2018-2019 Season: Women's Swimming

86,353 Views | 343 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by HBear
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Now that the 2019 NCAAs (W) thread is winding down as we catch our collective breath whilst the Bear Bros queue up in Austin for their time to shine, here's the official recap along with some memorable board posts on the topic for reference.


Courtesy of Swimming World

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Record Relay Closes Out NCAAs for Bears

Cal Takes Second At National Championships

Cal earned its 11th straight top 3 finish at the NCAA Championships.
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HBear said:

As a whole, signing off from all of the incredible insanity with some thoughts...

- HUGE kudos to Teri, Sarah, the entire team + staff for a well-deserved, hugely well-fought 2nd place. Given the Furd's heavy favorite position to win a third title, the fact that Cal brought the team title down to its final day speaks volumes about the execution, training, dedication, and commitment of these Bears.

- Highlights (in no particular order): Amy's 50.50 bronze medal in the 100 back, Abbey's best time/all of the records with her 20.02 50 free and battle through her sub-46 swim tonight, Katie's records with 49.97 100 fly and 1:51.09 200 fly, Izzy's phenomenal first championships, especially going from far down the seeds to shooting up to top finishes (50-flat 100 fly/100 back, 1:53 200 IM), as well as the impressive swims put on by Maddie, Keaton, Cass, Robin, Ema throughout A- and B-finals. Cheers to every member who qualified/swam at NCAAs (shoutout to Sophie for kicking that alternate status to the curb!).

- Seeing all three Bears in Robin, Katie, and Abbey swim alongside each other in the prelims heat of the 200 free was great.

- Relays! Relays! Relays! So wowed still by the sweep at Pac-12s, but the 200 FR win, 400 FR tonight (particularly given Abbey's injury and courageous fight back), 400 medley stand out as greats. So impressed to see Ema's 58s in the medley split and her individual swim.

Go Bears! An incredible fight for first place and proving any naysayers or doubters out there of their second place domination throughout the season and D1 country. Very proud of Teri/Sarah/et al for leading another incredible team. Though sad to say goodbye to Amy and Katie (plus Jenna) for their leadership, perseverance, and truly unbelievable comebacks/accomplishments/experiences as Bears, can't wait to see how they represent Cal and Team USA in the future.

Great season
solobear said:

Official record or not, that wrap is memorable. Swimming fans will remember one of the world's best sprinters broke record with an injured arm while competing for the bears.
BearDevil said:

Teri's Bears had been cruising until LSJU poached Meehan from Cal. His first super class (Manuel, Howe, Hu) bracketed by Neal and Ledecky knocked the Bears back, but Teri responded with the Dream Team (Thleen, Abbey, Billy, McL). Their window was 2019 after Manuel and Ledecky turned pro early.

Thleen setting a world record and unexpectably turning pro early was a huge hiccup. Bears got smoked by Texas in a home dual with Billy in a boot and the decade long top three streak was in serious jeopardy.

McL, Billy, and Abbey all battled injuries, but their unbreakable bond with Jenna and each other kept the resilient Bears afloat in troubled waters.

Teri and Sarah adjusted by bringing in Izzy early. Was risky since she didn't have the luxury of a mid-season taper and had to qualify via minor taper at PACs to leave something left in the tank for NCAAs. She came up huge on two relays and the tough 100 Back/100 Fly double at NCAAs. She has an extremely bright feature.

Abbey, Billy, and McL (dabbing her eyes) were devastated at the end of the 400 Free Relay vs LSJU in Spieker. I mistakingly thought it was losing to the rivals and swimming together in Berkeley for the last time. While some of that was true, they knew they were better than the 'Furdettes in that event and proved it at both PACs and NCAAs (with a banged up Abbey). Team Resiliance also avenged their UT dual loss, more than doubling up the 'Whorns in their home pool when it mattered most.

McL, Billy, and Jenna will be sorely missed. Three exemplary Bear Captains who left it all in the pool and embraced their Cal experience to the fullest. Same for Phoebe. Their leadership kept the team together after losing Thleen, Darcel's NCAA absence, and Abbey's untimely injury. Sincerely hope that McL and Billy train in Berkeley for another year to chase their Olympic dreams. A young team could benefit from another year around them.

Abbey is a warrior. An incredible teammate who leads by example. She's a bit of a kamikaze-has had to be pulled from the pool at NCAAs twice after relays (800 Free and 200 Medley). Will surely join McL and Billy as Cal Hall of Fame swimmers.

Next year's team will belong to Abbey, Izzy, Ema, Maddie, Keeks, and Robin. Hopefully Darcel will bounce back and Cassidy and Alicia can build on early success. Need at least one of the Froski sprinters to contribute early.

Teri richly deserved the Coach of the Year award. Lots of moving pieces this year and she and Sarah held it together. Sustained excellence is very difficult. Just ask Georgia, who finished behind UCLA and just ahead of ASU.

Stellar year for a proud, resilient, mentally and physically tough team of truly Golden Bears.
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https://instagr.am/p/Bvcw5rOlSLu
coach_mckeever: "What a week for the Golden Bears!! I am so very proud of the 2018-19 version of CAL Swimming and Diving. Every season has its ups and downs. It's not about avoiding them, it's having the ability to weather them, embrace them and believe in yourself to be able to come out the other side better than ever. Hard work, determination, resilience, respect and gratitude are just a few of the amazing things I witnessed day in and day out. So thrilled you showed all these in Austin last week. Your parents, alumni, university and I thank you for representing the very best of what intercollegiate athletics has to offer. #fireinthehole #gobears #sustainedexcellence"













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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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School & Season Best lists have now been updated and released!

California All-Time Top 10 List

2018-19 California Season-Best List

Here are some of the highlights at a quick glance...have only included the results from 2019 NCAAs, as the list would otherwise be quite lengthy with all the extra entries from Pac-12s last month...

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  • *** = NCAA + School record!!!
  • * = School record!

Cal All-Time Top 10

50 Free
1. Abbey - 21.02 ***
4. Amy - 21.52

100 Free
9. Izzy - 47.75

200 Free
9. Katie - 1:42.85
10. Robin - 1:42.94

100 Back
4. Amy - 50.05
6. Izzy- 50.42

100 Breast
1. Ema - 58.97 *

100 Fly
1. Katie - 49.97 *
7. Izzy - 50.82

200 Fly
1. Katie - 1:51.09 *

200 IM
6. Izzy - 1:53.87
9. Keaton - 1:55.46

200 Free Relay
1. Maddie (21.82), Katie (21.37), Amy (20.87), Abbey (20.49) .........1:24.55 ***

400 Free Relay
1. Izzy (47.79), Katie (46.62), Amy (46.48), Abbey (46.07) ...............3:06.96 ***
8. Izzy (47.75), Robin (47.95), Katie (47.72), Amy (47.22) ................3:10.64

800 Free Relay
1. Robin (1:42.94), Izzy (1:43.33), Katie (1:41.92), Amy (1:41.93) ....6:50.12 *

200 Medley Relay
5. Izzy (24.07), Ema (27.28), Maddie (22.63), Abbey (20.45) ...........1:34.43
10. Keaton (24.32), Ema (27.59), Maddie (22.79), Abbey(20.97) .....1:35.67

400 Medley Relay
1. Amy (50.84), Ema (58.53), Katie (50.00), Abbey (45.87) ..............3:25.24 *


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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

  • *Bears*
Team Score: 419 pts (2019) v. 373 pts (2018) & 366 pts (2017) = 2nd highest ever by Cal (513 pts in 2015 by Missy/Boots/Liz-led team)

Relay: 3 titles (2 NCAA records) + 2 runner-ups

Individual: 1 title (Abbey 50 Free) -> NCAA & American record

8 school records - Abbey (#1 @ 50 Free), Ema (#8 @ 100 Breast), Katie (#3 @ 100 Fly + #4 @ 200 Fly), 200 FR (#1), 400 FR (#1), 800 FR (#2), 400 MR (#2)

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  • *Trees*
Team Score: 456.5 pts (2019) v. 593 pts (2018) & 526.5 pts (2017)

Relay: 1 title (0 NCAA record) + 0 runner-up + #3 (x2) + #6 + #7

Individual: 2 titles (Forde 500 Free & Eastin 400 IM) -> 0 NCAA or American records

1 school record - Ruck (#2 @ 200 back)
HBear
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Checking out the glorious all-time top 10 list now in its updated beauty -- does Missy really not have a top-10 time in the 100 back??
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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The Women's Senior High School Class of 2015 is One For The Ages

by ANDY ROSS

Is the women's senior class of 2015 one of the best of all-time in the sport of swimming?

There were the established names of Katie Ledecky and Abbey Weitzeil along with Kathleen Baker and Katie McLaughlin, who had come off a summer where they swam for Team USA at the Pan Pacific Championships in Australia when they had just finished their junior year of high school.

But the class also had up-and-comers that the swimming community did not know much about yet. There was Ella Eastin, Lilly King and Amy Bilquist who had started to establish themselves on the junior team but had not made that jump to the senior level quite yet.

The senior class was so good that two of the swimmers deferred their enrollment to focus on training for the Olympics. Ledecky and Weitzeil didn't start college until the fall of 2016 after swimming at the Rio Olympic Games.

The class was so good that two of its best swimmers didn't even win an individual NCAA title, and they both swam in an individual final at the World Championships. Michigan's Siobhan Haughey and Texas A&M's Sydney Pickrem both had fabulous careers but could not get that elusive individual title. Oh yeah, and don't forget about Cal's Katie McLaughlin and Amy Bilquist, who never won an individual title either.

The class was so good that two of its members went pro and didn't finish four years. Ledecky and Kathleen Baker went pro after last season.

The class was so good that three of the last four CSCAA swimmers of the year were in this graduating class. King (2016), Baker (2017) and Eastin (2018) were all the swimmers of the year at one point.


Abbey Weitzeil
https://instagr.am/p/vUtvEwBav5
NCAA Titles: 5

Amy Bilquist
https://instagr.am/p/t4_MnSkIHj
NCAA Titles: 5

Katie McLaughlin
https://instagr.am/p/sqvUVQlWx-
NCAA Titles: 3

Kathleen Baker
https://instagr.am/p/vUnT2SMD3Q
NCAA Titles: 5

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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ZUMO Performance of the Week: Weitzeil Dominates 50 Free With New American, NCAA Record



by JAMES SICA

This week's ZUMO Performance of the Week goes to Abbey Weitzeil for her American record performance in the 50 freestyle at the 2019 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships.

Weitzeil was on fire heading into NCAA's, breaking Simone Manuel's Pac-12 meet record in the 50 free (21.16) that was also a new Cal school record and played a key role in Cal sweeping all five relays at the Pac-12 Championships (including a surprise American record in the 400 free relay on the final day of the meet).

What remained elusive, however, was the 21.12 American record that she set in 2016 during her redshirt year prior to the Olympic Games. That is, until Weitzeil hit the water for the first night of finals at NCAA's.

Swimming out of lane 4 in same pool she set her 2016 record, Weitzeil crushed her American record with a time of 21.02, nearly becoming the first woman to swim a flat start 50 under 21-seconds. This was Weitzeil's first individual NCAA title in her career and a remarkable swim that has been three years in the making for the Cal Bear. That gives Weitzeil 4 of the top 10 performances of all-time in the 50 yard freestyle and was a highlight of what was an incredible meet for the junior.

But if you thought breaking the record would have Weitzeil sitting on her laurels, think again. In her post-race interview with teammate Amy Bilquist, she revealed her goal all season was to hit 20.99.
Quote:

"I knew I could do it. At the end of this year I knew I was going twenty-point. And I didn't. I'm really disappointed. When I first saw my time I was like 'dang it.' But it took me a second to realize I actually broke my American Record and I was like 'Oh, thats pretty cool!' You know you're so close and I'm like well what could I have done to go .03 faster. It's something to strive for though. It's definitely a little bummer but I can't be disappointed."
Weitzeil would leave the meet as part of two record setting relays (200 free, 400 free), including tying the fastest ever 50 free split in history (20.45) on Cal's second place 200 medley relay. She also pushed through an elbow injury that left her unable to climb out of the pool on the final day, delivering a 4th place finish in the 100 free and anchoring the 400 free relay to a new American and NCAA record.

Congratulations to Abbey Weitzeil on earning ZUMO's Performance of the Week!

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Top 10 Quotes from Women's NCAAs that All Age Groupers Should Hear




Amy Bilquist - California (2019 NCAA Champion: 200 and 400 Free, 400 Medley Relays)


Quote:

"I wanted to be in the 'A' final all four years and I finally did it. I went a best time in prelims and finals and I cannot tell you when the last time I did that wasit feels great to just come and do my best for the team."
In an interview after the 50 Freestyle where Bilquist placed sixth, she highlights how there is always more to be proud of than just times. Yes, Bilquist recorded two personal best times in her event, but she also earned a spot in the A final and contributed points to her team. The lesson here, is that good or bad, there is more to every swim than just your time.


Abbey Weitzeil - California (2019 NCAA Champion: 50 Freestyle, 200 & 400 Free, 400 Medley Relays)


Quote:

"I knew I could do it. At the end of this year I knew I was going twenty-point. And I didn't. I'm really disappointed. When I first saw my time I was like 'dang it.' But it took me a second to realize I actually broke my American Record and I was like 'Oh, thats pretty cool!' You know you're so close and I'm like well what could I have done to go .03 faster. It's something to strive for though. It's definitely a little bummer but I can't be disappointed."
When it comes to setting goals, there is nothing worse than the feeling of missing it by .01 or in Abbey Weitzeil's case, .03. Weitzeil addressed the disappointment of missing her goal of 20.99 in the final of the women's 50 Freestyle. Missing goals is okay, and being disappointed in missing goals is okay. But it is also important to highlight the positive aspects of each swim. Like Bilquist's statement, there is more to each race than just the time.


Amy Bilquist & Abbey Weitzeil California


Quote:

"We can only control what we can do. We always talk about that, control the controllables. We can't control what Stanford does or is going to do the rest of the meet. Obviously they're an amazing team and they're super deep. Props to them, they're having amazing swims too"
Really, you should just watch the whole interview with Cal's Bilquist and Weitzeil. Throughout their time on-camera, the two share wisdom on controlling what you can, as shown above, as well as how to turn your brain off in races. Weitzeil describes how the time to overthink is in practice, so that your body will just know what to do come race day. This is a great quote for all young swimmers to hear. How you prepare both your body and mind every day matters when it comes to the race.



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UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Just a couple of post-2019 NCAAs health-related updates:

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1) Massively relieved to see that Abbey's right arm isn't in a sling, and doesn't appear to be taped up either (well her elbow is out of frame, so by no means a valid conclusion tho).

https://instagr.am/p/BvhWFXzhBqB
Guess Monday's MRI was encouraging (at least the recovery didn't take out Weitzeil's drinking arm lol), and Dubs will hopefully be back to her studly form in time for Worlds this summer!

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2) Sarah's entered in the Canadian Swim Trials next week (3 - 7 APR, 2019 @ Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre), so good to see that Darcel hadn't been injured as we had feared when she weren't in Austin for NCAAs last week.

Here are the events that SD will be racing, with her respective seeds:
  • 400m IM (seeded #2)
  • 200m IM (seeded #3)
  • 200m breast (seeded #11)
  • 200m free (seeded #30)
Psych sheet: https://swimming.ca/content/uploads/2016/06/2019-CAN-Trials-Psych-Sheet-2019-03-26.pdf

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Swim Bear alum Jeremy Bagshaw will be competing (along with Zheng Quah as an international visitor)...but not Noemie Thomas (retired from elite competitive swimming?), who will instead be hosting this swim clinic:

https://instagr.am/p/BvLGGefFSNQ
HBear
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REVISITING NCAA RECRUIT RANKINGS: WOMEN'S HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 2015



Ft. our dream team indeed -- Abbey, Katie, Kathleen, and Amy -- among a true gamut of top-tier recruits/swimmers (Ledecky, Eastin, Pickrem, Haughey, Comerford, King, and more). Thank you to these great young ladies for all they did with the program and Cal (and will continue to do, esp. Abbey as she finishes her collegiate career next year!).
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Abbey Weitzeil and Teri McKeever led Cal to an NCAA runner-up finish this year.


4/2/2019 12:01 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Bears Earn Pac-12 Swim Honors

Weitzeil Named Swimmer Of The Year; McKeever Tabbed Coach Of The Year

Cal's Pac-12 Swimmers of the Year
  • 1987 Mary T. Meagher
  • 1989 Sarah Anderson
  • 1999 Marylyn Chiang
  • 2000 Haley Cope
  • 2001 Natalie Coughlin
  • 2002 Natalie Coughlin
  • 2003 Natalie Coughlin
  • 2009 Dana Vollmer
  • 2012 Caitlin Leverenz
  • 2013 Elizabeth Pelton
  • 2015 Missy Franklin
  • 2019 Abbey Weitzeil
Teri McKeever's Pac-12 Coach of the Year Honors
  • 1999
  • 2002
  • 2009
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2015
  • 2019

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HBear
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The last time in recent years that Cal brought in a #1 recruiting class before Stanford and Greg went on their existing run of loads of elite recruits -- but cheers to Teri and the Bears, especially this Dream Team graduating class of 2019. Too many accomplishments to name (plus I would wage a small bet that this incoming class of 2023, esp. if featuring Izzy despite her early start to college, has to rank quite highly!)

RECRUITING CLASS RANKINGS REVISITED: TOP 12 SCHOOLS FOR 2016-2019



Go Bears!
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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HBear said:

The last time in recent years that Cal brought in a #1 recruiting class before Stanford and Greg went on their existing run of loads of elite recruits -- but cheers to Teri and the Bears, especially this Dream Team graduating class of 2019. Too many accomplishments to name (plus I would wage a small bet that this incoming class of 2023, esp. if featuring Izzy despite her early start to college, has to rank quite highly!)

RECRUITING CLASS RANKINGS REVISITED: TOP 12 SCHOOLS FOR 2016-2019

Cheers for the share!

SwimSwam has now published several additional analyses - certainly some rather interesting stats here:

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WOMEN'S RECRUITING RANKS IN-PROGRESS ANALYSIS: ALL CLASSES THROUGH 2019 NCAAS

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2019 WOMEN'S NCAAS: HOW DID OUR TOP 20 RECRUITS PERFORM AS FRESHMEN?

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Keeping in mind that the above rankings don't factor in relay contributions, and that a student-athlete's value & contribution to their school is sooo much more than merely NCAA points, here are some of my initial observations FWIW, with a bear-y distinct Cal bias, naturally...

  • Class of 2016:
Of note here, Madds (unranked by SwimSwam, ranked #55 by CollegeSwimming at time of commit) has contributed more individual NCAA points (38) than any of SS' *unranked* recruits in her 2016 HS class, except for Erika (Tenn)'s whopping 93 pts.

In fact, Maddie has outscored 12 of SS' Top 20 recruits, including some @ LSJU (#8 Szekely - 9 pts, #11 Voss - 24 pts), 'SC (#3 Mann - 2 pts, #4 Moseley - 4.5 pts {now @ Tenn}, Wade - 0 pts), UT (#18 Case - 13 pts, #20 Lohman - 0 pts {prev @ Zona}), and UGA (Burchill - 25 pts).

Our #18 Keeks also chipped in with her 18 pts, all from the recently-concluded 2019 NCAAs.

  • Class of 2017:
Bears didn't end up with anyone on SS' Top 20 list in this class, compared to the Furdettes' massive haul of 5, and the Trojanettes' bevy of 3.

However, Robin contributed more NCAA points than these ranked 2017 Trees & Trojans - LSJU's #6 Pitzer (23 pts), #8 Kukurugya (0 pts), #10 Zhao (7 pts), #12 Volpenhein (0 pts)...and $C's #3 Aroesty (9 pts), #13 Ciesla (0 pts), #14 Tycz (0 pts)!

Not to mention, only 1 international ended up outscoring Robin (30 pts) & Sarah (12 pts - didn't swim 2019 NCAAs) - MINN's Padington (37 pts).

  • Class of 2018:
In stark contrast to Meehan hogging all those top recruits for the past number of recruiting cycles, Bears had welcomed just a single Top 20 recruit in our 2018 froski class - #17 Cass who had battled thru her past injuries to help Cal out with 2 pts...

However, Izzy's early NCAA scoring debut of 37 pts outshined (almost) ALL of the entire 2018 freshman class, OTHER than #1 Ruck (LSJU)'s really impressive 50 pts, and Taylor's fellow Canadian, breakout ace MacNeil (UM)'s 45 pts.

In other words, with the exception of 2018's #1 recruit Ruck, Ivey had scored more than any of Stanford's highly touted haul of 7 recruits on SS' Top 20 list for 2018.

Including #2 Bartel (6 pts), #6 Tankersley (3 pts), #10 Nordmann (20 pts), #11 Fackenthal (4 pts), #20 Raab (21 pts) & HM Goeders (5 pts)!

Izz had also contributed a higher points tally than the Horns' #3 Cook (2 pts) & #14 Ariola (1 pt)...or UGA's #9 Carter (17 pts), #13 Luther (9 pts) & #18 Homovich (0 pts).

EDIT => Pardon (may Oski forgive my unBearable transgression here lol), somehow I had left out mention of our unranked Ema, who was the 4th highest scoring of the unranked freshies with her 11 points here (the other 3 above Rajic had only scored 1 or 2 pts more than Ema). Had also outscored 15 of SwimSwam's Top 20 (and that's not counting the 3 redshirts/deferred enrollments), as well as being an essential component of a national title relay + a runner-up relay...
Microbear85
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Apologies if I missed it . . . but, was there ever any report about why Darcel did not swim?
HBear
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Forgot where/what comment, but I at least read a one-liner in a comment or article of how Darcel scratched for "personal reasons," no further detail seen since.
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Microbear85 said:

Apologies if I missed it . . . but, was there ever any report about why Darcel did not swim?
Official explanation is "for personal reasons". Sarah's competing in Canadian Swimming Trials this week, in fact is scheduled to race the 400 IM today, so let's cheer her on!

More stats & predictions from SwimSwam...note that their breakdown below doesn't encompass relay value, nor includes a projection of the points contribution from the incoming 2019 freshies class, nor consider potential blue & red shirts in an Olympic year:

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WHO RETURNS THE MOST POINTS? LOOKING AHEAD TO 2020 D1 WOMENS CHAMPS

The Stanford women defended their title this weekend, but the meet was much closer than their last two title wins. However, the closer final margin is not an indication that Stanford's run at the top is coming to an end.

Eight of the top 10 scoring classes were junior or senior classes. They were: #2 Indiana seniors, 93 individual points, #3 Cal seniors 88, #4 Michigan seniors 84, #5 Tennessee juniors 80, #6 Cal juniors 79, #7 UCLA seniors 75, #8 Texas A&M seniors 69.5, and #9 Stanford seniors 69.

The other two top ten classes? #1 the Stanford freshmen 127, and #10 the Stanford sophomores 69. That means not only will those classes be around for years to come, but as when they become juniors and seniors their point totals should improve.

Stanford return 233.5 individual points, 90.5 more points than next best Cal who return 143. The third best returning point total belongs to Virginia who return 104. Next best are Minnesota with 94, Tennessee with 85, NC State with 82.5, Michigan with 74, and Kentucky with 72.5.

Based on returning points Stanford are massive favorites heading into next year, but pure returning points numbers actually underrates how big Stanford's returning swimmer advantage is.

One of the best metrics for predicting the next season's championships is a re scoring of the NCAA meet with the seniors removed. In such a re scoring, Stanford score 359.5 individual points, 166.5 more than next best Cal who score 193.

This is a function of Stanford's depth. Stanford return 7 athletes that scored more than 10 points this year, but they also return 9 athletes that scored between 1 and 10 points at nationals this year. Those lower scoring athletes are already scoring quality. If they all move up even a couple of places, Stanford stand to gain tons of points.

In contrast, Cal only return 10 swimmers that even participated in this year's meet.

The no seniors re scoring points to a wide open race for 3rd next year 4 teams are within 19 points. Virgina have 139, NC State 127.5, Tennessee have 120, and Minnesota have 120 (This over rates Minnesota slightly. Most of their returning points are from divers and a distance swimmer. Both things that don't translate well into relay points).

With the expected return of this year's #1 recruit Eva Merrell, Georgia could return to their normal place near the top of the division next year.

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  • UPDATE => Although Sarah was listed on the psych sheet for 3 events, looks like Darcel didn't race the 200 Breast yesterday, neither did she compete in the 400 IM this morning, in which she's seeded in the #2 spot...
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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ANDREW MERING of SwimSwam said:

WHO RETURNS THE MOST POINTS? LOOKING AHEAD TO 2020 D1 WOMENS CHAMPS

Based on returning points Stanford are massive favorites heading into next year, but pure returning points numbers actually underrates how big Stanford's returning swimmer advantage is.

In contrast, Cal only return 10 swimmers that even participated in this year's meet.

Some quick & possibly meandering thoughts after perusing the above SS writeup...

On a bit of a sobering note, this coming season could be a bit of a rebuild/reload period for Cal - hopefully will be short & sweet if Teri's successful in wooing a couple of the remaining Top 10 prospects from the 2020 class (IS, RS), and Gretchen Walsh for 2021! :p

Perhaps a re-adjustment of our expectations will be in order then, which will admittedly be challenging esp after our over-achieving Bears had come so tantalisingly close to upsetting the heavy favourites a fortnight ago - quite an impressive achievement in the face of losing Thleen early (an estimated 50 points, minimum!), and having to battle the Furdette Machine's enviable depth courtesy of their killer recruiting classes of the past several cycles as well as their diving advantage.

The massively wonderful contributions that Dream Teamers Amy & Katie have gifted the team & school, both in and out of the pool, have been well documented throughout their accomplished journey here @ Berkeley (thank you soo much for your service!!! ). In terms of NCAA individual scoring points alone, their 86 tally just from 2019 Nationals will be sorely missed - but the deeper impact will be to all of our relays going forward

Haven't made an assessment at this early stage as to who can step up to such stratospheric levels and try to partially fill Bug & Billy's shoes...but unless our coaches come up with a last-minute surprise addition or two to our 2019 Baby bears (well it's happened in the recent past, i.e. Robin & Sarah in the 2017 class), we may have to temporarily bid a teary farewell to the days of Cal W relays prevailing on top against all odds, and obliterating NCAA + school records after records.

The free relays will be hit particularly hard in the absence of Katie & Amy - I'd imagine every single Division I team would be jolly hard pressed to find a pair of replacement legs who can casually throw down 21/46/1:41 sec splits on free!

Bears are so fortunate to have Abbey for one more season, and Dubs as every team's dream anchor will surely at the very least ensure that Cal's relays will make the championship finals in March even if no longer as the favourites. That is, assuming that Abbey dossn't have blueshirt plans to prep for Tokyo... ~sweating~

We do have a sizeable & talented froski class coming in, and they should provide quite a spot of relief in traditional areas of weaknesses for this programme (distance, longer IM & fly). The added depth will definitely be invaluable at the dual meets and also at the conference level.

However, pending further development, I don't believe our 2019 Baby Bears presently hold NCAA scoring times, let alone personal bests that would earn an invite to NCAAs (though several are on the cusp).

The future is still relatively bright with this class, with a couple holding the promise of significant upside given some more time, plus a somewhat unknown factor in an international who (hopefully) may quickly make the adjustment to the little pool (a bit of a daft notion haha, but I'm already fantasising a Maggie MacNeil sort of breakout frosh year for Eloise lol).

Go Bears!
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

The recruiting has been on an incredible tear over @ Charlottesville since the 2018 HS class, but time will tell as to how effectively DeSorbo will parlay all his recruiting success into major development & results @ NCAAs for UVa.

The Hoos could conceivably start to have the target painted on their backs going forward, what with their veritably impressive haul of #2 Douglass (a lot of upside + versatility on top of her sprinting prowess), #8 Nelson, #11 Donohoe, #19 Cuomo, Kulp + 4 others in the 2019 class, and further aiming for a swim dynasty with #2 Alex Walsh, #17 Keating & #20 Harter in the bag for 2020 so far (with their high hopes for Gretch in 2021 cos of her sis Alex) - having also hosted #6 Bacon, #18 Nordmann, Weyant, Gormley, Pearson, who haven't announced their decisions yet (other 2020 Wahoos visitors have included #4 Bray -> UT, #9 Parker -> UGA, #12 Ulett -> UofL, Santander -> 'SC, Hurt -> AU).

I will confess to a less than objective opinion here lol, not being personally a big fan of Virginia's current coaching staff's brash, self-congratulatory and rather in-your-face style of promotion, being more comfortable with the Bears' confident aura of classy humility that unassumingly prioritises results in the pool and in the classroom whilst maintaining a supportive team atmosphere that's not above having fun along the journey and in the process.

However, will certainly agree that DeSorbo's extrovert & flashy recruiting style does appear to resonate with a lot of top prospects, judging by all the incredible recruiting successes the Hoos have been landing in recent cycles, so the more power to the so-called "DeSorbo Effect" - definitely a fast rising threat to the Pac-12's duopoly of swim powers, Cal & LSJU...

Just wanted to add that even though the Horns (and to a lesser degree, the Dawgs) have been enjoying a bountiful crop of the top recruits that's only second to the Trees in the past few seasons and for down the road (along with the Trojans already landing one of the top 2020 classes in both quality & quantity), these aforementioned programmes may actually mount less of an immediate challenge for Top 3 than the Hoos will shortly, if we're to judge by 2019 NCAA results - stay tuned...

https://instagr.am/p/Bv1pUBDHPri
OBear073akaSMFan
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:


--------
  • UPDATE => Although Sarah was listed on the psych sheet for 3 events, looks like Darcel didn't race the 200 Breast yesterday, neither did she compete in the 400 IM this morning, in which she's seeded in the #2 spot...

I originally thought perhaps her skipping the NCAA was due to the Canadian swim trials so close to the NCAA. Now with her missing her races yesterday & today it looks to be some other reason..besides I'm sure there will be other Canadians who did swim the NCAAs & have performed in the Canadian Trials. Hope she is okay!
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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OBear073akaSMFan said:

Hope she is okay!

Well reckon we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief, as this was apparently taken earlier today @ Spieker, showing Sarah celebrating w/her teammates, yay!
  • (video link below will only be valid for a day or so...Darcel's on the left, next to Madds)
https://scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/f1f000928980b582fc46f024363b8496/5CA9DFC6/t50.12441-16/56621311_1219154944929677_6745558347613526021_n.mp4?_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com

  • UPDATE =>
https://instagr.am/p/Bv5gR2sFpfM
coach_mckeever: "So proud of this group!! The joy of being a coach and leading a team is sharing in the individual and collective journeys of some exceptional young women. I've been blessed to have done this now for 27 seasons at CAL. I am so proud of what WE (past, present and future) Golden Bears have created and built. The sustained excellence in the classroom and pool is unparalleled- 23 consecutive years in the Top 10, 14 consecutive years in the Top 5 and finishes in the Top 3 at NCAA's for the past 11 years. This team found a way to use those high standards to bring out the best in one another. Newmark Academic Award winners for the highest team gpa of all 30 sports on campus with a 3.46. Broke 4 of the 5 relay school records in NCAA and American record fashion. Rewrote 4 more individual school records: @raaajic in the 100 breast, @katiemclaughlin21 in the 100 and 200 fly and @abbeyweitzeil in the 50 free, also setting an American Record. These three and five more: @amybilquist , @maddsmurph , @isabel__ivey , @_keeeekss and @robin__n are also National Champions! @coach_dunleavyand I earned National and PAC-12 Coach of the Year recognition and we accept and celebrate that on the behalf of everyone of the 23 swimmers on the team. Also want to thank @anncaslin and @foundationstrengthtraining for their daily assistance and expertise. It truly takes a village!! Now, it's time to reset and recommit to the Cal Women's Swimming Way."

-------
  • ...and now for something completely different,,,
https://instagr.am/p/Bv29s-MFETl

https://instagr.am/p/Bv4i2suBMz_
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

More stats & predictions from SwimSwam...

2019 WOMEN'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: TOP 10 TEAMS POINT CHANGES

BY ANDREW MERING

Stanford won their third straight NCAA title relatively comfortably, but during the meet all the buzz was about how well the Cal women were performing. Comparing swimmer's individual points to their scores from last year reveals why. Returning Stanford swimmers scored 1.5 more points than they did last year. Returning Cal swimmer had a net gain of 61 points, the most of any team that finished in the top 10. (This analysis only considers swimmers that qualified for this year's meet.)

Stanford had two swimmers that picked up more points than any one on Cal did. Brooke Forde gained 22 (43 this year, 21 last year), and Lauren Pitzer gained 21 (22, 1). Cal's top point gainer was Abbey Weitzeil who gained 19 (50, 31). However, Forde and Pitzer's big gains were offset by Katie Drabot who dropped 29.5 points from last year (19.5, 49) and Megan Byrnes who dropped 14 (1, 15)

In addition to Weitzeil, Cal's big gains were helped greatly by Keaton Blovad who was +18 (18, 0) and Amy Bilquist who was +16 (43, 27).

The other big gainer in the top 10 teams was Virginia who were +56 overall.

Point gains are not the be all, end all metric for team improvement. We also need to consider time change. I will be looking at that next week.

TEAM NET CHANGES

No Senior points are how many points that swimmer scored in a re scoring of last year's national meet with the seniors removed.

CAL

Overall: +61

NAME | YEAR | 2019 POINTS | 2018 POINTS | DIFF | 2018 NO SR POINTS
Abbey Weitzeil | JR | 50 | 31 | 19 | 34
Amy Bilquist | SR | 43 | 27 | 16 | 41
Katie McLaughlin | SR | 43 | 39 | 4 | 43
Izzy Ivey | FR | 37 | na | na | na |
Keaton Blovad | JR | 18 | 0 | 18 | 5
Robin Neumann | SO | 14 | 16 | -2 | 22
Ema Rajic | FR | 11 | na | na | na |
Maddie Murphy | JR | 11 | 7 | 4 | 21
Phoebe Lamay | SR | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0
Cassidy Bayer | FR | 2 | na | na | na |
Sophie Krivokap | SO | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Ali Harrison | SO | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Alicia Wilson | FR | 0 | na | na | na |
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

https://instagr.am/p/Bv5gR2sFpfM
coach_mckeever: "So proud of this group!! The joy of being a coach and leading a team is sharing in the individual and collective journeys of some exceptional young women. I've been blessed to have done this now for 27 seasons at CAL. I am so proud of what WE (past, present and future) Golden Bears have created and built. The sustained excellence in the classroom and pool is unparalleled- 23 consecutive years in the Top 10, 14 consecutive years in the Top 5 and finishes in the Top 3 at NCAA's for the past 11 years. This team found a way to use those high standards to bring out the best in one another. Newmark Academic Award winners for the highest team gpa of all 30 sports on campus with a 3.46. Broke 4 of the 5 relay school records in NCAA and American record fashion. Rewrote 4 more individual school records...Now, it's time to reset and recommit to the Cal Women's Swimming Way."

Well done (again) to all our scholarly Bears!!!

--------


Senior Amy Bilquist is a three-time first-team Pac-12 All-Academic selection.

4/9/2019 9:47 AM | By: Cal Athletics

18 Bears Earn Pac-12 All-Academic Honors

Cal Places Conference-High 6 On First Team

BERKELEY - The Pac-12 All-Academic women's swimming & diving team revealed Tuesday features 18 Golden Bears, including six who earned their place on the first team for their outstanding efforts in the classroom. No school in the conference had more first-team members than Cal.

Senior Amy Bilquist, with a 3.84 GPA in media studies, led the way with a spot on the first team for the third consecutive year. Others to make the first team were: Elizabeth Bailey (3.93, undeclared), Alexa Cacao (3.75, American studies), Jenna Campbell (3.74, molecular & cell biology), Kathleen Navas (3.94, molecular & cell biology) and Robin Neumann (3.93, undeclared).

In addition, 12 Golden Bears earned honorable mention notice from the Pac-12: Alexa Buckley, Sarah Darcel, Dannie Dilsaver, Ali Harrison, Sophie Krivokapic-Zhou, Phoebe LaMay, Aislinn Light, Katie McLaughlin, Maddie Murphy, Courtney Mykkanen, Briana Thai and Natalie Tuck.

The academic honors follow a fall team in which Cal was named a CSCAA Scholar All-America team for the 18th semester in a row - every time the coaches' association has presented the away.

In the pool, Cal finished second at the NCAA Championships last month for its 11th straight top three finish, with the Bears capturing four event national titles along the way. They also placed second at the 2019 Pac-12 Championships, where they won nine of 18 swimming events.

To be eligible for selection to the Pac-12 All-Academic team, student-athletes must have a minimum 3.0 overall GPA and participate in at least half of their team's scheduled regular season events.

--------
  • UPDATEs =>
https://instagr.am/p/BwCxIH_ldtJ
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124 WOMEN NAMED TO PAC-12 ALL-ACADEMIC TEAMS

PAC-12 ALL-ACADEMIC TEAMS

FIRST TEAM
HONOREE NAME | GPA | YEAR | MAJOR
KATHLEEN NAVAS | 3.94 | SO. | MOLECULAR & CELL BIOLOGY
ROBIN NEUMANN | 3.93 | SO. | UNDECLARED
ELIZABETH BAILEY | 3.93 | SO. | UNDECLARED
AMY BILQUIST*** | 3.84 | SR. | MEDIA STUDIES
ALEXA CACAO** | 3.75 | SR. | AMERICAN STUDIES
JENNA CAMPBELL*** | 3.74 | SR. | MOLECULAR & CELL BIOLOGY

*** THREE-TIME PAC-12 ALL-ACADEMIC HONOREE
** TWO-TIME PAC-12 ALL-ACADEMIC HONOREE

HONORABLE MENTION:
ALEXA BUCKLEY, JR.
SARAH DARCEL, SO.
DANNIE DILSAVER, SO.
ALI HARRISON, SO.
SOPHIE KRIVOKAPIC-ZHOU, SO.
PHOEBE LAMAY, SR.
AISLINN LIGHT, SO.
KATIE MCLAUGHLIN, SR.
MADDIE MURPHY, JR.
COURTNEY MYKKANEN, JR.
BRIANA THAI, SO.
NATALIE TUCK, SO.

--------
bearchamp
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Wow, better than the 'Furds with all their grade inflation!!!!!
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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bearchamp said:

Wow, better than the 'Furds with all their grade inflation!!!!!
+1 on that!

18 Bears v. 16 Trees in all, with both teams earning 6 'First Team' selections each - albeit LSJU was quick to claim "Stanford led the league with six first-team honorees" here lol: SIXTEEN ACADEMIC HONOREES

Here's the breakdown: Pac-12 announces 2018-19 women's swimming & diving All-Academic teams
bearchamp
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And, grades are so much harder at Cal. The median undergraduate grade point at the Junior University is 3.5!
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Billy!

tedbear
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OMG! My all time favorite Golden Bear!
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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--------


Cal celebrated its five seniors at the team's season-ending banquet Sunday.

4/14/2019 7:47 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Bears Hand Out Team Awards For 2018-19 Season

Cal Celebrates Year Full Of Records and Honors

BERKELEY - Junior Abbey Weitzeil, who swept three individual events at the Pac-12 Championships and captured the national title in the 50-yard free, was named Cal's Most Outstanding Swimmer at the team's annual banquet Sunday afternoon in the University Club.

Weitzeil broke her own American record in winning the NCAA crown in the 50 free in 21.02 seconds during the national meet in March. She also helped Cal to three relay championships, including two in U.S. Open record times, and was fourth in both the 100 and 200 free. Weitzeil was named the 2019 Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year after she swept three individual events, including a school-record 46.35 in the 100 free, and swam on four winning relays at the conference meet.

Other awards at the banquet went to:
Kathleen Navas, a sophomore diver, is majoring in molecular & cell biology with an emphasis in immunology. Earlier this week, she was named first-team Pac-12 All-Academic with a 3.94 GPA.

Senior Amy Bilquist reached individual event finals in three events at the NCAA Championships, finishing second in the 100 back and sixth in the 50 and 100 free. She was also a part of three national champion relays. In the classroom, Bilquist is a three-time first-team Pac-12 All-Academic choice, including this year.

Ema Rajic capped her freshman season in 2019 by breaking a seven-year-old school record in the 100 breast in her prelim heat at the NCAA meet (58.97) before finishing eighth in the final. She also was a part of the winning 400 medley relay and runner-up 200 medley relay.

Cassidy Bayer, a freshman as well, placed 15th in the 200 fly at NCAAs after taking seventh in the event at the Pac-12 Championships.

Senior Phoebe LaMay completed her Cal career as a four-time qualifier for the NCAA Championships and finished 15th on 1-meter to become the Golden Bear diver to score on a springboard event at nationals in more than 25 years.

Like Bilquist and Weitzeil, senior Katie McLaughlin also reached three individual finals at the NCAA meet, taking third in the 100 fly, fourth in the 200 fly and seventh in the 200 free. Her 100 fly (49.97) and 200 fly (1:51.09) times were both school records. In addition, she contributed to the national champion 200 and 400 free relays and the 400 medley relay.

As a team, the Bears finished second in the country at the 2019 NCAA Championships - the 11th year in a row they have placed among the top three.

--------
HBear
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Wasn't quite sure where to post news of this article, but certainly felt compelled to commend the bravery, strength, and resilience of former associate coach Kristen Cunnane. Good on her for all that she has been through, what a role model she has been for the team, and her continued impact going forward.

FORMER CAL COACH KRISTEN LEWIS CUNNANE'S NEW BOOK SEEKS TO HELP OTHER ABUSE VICTIMS



Recently a friend of hers asked Cunnane if she was nervous to speak in front for a crowd of 300 people. But Cunnane, the mother, wife, former swimmer, coach, and now author, said she wasn't.

"This isn't about me, it's about making this awful thing happen less," Cunnane said. "We have to do something about this. The amount of people that I've had come to me and say this happened to me, this happened to my brother, this happened to my cousin and he ended up killing himself I'm willing to do anything to help this go away. If an article or a book or a speech, if it helps a teeny tiny bit, if it helps one person, then it's 100% worth it."
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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--------


Abbey Weitzeil, the 2019 Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year, is a finalist for the Honda Sport Award.

4/18/2019 3:20 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Weitzeil Finalist For Honda Sport Award

Cal Junior And American-Record Holder Up For Swimmer Of The Year Honor
--------
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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Just a wee update on how our international Bears are faring @ their respective National Championships/Trials in the aftermath of 2019 NCAAs, having to face the challenges of a greatly abbreviated re-training & SCY-to-LCM adjustment period, with the gap between these competitions a mite too wide to allow the luxury of hanging onto their tapers from NCAAs.

=======

1) Sarah Darcel (CAN) - didn't compete @ her Canadian Swim Trials after having missed NCAAs this season. Was seeded #2 (400m IM), #3 (200 IM), #11 (200m Breast), and #30 (200m Free) on the psych sheet.

=======

2) Robin Neumann (NED) - WON the 2019 Swim Cup @ Eindhoven with a 1:59.27 in the 200m Free final last week!
Had placed 4th in this event (2:00.10), and 5th in the 100m Free (55.46) @ The Hague a week earlier.

However, much like British Swimming, the Royal Dutch Swimming Federation (KNZB) has set massively high qualifying standards for their 2019 Worlds national team - in this case, a 1:57.12 or faster time in the 200m Free (Robin's PB is a 1:57.85 from her RIo trials), such that only 1 Dutch woman has qualified in this event so far, veteran Olympian Femke Heemskerk with her 1:56.48!

Robin will get a shot at filling that 2nd individual slot at the final 2 qualifying meets in Amersfoort & Sette Colli - or more realistically, make the Netherlands' 4x200m Free relay squad. Both meets are scheduled for 21st June, so won't conflict with school or threaten Neumann's 3.93 GPA :p

=======

3) Alicia Wilson (GBR) - continues to improve after a season of training & swimming as a Bear
Hit a number of lifetime bests (or came close) in multiple events @ Brit Swim Champs 2019 in Glasgow this week, getting into evening finals to boot!

200m Free: 2:02.34 (prev best prior to this week = 2:03.58 @ BSC 2018) -> *New PB*!
100m Back: 1:01.68 (prev best = 1:01.73 @ BSC 2018) -> *New PB*!
50m Free: 25.94 (PB = 25.84 @ BSC 2018)

{Morning Heats today}
200m IM: 2:14.09 (prev best = 2:14.42 @ BSC 2018) -> *New PB*!

Alicia's actually seeded 3rd for this evening's finals of the 200 IM!

However, chances are the formidable group of decorated Olympians ahead of her won't be easily bested, headed by SMOC (2:06.88 @ Rio 2016!), Hannah Miley (2:09.46 @ Rome 2009) & Aimee Willmott (2:10.60 @ BCS 2014). Lurking in the shadows and not showing their hands quite yet will also be Abbie Wood (2:12.49 @ SEWC 2017), Katie Matts (2:13.24 @ BCS 2017) & Amy Bell (2:14.82 @ BCS 2018).

Speaking of Amy Bell, wondering if she is looking across the pond and on Teri's radar at all?
Projects as mainly a breaststroker & IM'er, with these PBs in long course - 100m Breast (1:10.72), 200m Breast (2:28.40), 200m IM (2:14.82), 100m Fly (1:02.16):
https://www.collegeswimming.com/swimmer/610445/

=======

Featuring Alicia, Robin & Ali with their dads lol

https://instagr.am/p/BwdaP2sBJVd
aliharrison17: "Just two Brits, two Dutchies, and their wannabe-foreign American pals
(p.s. someone tell me how my dad is the tallest by far and yet I'm still the shortest???)"
UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

3) Alicia Wilson (GBR) - continues to improve after a season of training & swimming as a Bear

{Morning Heats today}
200m IM: 2:14.09 (prev best = 2:14.42 @ BSC 2018) -> *New PB*!

Alicia's actually seeded 3rd for this evening's finals of the 200 IM!

However, chances are the formidable group of decorated Olympians ahead of her won't be easily bested, headed by SMOC (2:06.88 @ Rio 2016!), Hannah Miley (2:09.46 @ Rome 2009) & Aimee Willmott (2:10.60 @ BCS 2014). Lurking in the shadows and not showing their hands quite yet will also be Abbie Wood (2:12.49 @ SEWC 2017), Katie Matts (2:13.24 @ BCS 2017) & Amy Bell (2:14.82 @ BCS 2018).

Bloody heck, I was secretly hoping that Alicia would lower her newly-minted 200m IM personal record of 2:14.09 a mite more, and perhaps squeak in just under 2:14, finishing 4th or 5th which would have been smashing...

But crikey, 2:11.60 to claim runner-up, and only a bit over a sec behind British champion Siobhan-Marie O'Connor??!!!!

Well done Alis!!!!!! And go Bears!

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2019 BRITISH SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY 5 FINALS LIVE RECAP

WOMEN'S 200 IM FINAL
  • Selection Time #1 2:09.80
  • Selection Time #2 2:10.48
  • 1. Siobhan-Marie O'Connor, Bath NC, 2:10.34
  • 2. Alicia Wilson, Guildford CT, 2:11.60
  • 3. Abbie Wood, Loughboro NC, 2:11.65
  • Siobhan-Marie O'Connor led the women's 200 IM wire-to-wire, sneaking under the consideration time of 2:10.48 in 2:10.34 for the victory. She moves into #7 in the world for the year.

    Alicia Wilson of Guildford CT, who trains in the U.S. at Cal Berkeley, established a big personal best to take second in 2:11.60, narrowly edging out Abbie Wood (2:11.65) on the freestyle leg.

    -------
    UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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    Swimswam said:

    Alicia Wilson of Guildford CT, who trains in the U.S. at Cal Berkeley, established a big personal best to take second in 2:11.60.

    To put that brill swim of Alicia's in some perspective, here's roughly where she'd rank amongst Cal's greatest 200 IMers in long course:

    Thleen (2:08.32)
    Caitlin (2:08.95)
    Natalie (2:09.77)
    Lizzie (2:10.02)
    Sarah (2:11.14)
    Alicia (2:11.60)
    Missy (2:11.69)

    • UPDATE #1 ->
    At 2019 NCAAs, Alicia's 1:56.54 prelims time in the 200 IM had placed her 17th= overall, a mere 0.02 sec from qualifying for finals.

    Her PB of 1:55.77 from 2018 UGA Invite, and her swim-off time of 1:56.26 from prelims, would have both earned a finals spot, since the 16th seed time from prelims was Vanessa Pearl's 1:56.52.

    According to SwimSwam's Swimulator Real-Time Converter (which factors in the sex & age of the swimmer), Alicia's 2:11.60 LCM from today translates to 1:54.45 SCY, which *hypothetically* could have resulted in the following outcome below @ 2019 NCAAs, with 3 Bears contributing 21 pts in this event (instead of the actual 15 pts earned by 2 Bears).

    *200 IM* - virtual B final @ 2019 NCAAs
    1. 1:53.87 - Izzy Ivey (Fr) - Cal
    2. 1:54.45 - Alicia Wilson (Fr) - Cal
    3. 1:55.40 - Bailey Nero (Sr) - AUB
    4. 1:55.46 - Keaton Blovad (Jr) - Cal

    There will be some significant graduations in this event in the coming year, thus making available some new scoring opportunities. For example, the A final qualifiers in 2019 consisted solely of upperclassmen - 4 seniors (Eastin, Pickrem, Barksdale, Andison) & 4 Juniors (Nelson, Hansson, Seidt, Small)...half of the B finalists were either Seniors or Juniors too.

    Here's to Alicia building on the momentum of her breakthroughs @ BSC 2019 to parlay her notable improvements here to the little pool next season, hopefully helping with the scoring @ 2020 NCAAs!

    TOGGER said:

    "Wilson coming off NCAAs for the first time as well. When she's learned to better handle that double she could really push SMOC. Great training partner for her in Izzy Ivey too for the next three years."
    DEE said:

    "Two youngsters 2nd & 3rd in 2.11s When was the last time neither Miley nor Willmott made the podium at nats/trials? Nice to see the event moving forward."
    GOGREEN said:

    "I'm happy to see some fresh faces in the 200IM not too far off SOC. it's about time."
    • UPDATE #3 ->
    100m Fly: 1:01.25 in morning heats (PB = 1:01.00 @ BSC 2017)
    OBear073akaSMFan
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    Not sure if it was mentioned but Marina Garcia was the winner of the 200br Spanish Championship at 2:25.35. In the semi she swim a 2:24.06 which at that time was the 6th best performance in that event this season. She also was 2nd in the 100br behind Jessica Vall who is their 50br record holder. With her win & time she makes their national team. Happy for Marina still swimming.

    Quote:

    After claiming her spot on the Worlds team in semi-finals, Marina Garcia defended her top spot in the 200 breast, winning in a 2:25.35. In the semi-finals, Garcia was the top seed with a 2:24.06, which put her as the 6th-fastest performer in the event this year.

    https://swimswam.com/belmonte-earns-second-worlds-qualifying-event-on-day-3-of-spanish-open/
    UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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    UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

    Bloody heck, I was secretly hoping that Alicia would lower her newly-minted 200m IM personal record of 2:14.09 a mite more, and perhaps squeak in just under 2:14, finishing 4th or 5th which would have been smashing...

    But crikey, 2:11.60 to claim runner-up, and only a bit over a sec behind British champion Siobhan-Marie O'Connor??!!!!


    200m IM: Alicia Wilson (silver), Siobhan-Marie O'Connor (gold), Abbie Wood (bronze)

    Here's the live video broadcast of Friday night's finals session:


    200m IM final starts at the 2:10:47 mark. Alicia's sporting a white cap, Lane 3. Podium ceremony @ around 2:24.36.

    Alicia was 3rd after the opening fly leg, used her backstroke strengths to advance to 2nd, then lost some ground to Abbie in the last 15m or so of her breast, but ultimately delivered on her freestyle albeit Abbie did come on strong close to the final wall...

    btw, @ 2:15:55 & further on, dunno if these are Alicia's parents or SMOC's or someone else's lol - but just got to love the, er, rather animated reaction from mummy, she was certainly happy for & soo proud of her daughter there!

    --------
    • UPDATE =>
    https://instagr.am/p/BwnCo4bhc7z
    UrsusArctosCalifornicus
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    Alicia Wilson

    --------

    SO ABOUT THOSE STIFF BRITISH SWIMMING WORLD C'SHIPS QUALIFICATION STANDARDS

    BY LORETTA RACE

    Below, however, is a snapshot view of who was selected specifically based on the supposedly black-and-white qualification system. I've included data to compare who would have made the list had British Swimming utilized the FINA A standard as the QT as opposed to its ultra-stiff selection standards.

    Had the FINA A standard been used, 8 swimmers not on the list below would have qualified for individual events, with 6 of them being female and 2 male.

    Chloe Golding, Jocelyn Ulyett, Katie Matts, Charlotte Atkinson, Alicia Wilson and Abbie Wood would have all made the World Championships line-up in their respective events listed below, as they dipped under the FINA A cut.

    EVENT | BRIT AUTO STD | BRIT CONSID STD | FINA A CUT | BRIT SELECT WORLDS | ALT SELECT METHOD | 1ST SWIMMER FINALS TIME | 2ND SWIMMER FINALS TIME

    200 IM | 2:09.80 | 2:10.48 | 2:13.03 | Siobhan-Marie O'Connor | SMOC + Alicia Wilson | 2:10.34 | 2:11.60


    SWIMMER commented: "I think all of those women who were not selected but with fina A times will be offered the opportunity to swim at WUGs so at least have the opportunity to get some competitive international racing this year."

    --------
    HBear
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    Don't know if anyone else caught this, but in an Instagram story re: the TYR Derby shootout meet yesterday, where Amy made her first post-grad debut, she mentioned in an interview afterward that she'll be moving to Arizona to train through 2020. News to me; didn't realize she would choose not to train with Teri (and the admittedly very small women's pro group -- just Dana?) or even move back to Carmel.
     
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