2018-2019 Season: Women's Swimming

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BearDevil
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9:34a, 11/11/18
Walked by Legends many times, but first time seeing an event there. Really nice facility, but not ideal for meets. Really narrow footprint given the available space, so limited space for seating (one set of bleachers) Would be nearly impossible to retrofit, so alas just a very nice training facility. Men's waterpolo vs LSJU was going on at Spieker at the same time.

Air quality was better than on Friday, but still not great. No way to know what Texas had previously planned in taking on LSJU and Cal back to back, but they are a very deep dual team and were rested and former Bear Carol Capitani unloaded on the Bears. She's animated and enthusiastic, so you can see why she's a good recruiter. Still don't quite understand why her talent hasn't translated into higher than a top five finish yet. Swept the Bay Area duopoly a few years ago, but like 'SC, they focus too much on duals and overperform early, but underperform in March. Have unbelievable facilities in Austin along with multiple volunteer coaches, so it's not for lack of resources. Lots of talent, so a puzzler. Lots of likable talented swimmers.

Once Ledecky and Manuel went pro, Bears had a very legit chance at a 2019 NCAA title. Thleen going pro and injuries to Billy, Cassidy, Sumner, and Chenoa allegedly leaving the program have depleted the team.

Billy was wearing a boot and on crutches. Didn't put any weight on her crutches, so not clear when she'll be back. Huge blow since she's a great swimmer and leader. Super close with Jenna, McL, and Abbey.

Not sure what Alex's injury is, but she's still not competing.. Possible blueshirt?

Was alarmed earlier to see pics of Casssidy wearing a knee brace. Surprisingly she swam the 500 Free, so she's gotta be relatively healthy, Tedbear thinks Teri wants to use her in 200 Fly so she's using her in duals to build up her endurance.

Abbey was by far the best swimmer in the meet. Smoked the field in the 50 and 100 and also looked great in her rightful anchor position in both relays (Thank Oski for Ema and Ali). Abbey's really well liked by her teammates and would be shocked if she's not the 2020 Captain.

McL was the second best swimmer in the meet. Fully recovered from her injury and extremely tough. Looked beaten with five yards to go in the 200 Fly, but gutted it out for the win. Stud free sprinter too.

Ema and Alicia appear to be highly underrated (like Bing, Farida, Maddie, Chenoa, Robin, Darcel, and Ali were). Teri can spot and develop talent. Ema won the 200 breast was second in the 100 and will move Abbey out of the medley breast legs. Alicia swam very well in the 200 back.

Aislinn also swam well in the back. She, Jenna, and Natalie Tuck are all beloved by their teammates. Maddie looks like she's bouncing back into form.

Erie Pfeifer was the third best swimmer in the meet. Has serious range and versatility. Would have been a prototypical Teri recruit because of her versatility. Same with Claire Adams. Cook and Ariola looked a little bit off.

For sure the Bears will drop in the dual meet rankings, but Teri used the meet to find her best relay combos and knew the 'Whorns were going after a big dual win. Overall depth wins duals, but concentrated elite talent wins NCAAs. Georgia Invitational will be an important data point. We'll see who qualifies for NCAAs early and how many A relay cuts the Bears get. SwimSwam's recent power ranking was spot on. Bears with a healthy Billy are the second best team in the country. Michigan and Texas are in the top three chase, but sadly the 'Furdettes are still a huge 2019 favorite.

Unclear the extent of Billy's injury and what her personal goals are, but a blueshirt might make sense. She and Abbey are a great combo and would give the Dream Team survivors one last shot at a title in 2020.

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Schroeder71
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4:28p, 11/11/18
BearDevil--thank you for your in-depth response to my questions plus more. Does McKeever keep injuries close to the vest? How come nobody knows the seriousness of Amy Bilquist's injury? It sounds BAD. Since I got your
attention-how do the next couple of recruit classes look so far? GO BEARS!
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OBear073akaSMFan
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In reply to solobear • 8:22a, 11/12/18
solobear said:

Ali Harrison (So) didn't swim as well as last year. Injured?
thank goodness that Ema seems to be making good progress. Hoping she will be available to take over for Abbey in the relays especially with Billie not available.
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BearDevil
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In reply to Schroeder71 • 11:31a, 11/12/18
Schroeder71 said:
BearDevil--thank you for your in-depth response to my questions plus more. Does McKeever keep injuries close to the vest? How come nobody knows the seriousness of Amy Bilquist's injury? It sounds BAD. Since I got your
attention-how do the next couple of recruit classes look so far? GO BEARS!
Teri's private, but I don't think there's anything nefarious going on with information about Amy's injury. If it were season or career ending, Amy would retire. Assume that she's being treated, but that they're not sure of a recovery timetable yet. She's way too important to Cal to rush her back as damaged goods. SwimSwam has very good sources at Cal and they haven't written her off yet.

College swimming is not a huge sport. Two top five teams went at it in front of a few hundred spectators. There aren't betting odds on dual meets, conference meets, or NCAA title chances and there isn't a pro draft, so there isn't an overwhelming market for private information on college swimmers. Kathleen Baker was diagnosed with Crohn's when she was in junior high school, but it wasn't disclosed until she was an All-American college swimmer. If DeSean Jackson or Jaylen Brown had a similar medical condition, it would have been known well before signing day.

The 2019 recruiting class looks pretty good. Izzy will be a star. She's not very tall, but she's nearly as versatile as Baker. Extremely charismatic, so will help recruit future teammates. Chloe, Ayla, and Sarah are good gets. Emma is a very nice girl from a great family with a lot of upside. Long and lean and hasn't been swimming very long. Expect her to drop a significant amount of sprint time in college. Teri also added a bunch of distance depth.

Bears desperately need backstroke depth in 2020 and fortunately there's a ton of elite depth (Smith, Walsh, Stadden, Bacon) in the class. Bears will get one of those four. Also need sprinters and another sprint flyer. Lots of detailed info on 2019 and 2020 recruits in dedicated threads already.
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OBear073akaSMFan
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In reply to BearDevil • 6:20p, 11/12/18
BearDevil said:
Maddie looks like she's bouncing back into form.

Are you aware of any injures to Maddie last year? Compared to her freshmen year ..she had a subpar Soph year!
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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In reply to OBear073akaSMFan • 8:21p, 11/12/18
OBear073akaSMFan said:
solobear said:
Ali Harrison (So) didn't swim as well as last year. Injured?
thank goodness that Ema seems to be making good progress.

Here's my quick take/opinion, FWIW

First of all, v. encouraged by froski Ema's initial outings for Bears. That unrested 1:01.55 from the dual v. the Horns is less than a sec off her 100 Breast PB, not to mention Rajic's 2:14.13 is a mere 0.01 sec from her 200 Breast personal record...

Now we are all quite cognisant here of Teri's undeniable knack for spotting prospects with huge potential who may fly under a lot of radars compared to their more heralded top-ranked colleagues (who we on the board tend to focus most of our attention on lol) - more importantly, McKeever recognising recruits with great personalities & character who would be a great fit and asset to the programme as well as to the school - but I must say, Ema's quicker-than-expected development pace is still a very pleasant surprise, and bodes brilliantly for the future!


Now for a peek at Ali's time progression in the 100 Breast as a Golden Bear @ some dual meets (not going to analyse her HS swims since her training cycle, coaching & team environment would have been completely different):
  • 2017: 1:04.03 (Cal Poly) -> 1:04.04 (Fresno) -> 1:03.43 (NCSU) 2nd half of season -> 1:02.05 (LSJU)
  • 2018: 1:05.77 (Cal Poly) -> 1:05.70 (Fresno) -> 1:04.76 (UT)
At first glance, one might well start panicking at Harrison being slower by almost 2 seconds here, relative to last season...

So let's next consider how Ali's times fare with a bit of rest at the mid-season invite, conference & nattys:
  • 2017: 1:00.54 {1:00.53 split @ 400 MR} (UGA Invite) -> 59.52 {59.06 split @ 400 MR} (Pac-12) -> 1:00.22 {58.89 split @ 400 MR} (NCAA)
So it appears that Alicia responds very well to a spot of taper, dropping some massive times to help her teammates out!

Keep in mind that Ali's lifetime best in the 100 Breast individual, before competing in the blue & gold, was a 1:00.80 @ 2017 CIF State Champs...prior to that, she had never dipped below the 1:01 mark.

Much akin to Maddie overperforming and shattering expectations left & right in her incredibly impressive freshie year, that sort of dream start does naturally create massive pressure to follow up under much heightened expectations.

However, swimmers are only human...even at the elite level, they don't just get faster & faster at a linear robotic rate - no matter how hard they are dedicated to their training, esp in this modern era when athletes are creeping closer & closer to their physical potential. There will be plateaus hit, setbacks & obstacles to overcome or perhaps stumble at, inevitably other priorities considered. Experiencing & embracing collegiate life fully shouldn't be, and most certainly isn't, confined to or defined by just stats in the pool

Pardon the soapbox haha...anyway, we should certainly take note that Ali Harrison has had a considerably "slower" start to her sophomore season than her remarkable breakout frosh debut. But it's still early on in the season, reckon we should maybe wait until the results from the Georgia Invite in a fortnight's time before rushing to any sort of premature judgement?

Will definitely cheer Ali, Madds and all the talented & likeable team on regardless - they are all jolly fine Bears imo

OBear073akaSMFan said:
BearDevil said:
Maddie looks like she's bouncing back into form.
Are you aware of any injures to Maddie last year? Compared to her freshmen year ..she had a subpar Soph year!

  • Update -> Chenoa is no longer listed on the official roster for this season. Don't know at this point whether this development is permanent, or possibly just a temporary arrangement as Devine's still apparently hanging with the team at meets, though not competing this semester/season? We do have a pretty deep squad of incoming 2019 Baby bears who are quite adept @ distance and the longer races, however...
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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In reply to BearDevil • 1:36p, 11/14/18
BearDevil said:
For sure the Bears will drop in the dual meet rankings, but Teri used the meet to find her best relay combos and knew the 'Whorns were going after a big dual win. Overall depth wins duals, but concentrated elite talent wins NCAAs. Georgia Invitational will be an important data point. We'll see who qualifies for NCAAs early and how many A relay cuts the Bears get. SwimSwam's recent power ranking was spot on. Bears with a healthy Billy are the second best team in the country. Michigan and Texas are in the top three chase, but sadly the 'Furdettes are still a huge 2019 favorite.

TEXAS WOMEN, CAL MEN REMAIN ATOP CSCAA DUAL MEET POLL

RANK | PREVIOUS | TEAM | POINTS
1 | 1 | Texas | 274
2 | 3 | Michigan | 264
3 | 2 | Stanford | 252
4 | 7 | Virginia | 234
5 | 5 | California | 218
6 | 11 | Southern California | 214
7 | 4 | NC State | 212
8 | 8 | Louisville | 202
9 | 24 | Tennessee | 178
10 | 10 | Florida | 177
11 | 6 | Texas A&M | 160
12 | 17 | Auburn | 152
13 | 9 | Indiana | 150
14 | 13 | Notre Dame | 139
15 | 11 | Georgia | 136
16 | 20 | Duke | 91
17 | 18 | Kentucky | 87
17 | NR | Purdue | 87
19 | NR | North Carolina | 81
20 | 14 | Wisconsin | 77
21 | 16 | Minnesota | 60
22 | NR | Florida State | 49
23 | 15 | Ohio State | 31
24 | NR | South Carolina | 24
25 | NR | Missouri | 12

Also Receiving Votes: UCLA/Arkansas (6), Northwestern/Alabama (1)

----------

Surprise - Bears hang onto the 5th spot, for now!

Even more of a surprise (well at least to me lol)...UVA jumps ahead of Cal, and Trojans are ranked just behind us...

A bit off-topic - BearDevil will surely be quite pleasantly surprised that the Blue Devils are now @ 16th, ahead of UK, UNC, Wisconsin, Minnesota & Ohio State?!

Anyway, as BD had commented, let's wait for those important data points from the UGA Invite where our #5 Bears will go up against the #2 Wolverines / #4 Hoos / #15 Dawgs (tho our dive team didn't compete in the past couple of editions of this mid-season invite, thus handing off a sizeable points advantage right from the bat to our rivals), before a clearer picture emerges of where the favoured contenders stand this season.

Not to be overlooked at all, #3 Furdettes with their vaunted freshie superstars & established studs have yet to show their full hand - we'll get a glimpse of whether the trees are as dominant as reputed at the Ohio State Invite, set to start up tomorrow.
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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1:40p, 11/14/18

Go Bears!

https://instagr.am/p/BqLMnKPlsql
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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4:19p, 11/14/18
UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:
#1 recruit Isabel Ivey signing her National Letter of Intent to Cal this morning!



What's particularly fascinating are the mentions from several sources of Izzy starting @ Cal on 3 Jan 2019...er, just in time for that coveted mid-winter training trip to Hawaii?

May account for Izzie not having competed @ 2018 Florida HS States last week, though Ivey has re-affirmed that she'll be graduating from Buchholz High.

This would be rather significant news if true, as would give Bears a massive shot in the arm for 2018-2019 NCAAs, considering the uphill battle we're facing with the early loss of Thleen (pro), probable absence of Billy (stress fractures), froski Alex being MIA (moshpit injuries??! ) & Cassidy still recovering from her knee issues, Chenoa (no longer on the roster), etc.

Still in the process of digesting this rather surprising & significant development that has massive ramifications for Bears @ NCAAs this season...

Let's just start off with some potential/projected NCAA events for Izzy this March:

Day 2 | 200 IM (1:55.77 -> 2018 NCAA B Final)
Day 3 | 200 Free (1:43.64 -> 2018 NCAA A Final)
Day 4 | 100 Free (47.88 -> 2018 NCAA B Final)


  • Alternative/Backup/Secondary Events (less likely...but you never know, depending on team needs!):
Day 2 | 50 Free (22.43 -> 2018 NCAA, #26 in prelim)

Day 3 | 100 Back (52.27 -> NCAA, #19 in prelims)
Day 3 | 100 Fly (52.61 -> NCAA, #27 in prelims)
Day 3 | 400 IM (4:12.08 -> NCAA, #30 in prelims)
Day 3 | 100 Breast (1:00.99 -> NCAA, #41 in prelims)

Day 4 | 200 Fly (1:56.48 -> NCAA, #27 in prelims)
Day 4 | 200 Breast (2:11.56 -> NCAA, #38 in prelims)


Relay lineups will be a challenge to guesstimate accurately this early on in the season (should have some data points after seeing the rested & suited times from the UGA Invite), think Teri & Sarah are still experimenting with various permutations as all the bits & pieces haven't come together quite yet.

Haven't given this much thought, so just blithely putting down some possible relay configurations out here - so that you can all tear this down subsequently and replace with much improved-upon combinations!

Do apologise if I have omitted some better choices for the various legs, as these aren't by any means comprehensive or even close to the ideal lineups. Also had assumed the absence of Billy (not necessarily a foregone conclusion), and that everyone's tackling 3 individual events => 4 relay limit...

200 FR -> Madds | Elise? (Robin/Izzy/Ema/Alicia?) | Katie | Abbey
400 FR -> Robin (Keeks/Madds?) | Izzy | Katie | Abbey
800 FR -> Robin | Izzy | Sarah? (Abbey/Elise/Alicia/Keeks?) | Katie
200 MR -> Keeks (Izzy) | Ema (Ali) | Madds/Elise (Katie) | Abbey
400 MR -> Keeks (Izzy) | Ema (Ali) | Katie (Madds/Elise/Cass?) | Abbey

Have bolded Isabel's name on the relay listings here where I reckon she'd be a key component - assuming that she can adjust to her new team & school and also get back to the elevated level of her SCY PBs, in such a short span of time (not to put undue stress & excessive expectations on our Baby Bear lol)
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tedbear
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6:38p, 11/14/18
Can you imagine adding a healthy Billy to those relays!?! Maddie, Amy, Katie, and Abbey might be a 200 Relay record waiting to happen.
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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In reply to tedbear • 9:15p, 11/14/18
UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:
UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

#12 Chloe Clark had tweeted: "Officially Berkeley bound!! Can't wait to be a baby bear in January"
  • *wot???!!!...me doing a double take*
Ah, that would explain Chloe's "roomies" comment to Izzy!

Well well, it now appears that we'll be welcoming 2 new Baby Bears next semester then...yay!

Here are some of the events which versatile Chloe could potentially tackle, at the conference championship level if not quite yet @ NCAAs in her freshie year:

Day 2 | 200 IM (1:57.32 -> 2018 Pac12 B Final)
Day 3 | 100 Back (53.21 -> Pac12 B Final...a 53.18 would have made A finals)
Day 4 | 200 Back (1:56.79 -> Pac12 B Final)

  • Alternative/Backup/Secondary Events:
Day 2 | 50 Free (22.65 -> Pac12 B Final)

Day 3 | 400 IM (4:13.94 -> Pac12 B Final)
Day 3 | 100 Breast (1:02.68 -> Pac12 C Final)

Day 4 | 100 Free (49.27 -> Pac12 B Final)
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OBear073akaSMFan
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In reply to UrsusArctosCalifornicus • 5:49p, 11/15/18
UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:
UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:
UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

#12 Chloe Clark had tweeted: "Officially Berkeley bound!! Can't wait to be a baby bear in January"
  • *wot???!!!...me doing a double take*
Ah, that would explain Chloe's "roomies" comment to Izzy!

Well well, it now appears that we'll be welcoming 2 new Baby Bears next semester then...yay!

Here are some of the events which versatile Chloe could potentially tackle, at the conference championship level if not quite yet @ NCAAs in her freshie year:

Day 2 | 200 IM (1:57.32 -> 2018 Pac12 B Final)
Day 3 | 100 Back (53.21 -> Pac12 B Final...a 53.18 would have made A finals)
Day 4 | 200 Back (1:56.79 -> Pac12 B Final)

  • Alternative/Backup/Secondary Events:
Day 2 | 50 Free (22.65 -> Pac12 B Final)

Day 3 | 400 IM (4:13.94 -> Pac12 B Final)
Day 3 | 100 Breast (1:02.68 -> Pac12 C Final)

Day 4 | 100 Free (49.27 -> Pac12 B Final)
If Billie doesn't come back ..having Chloe with help with our dept in the back. Question. If Amy doesn't comeback for the spring meets, can she come back for a 5th year? or has she swam too much in the fall to use up her eligibility? I hoping she has at least 1/2 semester eligibility left if she takes a medical leave now. Speaking of injures that Katie miss any year due to her neck injury? I noticed she is listed as a senior & not a Jr, so that probably answers that. Just trying to get the fab 3 back for next year too.
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solobear
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8:13p, 11/15/18
Blovad has been steadily improving since joining cal. Hopefully, she'll improve quickly this year to fill the back leg for relays if Bilquist can't swim.
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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3:34p, 11/19/18

...starring Jenna, with a Thleen cameo...


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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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In reply to UrsusArctosCalifornicus • 7:03p, 11/24/18
UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:
...starring Jenna, with a Thleen cameo...


Senior Jenna Campbell leads a deCal class this semester that brings science to Oakland elementary schools.

WSWIM | 11/23/2018 11:34 AM | By: Herb Benenson

Teaching A Love For Science

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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In reply to UrsusArctosCalifornicus • 7:59p, 11/26/18
UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:
BearDevil said:
Georgia Invitational will be an important data point. We'll see who qualifies for NCAAs early and how many A relay cuts the Bears get. SwimSwam's recent power ranking was spot on. Bears with a healthy Billy are the second best team in the country. Michigan and Texas are in the top three chase, but sadly the 'Furdettes are still a huge 2019 favorite.
Anyway, as BD had commented, let's wait for those important data points from the UGA Invite where our #5 Bears will go up against the #2 Wolverines / #4 Hoos / #15 Dawgs (tho our dive team didn't compete in the past couple of editions of this mid-season invite, thus handing off a sizeable points advantage right from the bat to our rivals), before a clearer picture emerges of where the favoured contenders stand this season.

Not to be overlooked at all, #3 Furdettes with their vaunted freshie superstars & established studs have yet to show their full hand
UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:
...considering the uphill battle we're facing with the early loss of Thleen (pro), probable absence of Billy (stress fractures), froski Alex being MIA (moshpit injuries??! ) & Cassidy still recovering from her knee issues, Chenoa (no longer on the roster), etc.

Well as the campus welcomes back everyone from their Thanksgiving break, looks like some of our Bears had flown all the way from Europe & the East Coast to the Bay Area just yesterday, only to depart very soon for Athens, Georgia:

https://instagr.am/p/BqqiJqJFiv2


Judging from the above group photo, Bears will, with some sadness, miss the contributions of Billy, Alexa S-N, Alex S & Chenoa at Gabrielsen Natatorium this week.

Keeping my fingers crossed that against all odds, Amy will somehow be ready for a limited comeback from her injuries by early Spring, as she's the key to whether Cal has a fighting chance of challenging the furdettes' hold on the national team title (or indeed fending off dangerous threats from the likes of Michigan, & perhaps Texas, for Top 3). Pure speculation at my end, but wondering if Chenoa's current absence from the team roster may be a temporary arrangement of sorts...
Unlike previous seasons, it appears Bears will actually field a DIVING contingent (albeit w/o Phoebs)...Briana Thai, Jackie Im, Alexa Cacao & Kathleen Navas will be repping the blue & gold in GA!
As a sobering reminder, here are the team standings & scores from last year's edition (2017-2018 NCAA Championship final standings in parentheses):

2017 UGA Fall Invite team ranking (Top 4):
  • 1. (#4) UM - 991.5 pts
  • 2. (#11) UGA - 833.5
  • 3. (#2) Cal - 830
  • 4. (#9) UVA - 633.5
2017 UGA Fall Invite swimming ranking (Top 3):
  • 1. UM - 903 pts (after deducting 88.5 diving points)
  • 2. Cal - 830 pts (no diving points needed to be deducted )
  • 3. UGA - 753.5 pts (after deducting 80 diving points)
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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In reply to UrsusArctosCalifornicus • 12:08p, 11/27/18
-----


Cal women's swim heads south for Georgia Fall Invitational



As we approach our own semester finals, Cal women's swim faces its yearly midterm in the Georgia Fall Invitational. The last time the Bears made the trip to Georgia was for last year's fall invitational, where they took home third place behind Michigan and host Georgia. The meet featured an array of teams from around the nation, with Virginia, UCLA, Harvard and Auburn also coming out to race.

The Bears won't need to finish first to qualify swimmers are secure once they meet the "A" times but Cal will expect strong competition yet again this year from No. 3 Michigan and No. 11 Georgia.

Questions remain after the Bears came up short against Texas at home Nov. 10.

Cal will bring out its top talent in Georgia with the goal of qualifying as many swimmers as possible for the NCAA championships, so Thursday's three-day event should see the Bears put up their best times thus far. When the meet ends Dec. 1, Cal will return home to face San Jose State University in a dual meet Dec. 19.

A less-than-stellar grade on a midterm can usually be solved with a solid score on the final. For Cal's swimmers, however, Thursday's midterm could affect their chances of taking the final at all. It's never a good idea to leave studying to the last minute words I'm sure we've all heard before and the Bears will travel to Georgia knowing that it's better to qualify sooner rather than later.


-----


PREVIEW: CAL, MICHIGAN & GEORGIA TO CLASH AT UGA FALL INVITE

Some of the top programs in the country will collide this weekend at the Georgia Fall Invitational in Athens, with the Michigan women and California men looking to defend their titles from last season. In addition to those two teams, the meet will also feature hosts Georgia, along with Virginia and the UCLA women.

Neither Cal or Georgia have had a rested meet like the Michigan and UVA swimmers who swam at the College Challenge have, so it will be intriguing to see how rested some of their big guns are as they aim for NCAA qualifying times.

The Cal women were somewhat underwhelming as a whole last season at this meet placing 3rd, but bring in a loaded team that includes Abbey Weitzeil, Katie McLaughlin, Amy Bilquist, Sarah Darcel and freshman Cassidy Bayer.


-----

  • Update => Really hoping that SwimSwam has the inside scoop with regards to their assertion that Billy will be competing at the UGA Invite this week...as I had originally assumed that Amy was still nursing her injuries and therefore not ready for prime time so soon...would be really fab news for Bears if Bilquist's back!!!
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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In reply to UrsusArctosCalifornicus • 3:52p, 11/27/18

---------




Cal Heads To Georgia Fall Invitational

Bears To Face Some Of The Top Teams In the Country

Cal makes what has lately become an annual trip across the country this week for the Georgia Fall Invitational Thursday-Saturday in Athens, Ga., where the Golden Bears will face some of the top teams in the country.

The three-day meet features squads (with 2018 NCAA finishes in parentheses) from Cal (2), Georgia (11), Michigan (4), Virginia (9) and UCLA (26).

The finals sessions for the first two days of the meet will be streamed on espn.com/watch.

In last year's meet, all five Golden Bear relays and three individuals, including returnees Abbey Weitzeil (50 and 100 free) and Amy Bilquist (200 back), earned NCAA A qualifying times, as Cal finished third in the team standings to Michigan and Georgia.


---------


Georgia Fall Invitational: Cal Men, Michigan Women Aim to Defend Titles

The top-ranked Cal men will be there, looking to defend their Georgia Fall Invitational title, along with the No. 5 Cal women.

With several of the top teams from four of the power conferences, there should be some pretty good midseason races.

Last year, one of the best races at the meet was Cal's Abbey Weitzeil edging Michigan's Siobhan Haughey in the 100 free. That event could also see Michigan's Catie DeLoof and Georgia's Veronica Burchill.

Amy Bilquist will lead the backstroke contenders, while Michigan freshman Maggie MacNeil could be put in a lot of places, but should be one of the top butterfly contenders.

Andrew Seliskar, Michael Jensen, Pawel Sendyk and Ryan Hoffer lead the Cal men, along with freshman Reece Whitley. That group will make the Golden Bears tough to stop at this meet and the rest of the season.


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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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In reply to UrsusArctosCalifornicus • 8:21p, 11/27/18
UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:
  • Update => Really hoping that SwimSwam has the inside scoop with regards to their assertion that Billy will be competing at the UGA Invite this week...as I had originally assumed that Amy was still nursing her injuries and therefore not ready for prime time so soon...would be really fab news for Bears if Bilquist's back!!!

Well according to this recently posted comment, the rumour may actually be fact, yay!!!

The UGA Invite Live Results page & Meet mobile haven't been updated yet, so alas can't directly confirm any of this straightaway.

Still, trying desperately to contain my gushing excitement over this (apparent) development lol, whilst vainly attempting to temper unreasonably excessive expectations at this early stage for Amy to lay down any eye-popping times this weekend, considering all the training she has probably missed during her recovery period...

But just can't help dreaming about some potentially wicked relay configurations Bears could bring to bear come March with a healthy Billy in play (even though Thleen's no longer available), i.e. (well, conveniently ignoring the 4 relays limit if racing 3 individuals haha)
  • 200 FR -> Billy | Madds | Katie | Abbey
  • 400 FR -> Billy | Izzy/Robin | Katie | Abbey
  • 800 FR -> Billy | Izzy | Robin | Katie
  • 200 MR -> Billy | Ema/Ali | Katie/Madds (Elise/Cassidy) | Abbey
  • 400 MR -> Billy | Ema/Ali | Katie/Madds (Elise/Cassidy) | Abbey
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tedbear
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5:01a, 11/28/18
Sorry to be a downer UAC, but Billy can't be anywhere close to top form. I hoping for the best though!
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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In reply to tedbear • 9:02a, 11/28/18

No, methinks yours is the sensible mindset here, tedbear.

Top priority is for a healthy & happy Billy - we already know what a good Golden Bear Bilquist is, she will naturally want to push her limits in order to help out her teammates as much as she can...

Those stress fractures are really impacted when pushing off walls on turns (and on a backstroke start as well) - if Billy's on the road to recovery, I'd expect to see results show sooner on her freestyle than on her back.

Just hope at any rate that Amy will realise how appreciated she is for all her past contributions, even if she was to close out her Cal swim career on the DL! ...life is so much more than about winning an NCAA team title

Swim on you Bears!
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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In reply to UrsusArctosCalifornicus • 10:06p, 11/28/18
UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:
Judging from the above group photo, Bears will, with some sadness, miss the contributions of Billy, Alexa S-N, Alex S & Chenoa at Gabrielsen Natatorium this week.

Live Results are presently still incorrectly linked to a previous UGA dual - but the psych sheet's finally released:
Happy to be proven wrong, as both Amy & Alexa are entered ...no Sumner or Devine, as expected tho.

Haven't had a chance to pore over all the info, but looks like the majority of our Bears are listed as competing in more than 3 individual races (Katie's entered in 5 of them!!!)...won't be too surprised to see some scratches tomorrow haha:
  • Billy - 50 Free | 100 Back | 100 Free
  • Bug - 50 Free | 100 Fly | 200 Free | 100 Free | 200 Fly !!
  • Abbey - 50 Free | 200 Free | 100 Breast | 100 Free
  • Robin - 500 Free | 200 Free | 200 Back | 100 Free
  • Sarah - 200 IM | 400 IM | 200 Back | 200 Fly
  • Cassidy - 500 Free | 100 Fly | 200 Free | 200 Fly
  • Ema - 200 IM | 100 Fly | 100 Breast | 200 Breast
  • Ali - 200 IM | 100 Fly | 100 Breast | 200 Breast
  • Keeks - 200 IM | 100 Back | 200 Back | 100 Free
  • Madds - 50 Free | 100 Fly | 100 Free
  • Elise - 50 Free | 100 Fly | 100 Free | 200 Fly
  • Alicia - 200 IM | 200 Free | 100 Back | 200 Back
Apologies for not having got around to checking the events for the rest of the team... :p


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swimmer19
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7:53a, 11/29/18

OTG, but looking at live results:

500 Free:
Robin- 2nd (4:39.90) B cut
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Jenna- 15th (4:49.33)
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Cass- 20th (4:52.55)
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Elizabeth- 26th (4:59.63)

200 IM:
Alicia- 2nd (1:56.84) B cut
Sarah- 3rd (1:56.85) B cut
Keeks- 6th (1:58.10) B cut
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Ema- 9th (1:59.33) B cut
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Dannie- 17th (2:01.11)
Courtney- 22nd (2:01.60)
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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In reply to swimmer19 • 8:06a, 11/29/18
cheers for all the updates. on the road so a mite behind on checking things n typing from me phone's a bit of a dodgy affair lol. some promising signs so far from morning heats. may be a pb for robin in the 500 free? also for ema in the 200 im. alicia killed it in the 200 im too def adjusting swiftly to the little pool! haven't seen the 50 free results yet. go bears
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tedbear
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8:59a, 11/29/18
Abbey crushing it! 21.62 A. Amy sixth 22.35 B, Maddie eighth 22.59 B.
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BearDevil
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9:49a, 11/29/18
Pretty good morning prelims for the Bears.

Abbey's 50 time is below the A cut and tops in the nation so far, so she's good to go.

Robin 500 time appears to be safely in as a B cut. Last year's 500 invite cut off was 4:40.50.

Alicia and Sarah are very close to 200 IM invites (1.56.76). Keeks is in the hunt..

Billy just missed (22.30) in the 50. She'll have another shot in finals and Teri may have her lead off the 200 Free Relay for an additional shot. Maddie's close.

With Abbey, Billy, and Maddie swimming well, an A cut in the 200 Free Relay should be a slam dunk.
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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In reply to tedbear • 9:59a, 11/29/18

tedbear, thank you for that update on the 50 Free!

Was finally able to get me hands on a real keyboard :p So here's a quick comparison of times achieved by our Bears from the morning heats v. 2017 prelims & finals:

  • * 500 Free *
| 2018 P. | 2017 P. | 2017 F. | Bear
| - n./a. - | 4:42.15 | 4:39.45 | Katie
| 4:39.90 | 4:44.29 | 4:43.50 | Robin => B cut + PB!
| - n./a. - | 4:46.09 | 4:42.63 | Chenoa
| 4:49.33 | 4:51.80 | 4:52.07 | Jenna
| 4:52.55 | - n./a. - | - n./a. - | Cassidy => PB!
| 4:59.63 | 4:56.91 | 4:52.07 | Elizabeth

  • * 200 IM *
| 2018 P. | 2017 P. | 2017 F. | Bear
| 1:56.84 | - n./a. - | - n./a. - | Alicia => B cut + PB!
| 1:56.85 | 1:56.70 | 1:56.69 | Sarah -> B cut
| 1:58.10 | 1:58.46 | 1:57.08 | Keeks -> B cut
| 1:59.33 | - n./a. - | - n./a. - | Ema => B cut + PB!
| 2:01.11 | 1:59.59 | 1:58.89 | Dannie
| 2:01.60 | 2:04.12 | - n./a. - | Coco
| 2:03.31 | 2:04.12 | - n./a. - | Natalie
| 2:03.35 | 2:01.46 | 2:00.84 | Ali
| 2:04.98 | 2:04.12 | - n./a. - | Alexa B
| 2:06.80 | 2:04.31 | - n./a. - | Alexa S-N

  • * 50 Free *
| 2018 P | 2017 P | 2017 F | Bear
| 21.62 | 21.44 | 21.60 | Abbey =>> A cut & currently fastest in nation!
| 22.35 | 21.99 | 22.03 | Billy -> B cut
| 22.59 | 22.47 | 22.43 | Madds -> B cut
| 23.06 | - n/a - | - n/a - | Elise
| 23.29 | 23.61 | - n/a - | Aislinn

Tonight's finals will provide a more accurate picture of how everyone's doing at this stage of the season - but FWIW, initial impressions, bearing in mind that these Day 1 events may not be everyone's strongest suit:

...Robin & Alicia w/their standout swims (as mentioned earlier)
... Abbey & Sarah looking good!
Keeks & Madds starting to shape up after a bit of a slower than usual start to the season
...Ali continues to be wobbly (injury?), but appears that Ema will more than rise to the occasion
...Cass achieved a PB in an event that's not historically one of her primary races
...Elise was solid, interested to see how she'll fare tonight and also in the relay(s)
...Aislinn, Coco, Jenna & Natalie continue to improve, with Light looking perhaps to put down the biggest time drops of the group here
...Katie sitting out Day 1 individuals would suggest that she will attempt some tough doubles later in the session (100 Fly/200 Free, or 100 Free/200 Fly). Look forward to enjoying her performances in the 200 free and/or 400 medley relays tonight.
...last but certainly not least - dead chuffed to see Billy back in action - not expecting any miracles, but v. relieved that her times aren't disastrous lol, in fact quite respectable considering Amy's situation!

Think the Bear Bros also had a more than solid morning - but that will surely be covered on the relevant thread topic elsewhere...
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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10:15a, 11/29/18

WEITZEIL HITS 50 FREE 'A' CUT AT DAY 1 PRELIMS OF GEORGIA INVITE



There were a ton of fast swims during the first preliminary session of the 2018 Georgia Fall Invite, including the fastest 50 freestyles in the country coming from Michigan's Gus Borges and Cal's Abbey Weitzeil.


WOMEN'S RECAP

500 FREE

Rose Bi of Michigan clocked the top time in the women's 500 in 4:39.34, putting her 6th in the country, while Cal's Robin Neumann (4:39.90) also cracked 4:40. That's a best time for Neumann, who previously had been 4:40.92 at the 2018 Pac-12s, and both swimmers were under last season's NCAA invite time (4:40.50).


200 IM

Siobhan Haughey of Michigan took the top seed in the 200 IM in 1:56.45, putting her under last season's invite time of 1:56.76.

Cal first and second years Alicia Wilson and Sarah Darcel were also under 1:57 for 2nd and 3rd in 1:56.84 and 1:56.85 respectively, with Wilson's swim being a massive personal best. This is her first season swimming yards after coming over from Great Britain, so she takes down her old best of 2:01.86 set at their dual with Texas a few weeks ago.


50 FREE

Weitzeil blasted a time of 21.62 in the women's 50, getting her under the NCAA 'A' standard of 21.74 and moving her past Arkansas' Anna Hopkin (21.64) for the fastest time in the country. Weitzeil's fastest swim ever during invite season, done last year, is 21.44.
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OBear073akaSMFan
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In reply to BearDevil • 11:54a, 11/29/18
Good to see Billy swimming well. It would be nice to see her get her qualifying marks this time around.
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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1:42p, 11/29/18

Before I head out again (look forward to catching up with all your luvly updates later )here are the lane assignments for this evening's individual A finals:



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HBear
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2:07p, 11/29/18
Holy smokes! Watching along with the live stream of tonight's final -- not sure if my eyes are seeing wrong or if Abbey just blasted a 21.05 anchor to boost the Bears to victory in the 200 FR just now. Blazing fast!

Update: nope, Abbey did in fact anchor in a 21.05!

200 FR:
1:26.94 tonight for Cal, with Maddie (22.55), Katie (21.62), Amy (21.72), and Abbey (21.05). Also of note in our B relay splits are Aislinn and Elise's sub-23 splits.
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500 Free:
C-final: 4:48.82. from Cassidy, second in her final (dropping her PB from the morning by 3+ seconds!), and 4:54.33 from Elizabeth.

B-final: 4:47.51 from Jenna.

A- final: 4:40.74 from Robin (fifth), adding a little bit of her time from her morning swim in prelims.

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200 IM:
C-final: Dannie, Courtney
B-final: 1:58.95 for Ema to place fourth in the heat, but a drop from her morning team!
A-final: Nice swims from Keaton (1:56.41), Alicia (1:55.77) and Sarah (1:56.51) to respectively place 4-2-3 (LOL, 2-3-4 overall). Watched the stream and was impressed by Keaton taking the race out fast, leading through the first 100 by over a second. All dropped time from their morning swims.

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HBear
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3:19p, 11/29/18
21.46 from Abbey currently reclaims the top time in the country after Erika Brown's 21.52 from Tennessee Invite this morning (beating Abbey's 21.62 prelims swim). Michigan star freshman Maggie MacNeil also sub-22, and Amy and Maddie round out the A-final heat with their swims.
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HBear
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3:56p, 11/29/18
400 MR to cap off the night:
3:29.87 to place 2nd only to Michigan, with 52.08, 1:00.42, 50.87, and 46.50 splits respectively for Keaton, Ema, Katie, and Abbey.

Truly impressed with Keaton's backstroke leadoff, besting the field by more than a second, though Miranda Tucker and Maggie McNeil for U of M made a formidable middle duo (58.24 and 50.13 splits respectively, not to knock our own freshman Ema and stud Katie).

Also of note: Michigan's B relay placed 3, their 1-3 finish paralleling the depth of our men (earlier placing 1-3 in the 200 FR). In comparison, our B relay placed 9th (Alicia, Ali, Cass, and Robin).

Abbey's first 50 was a 21.99, and despite not quite being able to catch Haughey, all in all, a promising first night from the Bears!
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bearz012
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4:25p, 11/29/18
Thanks so much for the updates, HBear!

Overall, thought this year was a much better year for the Bears at this meet than last year, some pretty impressive swims at this time of the year. I was particularly impressed with Alicia Wilson's 200 IM; it took a 1:54.78 to make it to the A final last year, and she's only about a second off, so that's very promising. Obviously, the 200 IM is her best event, but not sure what her other events will be (I had thought that 100 free was her next best, but I don't think she's entered...?) Also, in the B final, Ema dropping a 1:58 high means that she can still swim the event at NC's as long as she makes it in breaststroke!
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BearDevil
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4:28p, 11/29/18
Abbey (50 Free) and both relays are in via A cuts.

Robin (500 Free), Alicia (200 IM), Keeks (200 IM), and Darcel (200 IM) almost certainly in via strong B cuts.

Gutty swims from Billy and Keeks. Would like to see Billy, Ema, and Maddie punch their invite tickets this week.
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