB) - C final

-------

• 100 Back

Keeks - 51.90 (prev PB=52.39 @ 2017 UGA Invite) - A final
Sophie - 53.07 (prev PB=53.50 @ 2016 CIF States) - A final
Aislinn - 54.13 (prev PB=54.25 @ 2017 UGA Invite) - B final

Interestingly enough, LSJU had entered only ONE swimmer in this event (top seed Janet Hu)...whilst Bears succeeded in qualifying 4 in the A final, 2 in the B final, and 1 in the C final ... should help with a bit of catching up scoring wise after the furdettes pile on points in several of the preceding events! (hmmm, 3 trees into tonight's 3m springboard diving finals v. 0 Bears tho).

-------

Sorry, forgot to mention that Keeks should be safely in with an invite, after that brill 51.90 from her 100 Back prelims!

Now if Sophie can dig deep tonight, and somehow find enough to drop another half a sec from her newly-minted PR from prelims...

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

(hmmm, 3 trees into tonight's 3m springboard diving finals v. 0 Bears tho)

---

Whilst they won't be competing in the 3m diving portion of finals tonight, congrats are in order to Briana, Phoebe, Alexa Cacao & Kathleen Navas for helping out on the team scoring from prelims!



--------

https://instagr.am/p/BfjfJLIDFNl
--------

2018 WOMEN'S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY 3 PRELIMS LIVE RECAP
400 IM:
4 - Sarah Darcel, 4:06.56 (A final)
12 - Chenoa Devine, 4:13.61 (B final)
15 - Dannie Dilsaver, 4:15.78 (B final)
19 - Courtney Mykkanen, 4:20.41 (C final)
25 - Elizabeth Bailey, 4:21.79 (1st Alt)
26 - Natalie Tuck, 4:23.85 (2nd Alt)

100 fly:
2 - Noemie Thomas, 51.01 (A final)
4 - Katie McLaughlin, 51.84 (A final)
6 - Maddie Murphy, 52.37 (A final)
14 - Ali Harrison, 53.81 (B final)
15 - Jasmine Mau, 53.84 (B final)
17 - Sophie K-Z, 53.98 (C final)

200 free:
3 - Robin Neumann, 1:44.06 (A final)
7 - Abbey Weitzeil, 1:44.96 (A final)
22 - Jenna Campbell, 1:48.25 (C final)
31 - Valerie Hull, 1:49.08
Exhibition - Katie McLaughlin, 1:44.42

100 breast:
7 - Ali Harrison, 1:00.34 (A final)
8 - Maija Roses, 1:00.94 (A final)
14 - Alexa Buckley, 1:02.02 (B final)
24 - Natalie Tuck, 1:04.17 (C final)
Exhibition - Alexa S-N, 1:05.13

100 back:
2 - Kathleen Baker, 50.96 (A final)
3 - Amy Bilquist, 51.69 (A final)
5 - Keaton Blovad, 51.90 (A final)
6 - Sophie K-Z, 53.07 (A final)
12 - Aislinn Light, 54.13 (B final)
16 - Jasmine Mau, 54.63 (B final)
17 - Courtney Mykkanen, 54.87 (C final)

3 meter diving:
9 - Briana Thai, 272.20
11 - Phoebe LaMay, 263.60
16 - Alexa Cacao, 247.25
24 - Kathleen Navas, 193.30
25 - Jackie Im, 191.90
26 - Maggie Gallagher, 182,35

2018 WOMEN'S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY 3 UP/MID/DOWNS
[url=https://swimswam.com/2018-womens-pac-12-championships-day-3-mid-downs/][/url]
For those unfamiliar with swimming terminology, the concept of "Ups" and "Downs" is a good way to track which teams performed best at prelims. In prelims, swimmers qualify for one of three finals heats: the top 8 finishers make the A final, places 9 through 16 the B final and places 17 through 24 the C final. In finals, swimmers are locked into their respective final, meaning a swimmer in the B heat (spots 9-16) can only place as high as 9th or as low as 16th, even if they put up the fastest or slowest time of any heat in the final.
With that in mind, we'll be tracking "Ups," "Mids" and "Downs" after each prelims session. "Up" refers to swimmers in the A final, "Mid" to swimmers in the B final and "Down" to swimmers in the C final.

We're back with day 3 of the 2018 Pac-12 Championships in Federal Way, Washington. Swimmers competed individually this morning in the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, and 100 back. Stanford and Cal should maintain their 1st and 2nd positions respectively. Arizona and Arizona State will continue to battle for 3rd, but diving gives the Sun Devils a big advantage. USC looks to make up some ground in the battle for 3rd and have much more scoring potential tonight than they did in day 2 finals.

TEAM | UPS | MIDS | DOWNS | TOTAL
1 | Stanford | 15 | 4 | 1 | 20
2 | Cal | 12 | 7 | 5 | 24
3 | USC | 6 | 4 | 3 | 13

2018 WOMEN'S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY 3 FINALS LIVE RECAP

We're back with day 3 finals of the 2018 Pac-12 Championships in Federal Way, Washington. Swimmers are set to compete for individual titles in the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, and 100 back. We'll also see finals of the 400 medley relay and women's 3-meter diving. Look out for Stanford's Katie Ledecky, who will battle American Record holder Ella Eastin shortly before racing All-American teammate Simone Manuel in the 200 free. USC's Louise Hansson (100 fly) and ASU's Silja Kansakoski (100 breast) are the top seeds in their respective events and will battle for their teams' first swimming title of the meet. After a very fast morning swim, Stanford's Janet Hu will challenge Cal's reigning NCAA champ Kathleen Baker for the 100 back gold.

WOMEN'S 400 IM:

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 3:57.68, Katie Ledecky (STAN), 2017
• NCAA 'A' Standard: 4:04.70
• 2017 NCAA Invite Time: 4:10.86

1. GOLD: Katie Ledecky, Stanford, 3:56.53
2. SILVER: Ella Eastin, Stanford, 3:57.32
3. BRONZE: Brooke Forde, Stanford, 4:01.04
4. Sarah Darcel, Cal, 4:03.00
13. Chenoa Devine, Cal, 4:12.27
14. Dannie Dilsaver, Cal, 4:14.84
21. Elizabeth Bailey, Cal, 4:19.58
SCR - Courtney Mykkanen

Cal freshman Sarah Darcel made a big drop, touching in 4:03.00 for 4th place.

-----

WOMEN'S 100 FLY:

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 50.38, Janet Hu (STAN), 2017
• NCAA 'A' Standard: 51.19
• 2017 NCAA Invite Time: 52.52

1. GOLD: Louise Hansson, USC, 50.17
2. SILVER: Ally Howe, Stanford, 51.03
3. BRONZE: Noemie Thomas, Cal, 51.11
4. Katie McLaughlin, Cal, 51.17
7. Maddie Murphy, Cal, 52.24
15. Sophie K-Z, Cal, 53.79
16. Jasmine Mau, Cal, 54.78
SCR - Ali Harrison

Louise Hansson successfully defended her Pac-12 title, giving the Trojans their first event win of the meet. Hansson popped a 22.99 up front, establishing her lead early on, and finished nearly a second ahead of the field. Stanford's Ally Howe came from behind to out-touch Cal's Noemie Thomas for the silver. Howe's swim tonight was 2 seconds faster than her former best time in the USA Swimming database before today. Cal's Katie McLaughlin was also a nail short of bronze, but ran out of room as she tried to run them down in a personal best 51.17.

-----

WOMEN'S 200 FREE:

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 1:40.37, Simone Manuel (STAN), 2017
• NCAA 'A' Standard: 1:43.30
• 2017 NCAA Invite Time: 1:45.44

1. GOLD: Katie Ledecky, Stanford, 1:40.71
2. SILVER: Simone Manuel, Stanford, 1:40.78
3. BRONZE: Robin Neumann, Cal, 1:43.64
7. Abbey Weitzeil, Cal, 1:45.00
21. Jenna Campbell, Cal, 1:47.72

Shortly after her record-breaking performance in the 400 IM, Katie Ledecky was back to race defending champion Simone Manuel in this event. Manuel had the early speed, flipping in 48.80 to Ledecky's 49.71, but Ledecky closed nearly a second faster with a 25.20 on the final 50 to Manuel's 26.10. She hit the wall for another gold by 7 hundredths. Cal freshman Robin Neumann used her closing speed to top Stanford's Katie Drabot (1:43.92) for the bronze.

-----

WOMEN'S 100 BREAST:

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 58.02, Sarah Haase (STAN), 2016
• NCAA 'A' Standard: 58.85
• 2017 NCAA Invite Time: 1:00.34

1. GOLD: Riley Scott, USC, 58.81
2. SILVER: Silja Kansakoski, ASU, 59.04
3. BRONZE: Kim Williams, Stanford, 59.07
5. Ali Harrison, Cal, 59.52
8. Maija Roses, Cal, 1:00.42
15. Alexa Buckley, Cal, 1:02.34

USC's Riley Scott put the Trojans on top again, splitting 27.66 en route to her 58.81 victory. Arizona State's Silja Kansakoski and Stanford's Kim Williams were neck-and-neck the whole way through, with Kansakoski getting her hands to the wall a few hundredths ahead for the silver. USC freshman Maggie Aroesty (59.35) and Cal freshman Ali Harrison (59.52) were each in the 59-range. That's good news for the Bears, as the breaststroke leg has been their main concern for the medley relays, and Harrison is showing big improvement.

-----

WOMEN'S 100 BACK:

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 49.69, Ally Howe (STAN), 2017
• NCAA 'A' Standard: 51.16
• 2017 NCAA Invite Time: 52.65

1. GOLD: Janet Hu, Stanford, 49.93
2. SILVER: Kathleen Baker, Cal, 50.13
3. BRONZE: Amy Bilquist, Cal, 51.28
4. Keaton Blovad, Cal, 51.81
6. Sophie K-Z, Cal, 52.26
9. Aislinn Light, Cal, 53.59
16. Jasmine Mau, Cal, 55.11
18. Courtney Mykkanen, Cal, 54.60

Janet Hu is now the 5th fastest 100 backstroker in history. Kathleen Baker took it out in 24.12 for the early lead, while Hu flipped in 24.42, but Hu had the closing speed as she broke 50 seconds for the first time in her career. Cal's Amy Bilquist rounded out the podium, while teammate Keaton Blovad (51.83) broke 52 seconds for the first time to take 4th.

-----

WOMEN'S 3-METER DIVING:

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 361.55, Cassidy Krug (Stanford), 2007

1. GOLD: Eloise Belanger, UCLA, 369.75
2. SILVER: Ashley McCool, ASU, 367.95
3. BRONZE: Kassidy Cook, Stanford, 343.95
9. Briana Thai, Cal, 272.20
11. Phoebe LaMay, Cal, 263.60
16. Alexa Cacao, Cal, 247.25
24. Kathleen Navas, Cal, 193.30
25. Jackie Im, Cal, 191.40
26. Maggie Gallagher, Cal, 182.35

UCLA's Eloise Belanger and ASU freshman Ashley McCool were each above the 11-year-old Meet Record. As expected, the Sun Devils got a big boost from diving with McCool, Frida Kaellgren (4th), and Mara Aiacoboae (8th), giving them a 63.5 point edge over Arizona in the team battle for 3rd.

-----

WOMEN'S 400 MEDLEY RELAY:

• Pac-12 Meet Record: 3:26.25, Stanford, 2016
• NCAA 'A' Standard: 3:32.67

1. GOLD: Stanford, 3:25.15
2. SILVER: Cal, 3:25.50
3. BRONZE: Arizona, 3:32.85

Stanford and Cal were both well under the former American and NCAA Record as they battled for the win. Ally Howe (50.21) only slightly edged out Kathleen Baker (50.24) on the backstroke leg, but Kim Williams opened up the lead for the Cardinal with her 58.61 breast split. Cal tried to battle back as Noemie Thomas split a 50.20 fly to Janet Hu's 50.38. It came down to Simone Manuel and Abbey Weitzeil on the free leg, with Manuel splitting a 45.95 to Weitzeil's 46.00.

-----

TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 3:

1. Stanford University 1230.5
2. University of California- Berk 1028
3. Arizona State University 667
4. University of Arizona 605.5
5. University of Southern Calif 547.5
6. University of California - LA 526.5
7. Utah, University of 322
8. Washington State University 230
9. Oregon State University 150

-----

Noemie 3rd in the 100 fly with a 51.11, Katie with a new PB in 51.17. 100 fly won by Louise Hansson in 50.17.
Maddie went a 52.24 for 7th, and Sophie (53.79) & Jaz (54.58) place 15th and 16th. Ali scratched the event, probably to focus on the 100 breast soon after!

huge swim for Ali, going a 59.52 and betting LSJU freshmen Grace Zhao in the process! Maija went a 1:00.4 PB as well! Guess the 400 medley relay order will be Kathleen, Ali, Noemie, and Abbey!

Sophie dropped a 52.56 in finals tonight, which is just below the 52.65 it took to make NCAA's last year! Thleen was 2nd in the 100 back in 50.13 to Janet Hu, who went a 49.9. Amy was 3rd, and Keaton dropped a little more time to place 4th.

Prospective NCAA roster:
- Kathleen Baker
- Amy Bilquist
- Keaton Blovad
- Sarah Darcel
- Chenoa Devine
- Ali Harrison
- Sophie K-Z
- Katie McLaughlin
- Maddie Murphy
- Robin Neumann
- Noemie Thomas
- Abbey Weitzeil

Val on the border a bit, Ali definitely getting an invite after that impressive sub minute swim, Maija probably getting an invite in the 200 breast based on how her 100 breast went. Chenoa likely to make it, though ranks around 30th in the country right now, and they typically invite up to 29 places. Sophie also likely to make it with a 52.5, though she might be on the bubble.

Wow, great swim by Ali!!!

tedbear said:

---

Wow, great swim by Ali!!!

---

V. impressive - tbh I hadn't reckoned that Ali's 100 Breast game would develop so rapidly in her first season as a Bear, tho her br split on that 200 MR B team was clearly a promise of great things to come.

Bodes well for our 400 MR chances as Cal won't be as much of an underdog to LSJU - OTOH Kim Williams had a massively fantastic drop with that 59.07 of hers (had never managed to dip below a minute prior to this morning's prelims session), so will still be a tough challenge. Also wonder how much rest Ali is on since Teri surely had her tapered @ conference to try to get her an invite to NCAAs...

Anyway, brill showing by everyone as a team - a bunch of our freshies really stepped up (Sarah with that 3.56 sec drop from her short-lived morning 400 IM PB to easily claim an automatic invite not to mention 2nd fastest time in Cal history behind only Caitlin's record, Robin already qualified via her 800 FR leadoff time and staying with the big guns to get on the 200 Free podium tonight, Sophie with a significant lifetime best to arrive on the cusp of an NCAA invite, etc), also Aislinn with some nice PBs (50 free from the 200 FR leadoff + her 100 back PR tonight)...the future is looking bright indeed

EDIT: Forgot to add that Keeks had a big drop in her 100 Back too, with Katie dropping a lifetime best in her 100 Fly by 0.36 sec!

bearz012 said:

---

Sophie dropped a 52.56 in finals tonight, which is just below the 52.65 it took to make NCAA's last year! Thleen was 2nd in the 100 back in 50.13 to Janet Hu, who went a 49.9. Amy was 3rd, and Keaton dropped a little more time to place 4th.

Prospective NCAA roster:
- Kathleen Baker
- Amy Bilquist
- Keaton Blovad
- Sarah Darcel
- Chenoa Devine
- Ali Harrison
- Sophie K-Z
- Katie McLaughlin
- Maddie Murphy
- Robin Neumann
- Noemie Thomas
- Abbey Weitzeil

Val on the border a bit, Ali definitely getting an invite after that impressive sub minute swim, Maija probably getting an invite in the 200 breast based on how her 100 breast went. Chenoa likely to make it, though ranks around 30th in the country right now, and they typically invite up to 29 places. Sophie also likely to make it with a 52.5, though she might be on the bubble.

---

Slight correction: men generally go out to 29 for invites; Women are scaled up to 38 to account for Title IX. Huge swim by Ali and definitely needed.

Would be awesome to add Val, Maija, and Jaz, but Teri already has all the legs she needs for prelims and finals to have a reasonable shot at sweeping all five relays.

BearDevil said:

---

Would be awesome to add Val, Maija, and Jaz, but Teri already has all the legs she needs for prelims and finals to have a reasonable shot at sweeping all five relays.

---

Would love to reward the seniors for their hardwork..especially Maija.

OBear073akaSMFan said:

---

Would love to reward the seniors for their hardwork..especially Maija.

---

Hear, hear - Maija esp deserves it!!!

And crikey, what a cracking 400 MR race!!!!

Sooo HAPPY (there, BD - did it please you inordinately that I had carefully refrained from using "chuffed" here? ) & mightily impressed with Bears even if they were out-touched at the very end - surpassing the former NCAA record by over half a sec, and writing a new Cal record into the books, massively lowering the former school record that was accomplished by a relay squad led off by none other than Bootsie and anchored by Missy!!!

Thleen reliably swift as usual as she's such a competitive racer (underwaters & last 25 should be even faster @ NCAAs with a taper) ...

Ali amply proving her massive PB in the individual earlier wasn't a one-off fluke by not letting an on-fire Williams run away in the breast leg, unfazed by being thrown into such an intensive pressure situation as a froski ...

Nono pushing the underwater rule to the limit upon diving in, out-dueling underwater maestro Janet Hu to help Bears crawl back some of the deficit ...

Abbey the consummate relay player with that incredible breakout of hers that instantly wiped out the furdette lead, storming an incredibly blistering front half pace to take over the lead for her team, and then valiantly hanging on all the way to that nail-biter of a finish, fully aware that Manuel who's the queen of the "back-end surge/getting her hands to the wall first" was menacingly coming for her fast...

------------

New School record (2018 Pac-12s):
3:25.50 - Thleen (50.24), Ali (59.06), Nono (50.20), Abbey (46.00)

Old School record (2015 NCAAs):
3:27.17 - Bootsie (50.84), Marina (59.28), Farida (51.07), Missy (45.98)

Old School #2 fastest (2017 Pac-12s):
3:27.38 - Thleen (50.41), Marina ((59.48), Nono (50.10), Farida (47.39)

------------

EDIT => Updated with splits for the Furd squad in respectful acknowledgement (albeit somewhat grudging for partisan reasons lol) of their accomplishments here:

New NCAA & American record (2018 Pac-12s):
3:25.15 - Howe (50.21), Williams (58.61), Hu (50.38), Manuel (45.95)

Old NCAA & American record (2016 NCAAs):
3:26.14 - Howe (51.89), Haase (57.02), Hu (50.65), Neal (46.58)

Oh, for anyone keeping tabs of these stats, Bears were a mere 0.03 sec behind after Thleen's back leadoff, the gap widened to 0.48 despite Ali's impressive breast split which almost broke the 59 sec barrier, Nono reduced the deficit to 0.30, and Abbey kept everyone on the edge of their seats all the way to the very conclusion of the race, having even wiped out the Furd lead shortly upon entering the water!

------------

-----


BIG SWIMS FOR THE BEARS AT PAC-12S


Sarah Darcel's time of 4:03.00 in the 400 IM ranks No. 2 on Cal's all-time list.


FEDERAL WAY, Wash. One school record in the 400-yard medley relay and host of swims that cracked Cal's all-time top-10 list highlighted the third night of the Pac-12 Championships for the Golden Bears.

With one day of competition remaining, Cal stands in second place with 1,028 points, Stanford leads the way with 1,230.5, with Arizona State third with 667 and Arizona fourth with 605.5.

The Bears won the first three relays of the meet the 200 medley relay, 800 free relay and 200 free relay and nearly pulled out a fourth. Cal and Stanford battled all the way to the wall before the Cardinal nudged ahead in the end. The Golden Bear foursome of Kathleen Baker, Ali Harrison, Noemie Thomas and Abbey Weitzeil finished in 3:25.50, while Stanford was timed in an NCAA-record 3:25.15.

Cal's time was also under the old NCAA mark and broke the school record by nearly two seconds, with the previous record 3:27.17 from the 2015 season.

Among individual swimmers, freshman Sarah Darcel posted the No. 2 time in school history in the 400 individual medley. She came through in 4:03.00, a 3.5-second drop from her morning qualifying swim. On Cal's all-time list, she now trails only Caitlin Leverenz's 3:57.89 from 2012.

Harrison, also a freshman, broke a minute in the 100 breaststroke for the first time and touched the wall in 59.52, which was good for fifth place and third all-time at Cal. Senior Maija Roses also earned a spot in the A final and took eighth in a personal-best 1:00.42.

Thomas placed third in the 100 butterfly in 51.11, which was just off her fastest time of the season. Right behind her in fourth, Katie McLaughlin lowered her collegiate best by 0.61 seconds to finish in 51.17, making her Cal's seventh-fastest ever in the event. Maddie Murphy also took seventh in 52.24.

Freshman Robin Neumann came through in third place in the 200 freestyle in 1:43.64, and Weitzeil added additional points with a seventh-place showing in 1:45.00.

The Bears scored big points in the 100 backstroke with four swimmers in the A final. Baker swam a season-best 50.13 to finish second. Also the runner-up last season, Baker went on to capture the national championship in the event last March. In addition, Amy Bilquist took third in 51.28, Keaton Blovad had a PR 51.83 for fourth and Sophie Krivokapic-Zhou was sixth in 52.56. Aislinn Light captured the B final in a PR 53.59.

Freshman Briana Thai paced Cal on the 3-meter springboard with a ninth-place showing, with Phoebe LaMay 11th and Alexa Cacao 16th.

The meet concludes on Saturday with competition in the 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, platform diving and the 400 free relay. Prelims begin at 10:30 a.m. and will be streamed on Pac-12.com, while the finals will start at 6 p.m. and be televised on the Pac-12 Network.


-----

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

BIG SWIMS FOR THE BEARS AT PAC-12S

---

RESULTS => http://calbears.com/documents/2018/2/23//Day3FinalsResults.pdf

Furds gained on Darcel at every walls. Manuel gained on Weitzeil at the last wall, so does Hu on Baker. Not long ago, Bootsma, Tran, and Pelton were so good at the walls that it's surprising to see the bears were beaten at the walls.

solobear said:

---

Furds gained on Darcel at every walls. Manuel gained on Weitzeil at the last wall, so does Hu on Baker. Not long ago, Bootsma, Tran, and Pelton were so good at the walls that it's surprising to see the bears were beaten at the walls.

---

I wouldn't go so hard on our Bears :p

Bootsie, Lizzie & Cindy's walls were really incredible, very tough acts to follow!

Hu probably has the best underwaters of anyone in the NCAA today, bar none!

However, Thleen has really upped her underwaters game since training under Teri, which has helped her to become more of a complete, rounded swimmer - even Dave Marsh has specifically alluded to this when crediting Baker's OT & Rio successes! Come March with the help of a spot of taper, let's then judge Lil Bean on how good her walls are... Besides, when was the last time Janet had beaten Thleen in LCM, or made an appearance @ Worlds or @ the Olympics?

Abbey had to play up to her strengths in wiping out our deficit and going on to take the lead on that first 50 with her amazing 21.52 front half split (compared to Manuel's 22.23). Simone OTOH is well known for coming back furiously with her trademark killer final wall topped off by her herculean finishes (as the world had witnessed @ Rio & Budapest), I reckon Abbey did fantastically for the team in limiting Manuel's advantage to a mere 0.05 sec over 100 yards!

Sarah didn't have much if any experience with SCY swimming north of the border, so I wouldn't expect her underwaters to be on an Ella Eastin level in her frosh season lol. Besides, not every swimmer has the knack or body type to be a walls/underwaters goddess - certainly Missy did "quite well" @ 2015 NCAAs with relatively anemic underwaters, esp on her backstroke hehe

Let's wait until the big dance in 3 weeks time before we start to panic, shall we?!

https://instagr.am/p/Bfls4AxDFrb

Just thought I'd mention a few PBs & near lifetime bests from morning heats today:

-------

• 200 Back

Keeks - 1:54.02 (just 0.02 sec off her PB from 2017 Pac-12s) - A final (#8 seed, behind #1 Thleen & #4 Billy)
Aislinn - 1:58.38 PB (prev PB=1:58.52 @ 2017 UGA Invite) - C final

-------

• 100 Free

Robin - 48.38 PB (prev PB=49.20 @ 2017 UGA Invite) - A final (#3 seed, behind #2 Abbey)

Bears qualified 3 A finalists (Abbey, Robin & Val) compared to 1 furdette (Manuel).

Madds the top seed in the B final (not too worried about Murphy as she showed last year that she tapers in a really fab fashion, reserving her very best for NCAAs!).

-------

• 200 Breast

Ali - 2:10.84 PB (prev PB=2:10.92 @ 2017 UGA Invite) - A final
Alexa B - 2:15.54 PB (prev PB=2:16.58 @ Dec 2014) - 1st alternate for C final

------

• 200 Fly

Sarah - 1:55.80 PB (prev PB=1:57.35 @ 2017 UGA Invite) - B final (top seed)

-------


2018 WOMEN'S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY 4 PRELIMS LIVE RECAP


-------