2018-2019 Season: Women's Swimming

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Recap hasn't been posted from Cal W Swim, nothing on Meet mobile or Live Stats either - so this will have to do for now



Am out & abouts, so if anyone has a more informative update, please post, cheers!

Just wanted to throw these ones in whilst I'm here...

https://instagr.am/p/BtHa-roHR2a
https://instagr.am/p/BtHM8eQFz68

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  • Update #2->

Katie McLaughlin won the 100 and 200 free, as well as the 100 fly, vs. Arizona Saturday.

McLaughlin's 3 Wins Lift Cal Over Arizona

TUCSON - Senior Katie McLaughlin won three events and Cal out-pointed Arizona, 179-118, to wrap up the Golden Bears' final road dual meet of the season with a decisive victory Saturday.

Amy Bilquist and Sarah Darcel also claimed two events apiece for Cal, which returns home to host UCLA and USC next Friday and Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Bears' final home dual is Feb. 16 vs. Stanford.

After the Bears touched first in the opening 200-yard medley relay, McLaughlin posted Cal's first individual win of the afternoon with a time of 1:46.81 in the 200 free. In the following race, Bilquist earn the victory in the 100 back in 54.06, just ahead of freshman Isabel Ivey, who swam the first of her three second-place finishes with a time of 54.98.

Abbey Weitzeil, the nation's leader in the 50 free, beat the field to the wall with a time of 22.68, with Maddie Murphy right behind in 23.22.

McLaughlin added a win in the 100 free (49.29) and a later victory in the 100 butterfly in 52.59, while Darcel's two wins were in the 200 breaststroke (2:18.04) and 400 individual medley (4:20.23). Cal closed out the day with a first-place result in the 400 free relay.


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  • Update #3->
Stars shine as Cal women's swim picks up 2 wins on road trip



The Bears' "big three" of this weekend consisted of Katie McLaughlin, Amy Bilquist and Abbey Weitzeil. The three swimmers shared a total of 13 event wins across Cal's two dual meets against Arizona and Arizona State.

A new face on the Cal roster is midyear enrollee Isabel Ivey, who made her debut against Arizona State. The No. 1 recruit in the nation in 2018 according to SwimSwam.com, the freshman out of Florida made a strong case for herself as she took home the 100 fly and contributed to wins in the 200 medley and free relays. Ivey turned in another solid performance the next day against Arizona, notching three second-place finishes behind her teammates Bilquist and McLaughlin. Fans can expect that Ivey, after successfully breaking into the team, will see more action in important meets as the season winds down.

The trip to the desert marks Cal's final dual meet away from home, as the Bears will return to Spieker Aquatics Complex to wrap up the regular season by hosting three strong squads in USC, UCLA and two-time reigning champion Stanford. For its most important duals of the year,

Cal will need to replicate its performance from last weekend and then some - the Bears will have their work cut out for them when they host the undefeated Trojans and Bruins on Feb. 1 and 2.


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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Well done to our smart & talented Golden Bears - past, present & future!

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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tedbear (and anyone else attending) - thank you in advance for your live reporting from the 'SC dual on Friday?!

Your eagerly anticipated coverage will be a breath of fresh air, and massively more welcome here than having otherwise to put up with being forced to rely on Salo's social media team's play-by-play tweets for live results

- "Junior Louise Hansson dominates the Golden Bears in the 100 Fly/200 Fly/100 Back/200 Back/200 IM/200 Free" {pick one lol} -or- "The unbeaten Trojans sweeps Cal once again in the breaststrokes thanks to Petaluma's Riley Scott & Maggie Aroesty"... :p

Trojanettes have traditionally placed undue emphasis on prepping for their annual dual matches against the 2 Bay Area rivals, going so far as to best the DT froski edition of Bears back in 2016.

USC


In addition to the aforementioned trio of $C studs, threats can also arise from fast improving Marta Ciesla in the sprints after a disappointing freshie season (as with Tatum Wade), former Teri recruit Kirsten Vose is back with chops in breast & mid-free,as will be backstroker Hanni Leach, Maddie Wright shouldn't be discounted in the longer fly in addition to Caitlin Tycz, and then there's Maddie Meisel in the distance races.

We'll get to see 'SC's mid-season additions in action - Jemma Schlicht from Oz, plus Kiwi freshman sprinter Laticia Transom. NCSU transfer Courtney Caldwell could be a significant factor if she's on form - a 21 sec 50 Free & 47 sec 100 Free sprinter isn't someone that one can take too lightly!

The talent pool amongst the $C's sizeable swim squad - 27, then there are an additional 6 on their diving squad! - is clearly undeniable. Dave Salo has never had any issues with recruiting the top talent in the nation and in particular from abroad (already reeled in the #5 recruit from the HS class of 2020 who's easily a sub-minute breaststroker as well as moonlighting as a very capable sprinter).

But for some inexplicable reason, the team as a whole (Hansson excepted) has a less-than-favourable history of massively underperforming at NCAAs...


UCLA


Not to overlook the Bruins completely as they have triumphed over Pac-12 schools such as UofA & ASU this season, indeed will come to Berkeley with an unblemished record for 2018-2019 (my biases aside haha, I have a sneaky suspicion that UCLA's run will finally come to an abrupt end as soon as they step foot in Bear Territory -> rats, strike that comment lol, looks like the Furdettes may well beat us to that feat on Friday *huff*)

Their stud divers, Maria Polyakova & Eloise Belanger, should rack up an impressive margin of victory over Bears @ Legends, plus Cyndi Gallagher will field a number of talented swimmers in former Cal recruit Amy Okada (fly), as well as Kenisha Liu, Emma Schanz & freshman Claire Grover.

From sheer numbers alone, the baby bears (copycats lol) are definitely impressive, in the size of their team - 33 swimmers + 7 divers!


Bears


Alright, enough of my quick (inaccurate?) take on our pair of opponents for the weekend - look forward to our Bears prevailing in both duals with some finesse & competitive spirit, whilst repping the school well, with class & humble modesty - Swim On you Bears!

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Alicia Wilson

Cal Welcomes USC, UCLA To Berkeley

Bears Begin 3-Meet Home Stretch Friday At Spieker Aquatics Complex

Cal gets back into its home water this weekend, hosting USC at 2 p.m. Friday and UCLA at noon Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Complex to kick off a season-ending three-meet home stretch.

Last year, Cal swept its Southern California rivals in LA, defeating the Trojans, 169-131, and the Bruins, 183-111.

In addition to the swimming events at Spieker this weekend, diving will be held concurrently at Legends Aquatic Center. For Saturday's Cal-UCLA meet, the 3-meter springboard event, as well as a platform exhibition, will get underway at 11:30 a.m. with 1-meter diving following.

After the Bears welcome Stanford to Berkeley on Saturday, Feb. 16, the remaining competitions will be at the Pac-12 and NCAA championships.

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  • UPDATE ->
Pac-12 Weekly Preview: Cal, Stanford Face USC, UCLA



The Pac-12 Conference is back in full swing this week with a number of key meets on the women's side.


No surprise that the big week of competition will center around No. 3 Stanford and No. 4 Cal again, though the Cardinal and Golden Bears will not be swimming against each other just yet.

For the second consecutive weeks, however, Stanford an Cal will be facing like opponents during the weekend and swapping as they did last weekend with Arizona and Arizona State.

This weekend, UCLA swims at Stanford on Friday, while Cal hosts USC.

On Saturday, UCLA faces Cal, while Stanford then hosts USC.

It is the biggest weekend for the Pac-12 women all season, with all four meets serving as a preview for the Pac-12 Championships.

It could mean for some particular exciting relays and USC's Riley Scott, Maddie Wright, Marta Ciesla and Louise Hansson go head-to-head with Stanford's Ella Eastin, Katie Drabot, Zoe Bartel and Taylor Ruck.

That would happen one day after the Trojans went head-to-head with Amy Bilquist, Katie McLaughlin, Maddie Murphy and Abbey Weitzeil in a couple of relays.

Hansson is the reigning 100 butterfly NCAA champion and has been nothing short of a powerhouse for the Trojans.

Weitzeil is having a dominating season in the sprints and Eastin picked up right where she left off as NCAA Swimmer of the Year.

Meanwhile, Stanford's Haley Farnsworth will get a showdown with UCLA's All-American Eloise Belanger, last season's Pac-12 Diver of the Year, and recent conference diver of the week, Maria Polyakova.




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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Go Bug - so very well deserved!!!

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CAL'S MCLAUGHLIN, ARIZONA'S SCHNELL NAMED PAC-12 WEEKLY HONOREES



WOMEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK

Katie McLaughlin, Sr., California (Dana Point, Calif.)

McLaughlin went undefeated in five different individual races by more than a full second each and earned a podium finish in three relays in California's dual meet victories over Arizona State (190-110) and Arizona (179-118) last week. The senior won the 200-meter butterfly (1:55.78) by nearly four seconds and took home the 500 freestyle (4:48.02) versus ASU, while placing first in the 200 free relay (1:30.26) and second in the 200 medley relay (1:40.76). Finished first in three races against the Wildcats, including the 200 free (1:46.81), 100 free (49.29) and 100 fly (52.69) before helping the 400 free relay clock in second at a time of 3:22.22. Her splits on the 200 medley relay at Arizona State (23.42 fly) and 400 free relay at Arizona (48.86) were both the fastest of all swimmers.

Also Nominated: Mackenzie Rumrill, ARIZ, Brooke Forde, STAN; Sarah Lott, UTAH.


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Katie McLaughlin Named Pac-12 Swimmer Of The Week

Senior Won Five Different Events In Dual Meet Victories At ASU, Arizona


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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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NCAA WEEKLY PREVIEW #11: WHAT COLLEGE MEETS TO WATCH TO THIS WEEK


2018 NCAA Championship

BY KARL ORTEGON | January 31st, 2019


CAL V. USC
  • Date 2/1
  • Hosts Cal
Why you should pay attention: Last weekend was Isabel Ivey's Cal debut, and she looked very solid. We'll see what she can do against the Trojans, who actually have the edge in more events than you might think: both breaststrokes, both butterflies, and almost anything Louise Hansson swims.


STANFORD V. USC
  • Date 2/2
  • Hosts Stanford
Why you should pay attention: It's always fun to see the #1 team compete. If Hansson swims the 200 fly, we could get a very fun match-up between her, reigning NCAA champ Ella Eastin, and 2018 NCAA A-finalists Maddie Wright of USC and Katie Drabot of Stanford.


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  • Note: would respectfully differ with the above SS article - sure, Bears may concede the breaststroke events to Salo's Breast U (though Ema & co. will put up a decent fight, maybe Teri will throw Abbey in on the 100 Br?)...but has SS completely forgotten a certain Bug when iut comes to the butterflies???!!! ~smh~
  • And uber-accomplished & versatile as Trojanette Louise is, she'd be stiffly tested if she was to go up against Abbey in the free sprints, Billy in the backs, and as mentioned, Katie in the fly...in my (biased) opinion... Go Bears!

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  • UPDATE #1 ->

https://instagr.am/p/BtWFS6TlvR4

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  • UPDATE #2 ->

Cal WSwim v. USC (1 Feb 2019) - LIVE RESULTS


On my way out, but the above link should become valid once the meet starts @ 2 pm PT...or perhaps we'll be lucky to get tedbear's play-by-play live take here?


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tedbear
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Ok, I'm here but don't know how long I will last. The rain started right after the national anthem. Cal goes 1 and 3 on the 200 medley. A group is Amy, Ema, Katie, and Abbey. U$C won the back and breast leg, but Cal storms back with Katie on the fly and Abbey anchoring.
tedbear
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Robin wins 200 free, but Izzy right on her tail for second.
tedbear
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Super exciting 100 back with Amy out touching Hanson!
tedbear
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Riley Scott wins the 100 breast, but Ema breaks up the sweep by finishing second.
HBear
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Thanks for these updates, tedbear -- I'll take that 100 back victory from Amy as a victory in light of the SS commentary favoring Hansson! Glad that these live results are also updating very promptly.
tedbear
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That's the best I've seen Cass swim! Hopefully that portends well for the future. Katie, Sarah, and Cass for the sweep in the 200 Fly.
tedbear
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Wow, Abbey drops a 21.92 untapered! And for a recruiting flashback, Marta Ciesla looked very good finishing second. Maddie finishes third, which is also a good sign.
tedbear
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Courtney is in a foot boot. I wonder what happened there.
tedbear
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Abbey and Katie go 1 and 2 in the 100 free. Ciesla goes third.
tedbear
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Hanson gets her revenge in the 200 back, out touching Amy in another very exciting race between the two.
tedbear
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Ema breaks up another potential SC sweep in the breast by finishing third and out touching Maggie Aroesty, another recruiting wish from the past.
tedbear
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Cass is really impressing me today. She finished a close second to Robin in the 500 free.
tedbear
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Katie, Maddie, and Izzy sweep the 100 Fly. Really impressed with Izzy's underwaters. Ok, I'm out of here.
OBear073akaSMFan
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No Ali Harrison today either. Injury?
tedbear
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She was there, but not swimming.
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Echoing everyone's thanks for all the fab reporting from the scene, braving the rain and all!

Here's the official writeup:

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Depth Pays Off In Win Over USC

Bears Claim 170-129 Dual-Meet Victory With 1-2 Finishes In 6 Different Events
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Also heartening that the recruiting side of things wasn't being neglected...

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  • UPDATE =>
tedbear said:

Katie, Maddie, and Izzy sweep the 100 Fly. Really impressed with Izzy's underwaters.
Had noticed this @ Winter Jrs (see quoted post below).
UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

(back in Dec 2018)

* 2018 Winter Juniors - Day 3 FINALS *
Morning heats times in (parentheses), lifetime bests in {curly brackets}.
  • --- 100 Fly ---
52.11 (52.24) - Izzy {52.24 prev PB, from 2018 Winter Jrs @ Prelims} => 4th, A final -> New PB!

(Izzie showing some fab underwaters here!)

Would add that whilst the amount of time Izzy spent underwater on her turns from that race video are super impressive, imo she wasn't always going faster than a couple of her competitors who had surfaced sooner. Plus there's inevitably a massive oxygen debt to be paid the longer one stays beneath the waves, which can come back on you hard in the closing stages of the race...OTOH Ivey's closing speed in the last 15m or so was a massive factor in Team USA's relay victories back @ 2016 Jr Pan Pacs!

Look forward to seeing Teri & Sarah refine & fine-tune Izzy's studly walls in the next few years, to make even more efficient application of her considerable prowess in this area, in the Natalie vein

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Team Effort Propels Cal Over UCLA, 167-130

Eight Different Bears Pick Up Individual Wins In Dual-Meet Victory


BERKELEY - Eight different Golden Bears earned individual wins and Cal swept both relays en route to a 167-130 dual-meet victory over UCLA Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Center.

The result comes a day after the Bears defeated USC and ups their record to 7-1 with one regular-season meet remaining - a Feb. 16 home matchup with Stanford.

"I thought we had a much better second day than last weekend," said head coach Teri McKeever, whose squad swept the Arizona schools on the road Jan. 25-26. "I felt we did a much better job backing up our performance from yesterday, and that's going to be important as we move forward. Some people had the opportunity to swim some different events, which challenges them in different ways. From here on out, it's going to be about sharpening up. The Stanford meet with be challenging, but I'm really excited about where we are and our ability to keep improving and working together."

With a brisk wind and intermittent rain falling throughout the meet, Cal started off with a victory in the 200-yard medley relay, as Amy Bilquist, Abbey Weitzeil, Katie McLaughlin and Isabel Ivey touched just ahead of the Bruins in 1:40.05. After UCLA swept the 1000 free, the Bears came back to go 1-2 in the next two events, with Weitzeil taking the 200 free in 1:46.32 and Ivey claiming the 100 back in 53.07.

Ema Rajic posted a strong second place in the 100 breast before Cal ran off five wins in a row, starting with Sarah Darcel's 1:58.82 in the 200 fly. Maddie Murphy followed with a 22.84 in the 50 free, Briana Thai earned first in 1-meter diving with a score of 298.50, Bilquist edged out a victory in the 100 free (49.35) and Alicia Wilson claimed the 200 back in 1:58.12.

UCLA finished first in four of the next five events, with Cal's lone win coming from McLaughlin in the 500 free, as she closed with a flourish to touch in 4:47.54.

Murphy, McLaughlin, Robin Neumann and Weitzeil wrapped up the meet with a winning time of 1:30.40 in the 200 free relay. The Bears trailed UCLA by about a 10th of a second heading into the final leg, and Weitzeil's 21.29 split made the difference.

Cal and Stanford will face off from Spieker on Saturday, Feb. 16 with the first event starting at noon. The meet will also be televised live by the Pac-12 Networks.


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CAL WOMEN DEFEAT UCLA AS ABBEY WEITZEIL DROPS 21.2 ANCHOR


Weitzeil also won the 200 free today against UCLA. Archive photo via Jack Spitser/Spitser Photography


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Meanwhile, on the other side of the bay...

STANFORD WOMEN WREAK HAVOC ON USC, EASTIN DROPS 1:55 IM


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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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  • Note: As expected, Bears are sort of top heavy in terms of scoring potential at the highest level (NCAAs), compared to the massively deeper top end depth of teams like the Furdettes

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NCAA QUALIFIERS: WHO'S (PROBABLY) IN AND WHO HAS WORK TO DO?

For elite teams, conference meets serve as somewhat of a warm up for nationals. They don't fully taper their stars because they already secured nationals qualification earlier in the year. Which teams are in a position to rest less changes every year based on who has put up fast times already.

We can get an idea of which teams can comfortably avoid resting and which will have to drop everyone to obtain cuts by looking at how swimmer's times so far this year compare to the projected nationals cuts I published last week.

To categorize times' chances of getting in this year I called times that have been faster than the lower bound of the projected cut range in an event "Safe In." Times in the confidence interval and faster than the projected cut are called "Bubble In," and times in the confidence interval but slower than the projected cut are called "Bubble Out."

The swimmers that are "Safe In" shouldn't have anything to worry about. The model thinks there is a low chance that the cut will be outside the projected range and they are quicker than that already this season.

The model thinks that the swimmers whose best event is "Bubble In" have a better than 50% chance of qualifying if they don't improve their time at all at conference (obviously their chances will improve if they go faster).

The swimmers whose best event is "Bubble Out" would not be a huge surprise if they qualified with their current time, but chances are better than not that they miss the meet unless they improve at conference.

Unsurprisingly the top ranked teams have the most likely qualifiers as of today. The women are led by Stanford who have 9 swimmers with at least one Safe In time, 1 swimmer with a Bubble In time, and 2 swimmers with Bubble Out times. Michigan, USC, Tennessee, and Texas A&M each have 7 swimmers with Safe In times.


COLLEGE | SAFE IN | BUBBLE IN | BUBBLE OUT
Stanford | 9 | 1 | 2
Michigan | 7 | 1 | 1
Southern Cali | 7 | 1 | 0
Tennessee | 7 | 1 | 0
Texas A&M | 7 | 1 | 1
Indiana | 6 | 2 | 0
California | 5 | 1 | 1
NC State | 5 | 4 | 2
Texas | 5 | 4 | 1
Florida | 4 | 1 | 2
Georgia | 4 | 0 | 1
Minnesota | 4 | 1 | 0
Kentucky | 3 | 1 | 2
Missouri | 3 | 1 | 2
Notre Dame | 3 | 0 | 3
Arizona | 2 | 2 | 1
Auburn | 2 | 1 | 2
Louisville | 2 | 4 | 2
Virginia | 2 | 0 | 2


| California | SAFE IN | BUBBLE IN | BUBBLE OUT
| Bilquist, Amy | - | - | 2
| Blovad, Keaton | 1 | 1 | 1
| Darcel, Sarah | - | 2 | -
| McLaughlin, Katie | 3 | 1 | -
| Neumann, Robin | 2 | 1 | -
| Weitzeil, Abbey | 3 | - | -
| Wilson, Alicia | 1 | - | -
OBear073akaSMFan
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

  • Note: As expected, Bears are sort of top heavy in terms of scoring potential at the highest level



| California | SAFE IN | BUBBLE IN | BUBBLE OUT
| Bilquist, Amy | - | - | 2
| Blovad, Keaton | 1 | 1 | 1
| Darcel, Sarah | - | 2 | -
| McLaughlin, Katie | 3 | 1 | -
| Neumann, Robin | 2 | 1 | -
| Weitzeil, Abbey | 3 | - | -
| Wilson, Alicia | 1 | - | -

Thanks for the recap. I was wondering where Amy stood. I'm guessing Amy, Liz, Maddie, and Ema as our best bets to still get in. Others?
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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OBear073akaSMFan said:

I'm guessing Amy, Liz, Maddie, and Ema as our best bets to still get in. Others?

Very well-informed guess I may add on all those candidate names - well, other than it's Elise rather than Liz lol

Izzy of course is projected to be a shoo-in, tho she's in the eminently unenviable position of having started her NCAA season just a month ago, i.e. missing out on a whole semester of training with our coaches & team, plus not having had a chance to race in a qualifying taper meet midseason that would have provided some key breathing room...

Cassidy has a decent opportunity to make the cut if she drops another second & a half in her 200 Fly, though actually scoring in her debut season may be asking a mite too much (but hopefully I'll be proven wrong there haha).

Ali appears to be facing a rather challenging soph year in terms of her times after her spectacular froski season - fingers crossed for her regaining her studly mojo in good time, as our medley relays could always do with her help (luckily Ema has stepped in meanwhile to shore up our vulnerability in breast).

Sophie was an alternate last season, but would have to make a statement at conference to qualify judging on her current form (impacted by injuries?)

Pleasant surprises can of course always unfold if one or more of Sophie, Ali, Coco (injury?), Jenna, Aisie, Alexa B & Alexa S-N, Elizabeth, Natalie, Dannie can somehow step up at Pac-12s and drop massively to just make the cut - we'll find out soon enough at the end of the month!

All in all, would reckon Bears may bring a dozen qualifiers or so to Austin in March (including 1 or 2 divers in Pheebs & Briana?)...compared to team title favourites LSJU who will likely have the enviable dilemma once again of leaving someone behind with their full complement that will be almost double that of the contingent in the blue & gold.

Blinking hard to overcome that sort of scoring depth enjoyed by Meehan & Slusser thanks to such an impressive run of reeling in an extraordinary number of top end recruits year after year, even tho I do more than fancy our Bears' chances in the sprint free relays not to mention individuals like Abbey, Bug & Billy who will be making their considerable & impactful presence felt at the championship.

Don't sleep on threats from Michigan & the Horns either...
HBear
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SwimSwam's most recent power rankings are out:
https://swimswam.com/2018-2019-womens-ncaa-power-rankings-february-edition/

#4: TEXAS LONGHORNS (PREVIOUS RANK: #4)
The Longhorns need to prove they won't falter come NCAAs. If they swim with big drops and are as tenacious as they've been this season, 4th could quickly turn into 2nd or higher. -KO
Their 400 free relay is a good second and a half faster than anyone else in the NCAA this season. I wouldn't expect the Longhorns to jump up these rankings after the conference round (they have no real reason to swim fast at Big 12s), but they're a true threat come NCAAs. -JA

#3: CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (PREVIOUS RANK: #2)
Isabel Ivey looked solid in her first weekend with Cal, and she might end up being the factor that tips the scale in Cal's favor ahead of Texas. -KO
The good? Isabel Ivey is here early. The bad? Amy Bilquist hasn't looked anywhere near her best yet this year. Cal slips behind Michigan for me, but this is still pretty clearly a three-team battle for second. -JA

#2: MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (PREVIOUS RANK: #3)
Maggie Macneil adds so much, not just for individual points, but to relays. Michigan has a viable shot at #2 this year. -KO
The Wolverines sit #1 in the most updated Swimulator ranks, with the top 400 medley relay in the nation by a full second. -JA

#1: STANFORD CARDINAL (PREVIOUS RANK: #1)
Freshman Carolina Sculti did enough at the Bruin Diving Invitational to keep Stanford at #1 for now. Small schedule for the Cardinal leaves it hard to get a good feel for them, though. -BK
Taylor Ruck has looked much better in the back half of the season, and Stanford looks stronger as a whole than they did earlier. By no means, though, are they head-and-shoulders above the NCAA like they were last year. -KO
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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HBear said:

SwimSwam's most recent power rankings are out:
https://swimswam.com/2018-2019-womens-ncaa-power-rankings-february-edition/

#4: TEXAS LONGHORNS (PREVIOUS RANK: #4)

#3: CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (PREVIOUS RANK: #2)

Isabel Ivey looked solid in her first weekend with Cal, and she might end up being the factor that tips the scale in Cal's favor ahead of Texas. -KO
The good? Isabel Ivey is here early. The bad? Amy Bilquist hasn't looked anywhere near her best yet this year. Cal slips behind Michigan for me, but this is still pretty clearly a three-team battle for second. -JA

#2: MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (PREVIOUS RANK: #3)

#1: STANFORD CARDINAL (PREVIOUS RANK: #1)

Thanks, HBear.

Another SS writeup on the topic below - in all fairness to Billy, her stress fractures were acting up again soon after the start of the season, resulting in a limited race schedule at the mid-season UGA Invite.

Rather relieved to see Amy back in action at the Jan duals, tho would be a massive challenge for her to return to anywhere close to her former studly form by March...most important of all, just hope that Bilquist stays healthy - we'll always be supportive of this exemplary Golden Bear no matter the outcome @ 2019 NCAAs!

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SWIMSWAM PULSE: 70% PICK STANFORD AS WOMEN'S #1

Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers which team should be #1 in our pre-conference championships Power Ranks:

RESULTS

Question: Who should be ranked #1 right now in the women's NCAA?
  • Stanford - 70.2%
  • Michigan - 11.6%
  • Texas - 10.8%
  • Cal - 7.4%
The votes lined up pretty well with our actual Power Rankings, which came out this morning. Stanford was our unanimous #1, getting the top votes from all five rankers. Michigan was our #2, and the Wolverines also finished second in this poll, garnering 11.6% of the votes.

Interestingly, fans were higher on Texas than we were, with the Longhorns finishing just five votes behind Michigan in our poll. That could suggest fans are more bullish about Texas's postseason chances, but also could reflect a belief that Michigan is more likely to finish higher (hence the #2 in our rankings), but that Texas has more upside to finish 1st overall. The Longhorn relays have a chance to be special this year, and that's certainly a key piece in powering a national title run.

We had Cal third in our rankings, with the Golden Bears getting two second-place ranks and three third-place picks. But only 7.4% of voters picked Cal as the current #1 team. Cal did just add key freshman Isabel Ivey to the roster at midseason, but star Amy Bilquist hasn't swum her best yet this year.


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OBear073akaSMFan
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Another reason for Texas (women & men) to do better will be them, swimming on their home turf. Men's meet already sold out & you can expect the place will be packed with Longhorn fans.
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Katie McLaughlin

Bears Host Stanford In Final Home Dual


Match-Up Features Two Of The Top Teams In The Country

Cal and Stanford, two teams that have combined for six of the past 10 NCAA championships, meet in their annual end-of-the-season dual at noon Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Center in Berkeley. The match-up will be televised live by the Pac-12 Networks with Joe Castellano and Amy Van Dyken calling the action.

The Golden Bears earned their national titles in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015, while the Cardinal has prevailed at the NCAA meet the last two years. The schools have also captured nine of the last Pac-12 crowns - four by Cal and five by Stanford.

The Bears last won the dual meet in 2015, a 158-142 decision in Berkeley, while Stanford claimed the event last year, 186-110. In the 2018 meet, Cal set a pair of school dual records - Abbey Weitzeil in the 50 free (22.04, since broken) and the 200 free relay of Maddie Murphy, Weitzeil, Katie McLaughlin and Amy Bilquist (1:28.36).

Following this week's meet, Cal heads to Washington for the Pac-12 Championships Feb. 27-March 2 and the NCAA Championships March 20-23 in Austin, Texas.

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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The cheek of it - er, placing Cal below NCSU & UVA ???!!!

Well, look forward to enjoying our Bears prove just how unfairly under-valued & under-recognised this team is with the #6 rank, in the forthcoming weeks of meaningful pool competition

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STANFORD WOMEN JUMP TO #1 IN FINAL 2019 CSCAA DUAL MEET POLL

Two-time defending NCAA champs Stanford have risen to #1 in the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of American (CSCAA) dual meet poll for the first time this season.

Stanford was #1 in the preseason poll, but spent the regular season in either second or third. The Cardinal vaults from third to first in the year's final dual meet poll, which came out today. Former #1 Texas has slid to #2 overall.

The biggest riser was previously unranked Arizona, which surged to 10th. The biggest drop came from Wisconsin, which was 17th in the last poll but 24th this week.


FEB 13 CSCAA DUAL MEET POLL

RANK | PREV | TEAM | POINTS
1 | 3 | Stanford | 325
2 | 1 | Texas | 312
3 | 2 | Michigan | 298
4 | 6 | NC State | 281
5 | 5 | Virginia | 264
6 | 4 | California | 258
7 | 7 | Auburn | 243
8 | 8 | Florida | 242
9 | 13 | Tennessee | 209
10 | NR | Arizona | 202
11 | 9 | Texas A&M | 188
12 | 21 | Duke | 170
13 | 12 | Georgia | 169
14 | 10 | Kentucky | 157
15 | 14 | Southern California | 141
16 | 19 | Notre Dame | 135
17 | 11 | Indiana | 113
18 | NR | Arizona State | 99
19 | 16 | Louisville | 87
20 | 21 | Missouri | 86
21 | NR | North Carolina | 74
22 | 18 | Minnesota | 48
23 | NR | Akron | 42
24 | 17 | Wisconsin | 40
25 | 20 | UCLA | 33

Also receiving votes: Arkansas (8), LSU (1)


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  • UPDATE => OTOH, guess that #6 rank from CSCAA does look quite a mite more attractive than the #9 (dual) or #15 (championship) marks that are currently awarded to Cal by CollegeSwimming...lol

2/13/2019 | Team | Rankings | CollegeSwimming

2018-2019, Women, SCY, Dual

Rank | Team | Points
1 | Michigan | 840.54
2 | Stanford | 823.98
3 | Texas | 821.16
4 | Tennessee | 811.92
5 | Southern California | 808.99
6 | Louisville | 806.17
7 | NC State | 804.34
8 | Texas A & M | 802.93
9 | California | 802.77
10 | Georgia | 798.39
11 | Arizona | 792.38
12 | Florida | 792.01
13 | Missouri | 789.61
14 | Indiana | 788.77
15 | Kentucky | 786.74
16 | Auburn | 783.34
17 | Minnesota | 782.92
18 | Virginia | 782.56
19 | Wisconsin | 780.31
20 | Notre Dame | 770.70
21 | Duke | 764.69
22 | Ohio State | 763.80
23 | Alabama | 763.54
24 | Arizona State | 762.71
25 | Arkansas | 757.12
26 | North Carolina | 756.75
27 | UCLA | 752.05
28 | Utah | 750.74
29 | Florida State | 748.55
30 | Northwestern | 747.45


2018-2019, Women, SCY, Championship

Rank | Team | Points
1 | Stanford | 775.68
2 | Texas A & M | 775.52
3 | Texas | 769.81
4 | Michigan | 767.85
5 | Florida | 766.97
6 | NC State | 764.98
7 | Georgia | 762.39
8 | Louisville | 762.33
9 | Indiana | 758.91
10 | Tennessee | 753.73
11 | Virginia | 752.05
12 | Kentucky | 743.65
13 | Southern California | 737.14
14 | Notre Dame | 736.17
15 | California | 734.60
16 | Missouri | 732.49
17 | Alabama | 730.33
18 | Ohio State | 729.64
19 | Arizona State | 726.82
20 | Minnesota | 724.19
21 | Arizona | 718.71
22 | Houston | 718.16
23 | Florida State | 717.62
24 | Duke | 716.90
25 | Akron | 712.29
26 | Utah | 710.32
27 | Wisconsin | 707.42
28 | South Carolina | 706.42
29 | Yale | 705.65
30 | Auburn | 702.17


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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Bear In Mind for 02-14-19 - Katie McLaughlin (starting @ 24:21)
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Cal's 2018-19 seniors (from left); Jenna Campbell, Phoebe LaMay, Amy Bilquist, Katie McLaughlin and Alexa Cacao

Seniors Summarize Their Golden Bear Careers

When Cal hosts Stanford in their annual dual meet on Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Complex, five Golden Bear seniors will be competing in Berkeley for the final time Amy Bilquist, Alexa Cacao, Jenna Campbell, Phoebe LaMay and Katie McLaughlin. Together, they have helped Cal to a trio of top-3 NCAA finishes in the pool, and each has earned Pac-12 All-Academic honors for work in the classroom.

As the Bears head into the weekend, they shared their thoughts on their Cal experience as if a reporter asked for a summary of their Golden Bear careers. While they individually have taken their own unique journeys from freshman to senior year, they all express thanks for their personal growth that a Cal experience and education brings.

Amy Bilquist
Summarizing my Cal experience in one paragraph is like explaining how you became the person you are in 10 seconds. Cal has been the most revolutionary period of my life; I grew in every single aspect. I became a better athlete, a better student, a better daughter, a better friend, a better leader, and the list goes on. While becoming the best version of you is not always easy, being surrounded by 20-plus exceptional and supportive women, who I am lucky enough to call my teammates, has helped me become the person I am today. I am thankful every single day for the opportunities I have been afforded in the classroom and in the pool at Cal, but I am most thankful for my teammates and the memories I have formed with them over my four years. Ultimately, I would describe my Cal experience as too short. I will miss this team more than words can even express, but I will always be thankful for my time here, and will forever be a Golden Bear!

Katie McLaughlin
If a reporter were to ask me about my Cal experience, I would have a hard time summing it up in just a minute or two! My experience here at Cal has been so meaningful and rewarding. There are so many people and experiences that have positively impacted my past four years in Berkeley. By being challenged in many different ways, I have had the opportunity to grow into a better person in every area of my life. I am so lucky to be surrounded by excellence every day. It is not an exaggeration to say that everybody I am surrounded by my coaches, teammates and friends all want to be the best that they can be, and that kind of spirit is infectious. I would not change or trade the experience I have had as a Golden Bear for anything. The friendships, lessons and experiences I have attained over the past few years will stick with me for the rest of my life. I am so lucky to have had this experience as a student-athlete here at Cal ... but we are not done yet! Go Bears!

Jenna Campbell
It is the hardest thing I've ever done, and also the most rewarding. My time at Cal has challenged me more than I would have ever thought. The standards this team has for each other are at a level that I haven't seen anywhere else. At Cal, I have learned so much more than just how to swim back and forth in a pool. I have learned to foster relationships, to persevere through challenges, to balance the demands of a top-tier institution. Most importantly, however, I have learned how to learn. And that lesson certainly serves to empower. I am a stronger and more confident woman because of my time here, and I know going on into the next chapter of my life I am well prepared for the challenges I will face.

Phoebe LaMay
If a reporter were to ask me to sum up my Cal experience I would say I had the most unique college experience. Moving from Texas to California was defiantly a culture shock, both politically and socially. Since my freshman year, I feel that I have grown tremendously as an individual. I have made lifelong friendships with diverse groups of people that have helped me grow as a student and athlete. My team became my family, as we have built memories that will always stay with me. Having to balance being a student and athlete has really shown me what I am capable of achieving. I would not be where I am today without the support from Cal athletics, family and friends.

Alexa Cacao
If a reporter asked me to sum up my Cal experience, words would not be able to encompass the gratitude and love I have for this university, its women's swim and dive team, and the Cal community as a whole. From the very first day that I, a little 5-foot-2 transfer, walked onto the Berkeley campus filled with big academic and athletic names, I have felt like a valuable member of Cal. The spring of 2017 felt like a coming home of sorts and ever since then, I have made incredible memories with my teammates by my side. Cal forces you to confront yourself and your aspirations. In doing so, this experience set me up to be proud of the hard work I devoted on and off the pool deck and has prepared me to go off into the "real world." As I close out my final semester as a Golden Bear, I hope to have left my mark and join the throng of notable Cal alumni.


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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Cal women's swim set to host Stanford in season's final dual meet



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Note: Bears' dual meet record against the Furdettes, and subsequent placing @ Pac-12s & NCAAs (recent history):
  • Feb 2018: L, 110-186 ......... (Avery) ... 2018 Pac-12: #2 ... 2018 NCAA: #2
  • Feb 2017: L, 123-177 ...... (Spieker) ... 2017 Pac-12: #2 ... 2017 NCAA: #2
  • Feb 2016: L, 128-172 ......... (Avery) ...... 2016 Pac-12: #3 ... 2016 NCAA: #3
  • Feb 2015: W, 158-142 ........ (Spieker) ... 2015 Pac-12: #1 ... 2015 NCAA: #1
  • Feb 2014: L, 133-167 ......... (Avery) ... 2014 Pac-12: #1 ... 2014 NCAA: #3
  • Feb 2013: W, 154.5-145.5 .. (Spieker) ... 2013 Pac-12: #3 ... 2013 NCAA: #2
Cal v. LSJU in duals presently stands at 2-4 during the 6 seasons that the farming machine has been under Greg's leadership, after he had left our men's team (2008-2012). Our pair of wins have all come in home matches @ Spieker (the last victory in 2015 by a Missy/Bootsie/Lizzie-led team that went on to win it all @ conference & the national championship) - Bears have yet to taste victory over the trees down on the Farm during Meehan's tenure.

Despite CSCAA #6 ranked Bears' obvious wealth of talent & star power, the #1 trees are widely expected to once again carve out a sizeable margin of victory tomorrow on national telly, thanks to their balanced strengths across the board (albeit shakier this season on sprint free & fly, areas in which I'm sure Teri will plan to exploit ) + overwhelming top-to-bottom depth.

The Furdettes' dominant top end depth is further bolstered by season after season of claiming the nation's #1 recruiting class - in particular their current superstar freshie class comprising of 6 studs in SwimSwam's Top 20 HS Class of 2018 (i.e. #2 Ruck, #3 Bartel, #4 Tankersley, #9 Raab, #15 Fackenthal, #16 Nordmann)

We're decidedly vulnerable in anything that's distance related this season, which just happens to be one of LSJU's specialities lol.

Chances are that Meehan & Slusser will juggle a lineup that will target 1-2-3 sweeps in the diving & multiple swim events that may include:
  • 1000 Free (Byrnes, Pitzer, Stevens) - sadly for us, an almost guaranteed outcome imo, yikes!
  • 200 Breast (Bartel, Forde, Szekely)- quite likely
  • 100 Breast (Bartel, Williams, Raab) - but our Ema will be competitive
  • 500 Free (Forde, Byrnes, Drabot, Tankersley) - Robin will break up the farmers' party here, I reckon - or Bug if McL swims this event
  • 200 Back (Ruck, Voss, Nordmann) - hopefully Billy or Keeks can stem the furdette tide if called upon
  • 100 Back (Eastin, Ruck, Voss) - look forward to seeing Billy, Keeks or Izzy play spoiler here
  • 200 Fly (Eastin, Drabot, Kukurugya) - not happening lol, since Bug will challenge for Top 3, and Cass or Darcie can take on Kuks!
Bears should however be quite a mite more competitive in these:
  • 100 Fly - Bug, Izzy, Madds v. Fackenthal, Kuks & Volpenhein?
  • 200 IM - Alicia, Keeks & Sarah v. Eastin, Forde & Szekely? (good thing the 400 IM isn't as commonly contested @ duals! :p)
  • 200 Free - Abbey, Bug, Robin or Izzie (assume no Billy) v. Ruck, Drabot, Eastin, Nordmann, Tankersley, Voss or Volpenhein
Would give the advantage to Cal in the following, esp if Ruck eats up her 3 individual quota in the backs + 200 Free:
  • 50 Free - Abbey, Billy, Madds or Izzy v. Ruck, Goeders, Fackenthal
  • 100 Free - Abbey, Bug (?), Billy (?), Izzy, Robin, Keeks v. Ruck, Fackenthal, Nordmann, Pitzer, Volpenhein, Goeders
  • 200 Free Relay (if competed), and the 400 FR to a lesser degree
  • Medley relay(s) will likely be pretty evenly matched - LSJU will enjoy a dominant front end if they throw Ruck + Bartel in (or perhaps move Ruck to anchor in order to nullify a bit of the Weitzeil Effect lol)...but Bears can always come roaring back with our Katie on fly, giving way to Abbey as the closer who's not afraid to make up for any deficit, fast!
In reality tomorrow's dual lineups will undoubtedly end up looking quite differently than the speculative ones proposed above lol (also apologies to all the names that I had omitted who will be repping their teams well on Sat)

At any rate I shall consider it a bit of a moral victory if Cal can take at least one of the 2 relays over Furd, and add individual victories in a number of key matchups, limiting the final deficit to less than 50 points.

More importantly, rain or not, our Bears can be counted on to give it their all as always, fighting valiantly to get their hands on the wall first - for school pride & for their teammates & coaches...Go Bears!

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Will miss much of the televised dual today due to an engagement, but cheered by the knowledge that a couple of the board regulars plan to be in attendance, rain or shine

Meanwhile, an in-depth article from Ruey Yen:

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Cal Women's Swimming vs. Stanford in regular season finale (noon, P12N)

Bears will celebrate the seniors in this meet that is televised by the Pac-12 Networks



No Kathleen Baker nor Katie Ledecky this year (as the Cal and Stanford superstars have turned pro), but plenty of swimming star power will still be present at Spieker Aquatic Complex this Saturday when the California Golden Bears women's swimming and diving hosts rival Stanford Cardinal for another aquatic showdown.

The CSCAA Dual Meet Poll (designed more to measure dual meet results than the NCAA results...the two may be very, very different) have Stanford at No.1 (up from No.3) while the Cal Bears sit at No.6.

Nevertheless, this year's meet should be much closer than last year's easy win by Stanford.

Even with some boost from new enrollees like Izzy Ivey and Chloe Clark this semester, there are some clear holes in the Cal lineup. Bears only won 10 of 16 races against USC last time out, but did dominate (with 1-2 finishes) in the events that they win at.

(for the full article, go to the above link in the title)

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