2018-2019 MEN'S NCAA POWER RANKINGS: NOVEMBER EDITION

(Also receiving votes: Missouri, Auburn, Virginia Tech)
#20: FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES (PREVIOUS RANK: N/A)
#19: NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (Previous Rank: N/A)
#18: HARVARD CRIMSON (PREVIOUS RANK: #15)
#17: OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (PREVIOUS RANK: N/A)
#16: PURDUE BOILERMAKERS (PREVIOUS RANK: #16)
#15: TEXAS A&M AGGIES (PREVIOUS RANK: #13)
#14: VIRGINIA CAVAILERS (PREVIOUS RANK: #12)
#13: MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS (PREVIOUS RANK: #14)
#12: ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (PREVIOUS RANK: #17)
#11: TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (PREVIOUS RANK: #10)

#10: GEORGIA BULLDOGS (PREVIOUS RANK: #8)
Freshman Andrew Abruzzo was hard to rank as a recruit because of his long course focus; he's already come within a second of his lifetime best in the 500, indicating that his short course times should come into line with his long course performances. -RG

Javier Acevedo was really all this team had going for it in the sprints, and he's out with a broken foot. The relays are going to be hurting as long as Acevedo's foot is. -JA

#9: FLORIDA GAORS (PREVIOUS RANK: #11)
Freshmen are looking great, and the returners are posting highly competitive times as well. Khader Baqlah has been 1:34 in the 200 free already, and 8 other Gators have been under 1:40. Grant Sanders and Kieran Smith are leading a very good IM group. -SP
Their freshman class is outperforming any other team's rookies. Their in-season pure sprint freestyle power still leaves a bit to be desired, but what else would you expect post-Dressel? -KO

#8: USC TROJANS (PREVIOUS RANK: #9)
I like the way the Trojans look. They have a group of freshmen freestylers that are looking like a force to be reckoned with, especially in the 200 and up. -SP
Inflated invite times aside, USC still has to prove itself with some more regular season consistency. The talent is there, but the fact they most have suited swims this year makes it harder to gauge how they'll be in March. -KO

#7: LOUISVILLE CARDINAL (PREVIOUS RANK: #7)
The men haven't gotten the SMU Classic bump the women did, but the top-tier guys were very solid at the ACC Big Ten Challenge. Nicolas Albiero continues to crush in the NCAA format. -JA

#6: MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (PREVIOUS RANK: #6)
Ricardo Vargas going 8:46 in the 1000 in November is huge. Between Vargas and Felix Auboeck, the Wolverines should have distance free points rolling in. Patrick Callan and Will Chan are looking to be huge impact freshmen, each leading the team in an event currently. -SP
One of the standout teams of the Big Ten vs ACC Challenge. I think it's still a dead heat with Stanford, but Michigan has shown a little more so far, while Stanford is playing its cards closer to the vest. -JA
The Wolverines have one of the best mid/distance free groups in the country, and they're on pace to put up big points in those events, but the sprint free relays are looking a little suspect after losing Paul Powers and James Peek. -RG

#5: STANFORD CARDINAL (PREVIOUS RANK: #4)
The summer Jack LeVant hype is wearing off a little bit, and Stanford hasn't really geared up for any meet the way the other top programs have. Only 2 Stanford swimmers are in scoring range in the Swimulator but both are freshmen. Daniel Roy is the other. -JA

#4: NC STATE WOLFPACK (PREVIOUS RANK: #5)
Between Jacob Molacek, Justin Ress and Coleman Stewart, NC State has 3 of the top 4 times in the nation this season in the 100 free. Think their relay is going to be OK? -JA
The Wolfpack still has a strong sprint group, with Nyls Korstanje looking to be a big impact freshman. Coleman Stewart and Andreas Vazaios have put up big times early in the season. -SP

#3: INDIANA HOOSIERS (PREVIOUS RANK: #3)
The Hoosiers beat Texas without even getting anything special from Zach Apple. Just how good are these medleys going to be? -JA
Indiana has been looking really good as well this fall, and it should be noted that they have one of the best diving squads too. Mohamed Samy and Bruno Blaskovic have put up great free times. Gabriel Fantoni has been stellar in backstroke as expected, but has also posted a 47.9 100 fly, which should provide depth in an event where Vini Lanza is in the title hunt. Michael Brinegar being 9:00 in the 1000 is encouraging. Matthew Jerden is swimming faster than last fall, providing quality breaststroke depth to Ian Finnerty. This team has what it takes to win the NCAAs, and, yes, that means they have what it takes to beat Texas and Cal. -SP

#2: TEXAS LONGHORNS (PREVIOUS RANK: #1)
I think the top 3 is so close right now, but the picture may become a little clearer coming out of the November invites. The Longhorns are swimming well right now, including their big-impact freshmen class. Charlie Scheinfeld could prove to be their most important freshman come March. Still, Texas has some relay hurdles to overcome. I'm really interested to see how they swim at their invite in a few weeks. -SP
Are we doing this again? The defending champs don't lose their favorite status until we see something definitive. Cal and IU look good, but we just don't know enough about Texas yet for me to make a change at #1. -JA
Drew Kibler and Townley Haas could both be on the 200 free relay, but can/will score in the 500. John Shebat didn't mention the 200 free relay when he talked about swimming the 200 IM. Shebat appears to be the flier on the 400 medley relay, but he just broke 48 for the first time ever. All that to say, I'd like to see how those two relays look like they may pan out before I'd think about ranking Texas over Cal. -RG

#1: CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (PREVIOUS RANK: #2)
Da Bears just keeping swimming fast in-season. The 200 breast is shaping up to be a battle between last year's top two finishers (Ian Finnerty and Andrew Seliskar), and three freshmen, and Reece Whitley may just come out on top. -RG
Cal is looking really good right now. Trenton Julian has been fast in his usual events, and dropped a somewhat out of nowhere lifetime best 4:23.23 500 free in the Cal vs Pacific dual. Seliskar is on fire this Fall, as we expected he would be. Carson Sand is 2 seconds faster in the 100 breast and 5 seconds faster in the 200 breast than he was at this point last season. If Seliskar swims the 200 breast at NCAAs instead of the 200 fly, Cal will have an absolutely killer breaststroke group between Seliskar, Reece Whitley, and Sand. -SP
Cal looks like the suffocatingly deep team we thought they'd be: currently, 12 Golden Bears are in range to score individual in our Swimulator. -JA

TEXAS WOMEN, CAL MEN REMAIN ATOP CSCAA DUAL MEET POLL


Seli flexing...


RANK | PREVIOUS | TEAM | POINTS
1 | 1 | California | 250
2 | 2 | Indiana | 238
3 | 4 | NC State | 237
4 | 3 | Florida | 207
4 | 6 | Michigan | 207
6 | 5 | Texas | 200
7 | 8 | Southern California | 197
8 | 7 | Stanford | 175
9 | 13 | Louisville | 172
10 | 15 | Tennessee | 163
11 | 10 | Ohio State | 146
12 | 11 | Alabama | 141
13 | 12 | Texas A&M | 127
14 | 9 | Georgia | 109
15 | 16 | Virginia | 106
16 | NR | Virginia Tech | 102
17 | 14 | Arizona State | 97
18 | 20 | Minnesota | 66
19 | NR | Florida State | 58
20 | 17 | Georgia Tech | 57
21 | NR | Notre Dame | 47
22 | 25 | Purdue | 35
23 | NR | Kentucky | 33
24 | 19 | Missouri | 31
25 | 21 | Arizona | 13

Also Receiving Votes: Pittsburgh (12), Harvard/Iowa (11), Wisconsin/Princeton (1)

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Cal men's swim to travel to Georgia for annual fall invitational




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

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

On the men's side, Cal is stacked with a ton of versatility and high-end talent. Andrew Seliskar is arguably the best all-around swimmer in the NCAA and can be competitive in any number of events. We'll see what he opts to swim here, but last season he did exactly what he ended up doing at NCAAs (200 breast, 200/400 IM).

They've got a deep sprint group that includes Michael Jensen, Ryan Hoffer and Pawe Sendyk, backstrokers Daniel Carr and Bryce Mefford, stud freshman breaststroker Reece Whitley, and 200 fly specialists Trenton Julian and Mike Thomas. Zheng Quah is another well-rounded talent who has proven to be among the best in the nation in the fly events and is also strong on his back.


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https://instagr.am/p/Bqs4B1qlmXd



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Bears Close 2018 At Georgia Fall Invitational



Cal Makes Cross-Country Trek For Three-Day Invitational

BERKELEY A fall semester of tough training has challenged the Cal men's swimming and diving team and this weekend the Bears will get a sense of the gains they've made as they make their annual cross-country trip to compete in the Georgia Fall Invitational.

The three-day meet begins Thursday at the University of Georgia and Cal returns to Athens as the defending champion after claiming the team title in 2017. Live stats will be available through the Georgia website and ESPN3 will have a live stream of the finals on both Thursday and Friday beginning at 2 p.m. (PT).

Head coach David Durden's crew heads east with competition on its mind as the Bears look to gauge their progress against top competition. Dual meet wins over Pacific and Utah, along with strong showings at the King of the Pool and Triple Distance Meet have featured good performances from up and down the lineup as Cal has melded a talented group of newcomers with an accomplished returning core.

This year, the Bears will also compete in the diving portion of the Georgia Fall Invitational as 2018 NCAA qualifiers Connor Callahanand Johnny Robinson, along with sophomore teammate Jackson Gabler, make the trip to Athens for another good early season test. Callahan, who enters his junior season looking for a third trip to the NCAA Championships, has already made a mark this season by setting a school record on the 1-meter board against Pacific.


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


MEN'S RECAP

500 FREE

Felix Auboeck came into this weekend as the fastest swimmer in the country in the men's 500, and does head into tonight's final as the top seed, but he still lost his #1 ranking this morning as Andrew Seliskar blasted a 4:13.02 swimming exhibition.

This was Seliskar's first time swimming the event since high school, and improves his previous personal best of 4:16.17 by over three seconds. He moves past Auboeck's 4:13.06 from the ACC/B1G Challenge for #1 in the country.

Walker Higgins of Georgia was less than a second off his lifetime best for 4th in 4:15.16, and Cal's Trenton Julian dropped close to eight seconds to qualify 5th in 4:15.33. They were all under the NCAA invited time from last season (4:16.08).


200 IM

Seliskar then cruised to the top seed in the men's 200 IM in 1:43.42, with a notably quick 28.94 breaststroke split. His fastest swim ever outside of an NCAA or Pac-12 Championship meet was done here in 2016, where he was 1:42.41. Last season he was about the same in 1:42.46.

His teammates Zheng Quah (1:43.82) and Mike Thomas (1:43.84) also cracked 1:44 for 2nd and 3rd, with Quah's swim his 2nd fastest ever. They were the only three under last season's invited time (1:44.03)


50 FREE

Cal's Pawel Sendyk qualified 2nd in 19.26, putting him 4th in the country, and Ryan Hoffer (19.42) and Michael Jensen (19.48) also had strong swims for 3rd and 4th. Last season it took a 19.36 to get invited to NCAAs. Zheng Quah also notably swam his first ever 50 yard free as exhibition and went 19.61.

1:15.86 posted by the men's A relay to win the event by well over 2 seconds.

Live Results:
-- A and B relays placing first and third in the 200 FR event; three sub-19 splits from Hoffer, Jensen, and Seliskar in the A relay with 19.54 leadoff from Sendyk, and a 1:19.09 from the B relay (Biondi, Quah, Mefford, and O'Connell).

1:40.55 from Seliskar to win the 200 IM by nearly four seconds. His versatility and talent never fail to impress!!

Men cap off the night with a 1-2 finish in the 400 MR. Incredible!

3:05.10 for the B relay of Mefford, Seliskar, Sendyk, and Jensen.
3:04.89 for the A relay of Carr, Whitley, Quah, and Hoffer.

Mefford's split on the B relay faster than Carr's leadoff by about half a second, and Seliskar also a hair quicker than frosh Whitley (0.06 difference), but Bears really showcasing the depth tonight. Cal leading the men's standings by nearly 100 points over second-place Michigan.

Also worth noting that both Bear Bro 400 Medley Relays were below A cuts. That Durden guy can coach a bit...

Cheers for all the reporting & analysis...great stuff all around!

Most impressed by the top end depth of our Bear Bros

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Bears Get Off To Good Start At Georgia Fall Invite



Cal Wins Both Relays, Adds Two Individual Victories To Take Lead In Team Standings

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Nate Biondi keeps getting faster.
19.91 (50 Free; Previous PR 20.27)

Nick Norman is doing very well after being sick in his freshmen & sophomore years.
4:16.43 (500 Free; PR 4:16:41)

Men's A 200 MR winning their championship final handily by more than 2 seconds:

A relay: Carr (21.27), Whitley (23.49), Sendyk (19.93), Jensen (18.73) -- 1:23.42 (1st)
B relay: Mefford (21.43), Sand (23.55), Quah (20.24), Hoffer (18.90) -- 1:24.12 (2nd)

Both anchors put up 2 of only 3 sub-19 anchors (the other was Michigan's anchor) in the event, and Sendyk, the only sub-20 butterfly split in the entire field. Another showcase of the Bear Bros' depth to start tonight!

Julian led the 400 IM through the first 200 before Swanson (Michigan) took over. Bears notched 2-3-5-8 between Grieshop, Thomas, Julian, and Jhong. Really impressed by the closing speed of Grieshop and Thomas; the only two men in the field to have a final 50 sub-25!

100 fly: Bears making up half of the A-final tonight and grab 2-3-4-8.

Quah 45.58, two tenths off his morning swim, Seliskar 45.59, Hoffer 45.77, and Sendyk 46.74.

*As noted by SwimSwam, this is a PB for Seliksar! First time sub-46. Continuing with that insane versatility ...

1:34.79 from Mefford to 2nd in the 200 free tonight.

54.90 from Arvidsson (2nd in B-final), 51.77 from Whitley and 52.48 from Sand to take 1-2 in the 100 breast. (Seliskar scratched).

1:30.86 leadoff from Seli on the 800fr relay tonight.... my goodness. What a beast! Thought my eyes were reading wrong when I saw the live results.

Men's team possesses much more depth than the Cal women. I believe that the men will finish first or second at the NCAAs this season. The only weakness seems to be a lack of superstars. Seliskar is one now but several others are developing into stars before our eyes. How quickly they improve might tell the tale of 1st or 2nd place.
GO BEARS!

It seems odd that Michael Jensen didn't swim 4x200 relay, neither A nor B team.

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Bears Roll On At Georgia Fall Invite



School Record For Seliskar, Four Race Wins Help Cal Maintain Team Lead

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Top Eight Times From Day Two of Mid-Season Invitationals: Beata Nelson, Andrew Seliskar Move up All-Time Lists

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Overall, Bear sophomore class hasn't swum as well as they did last year at this event. All but Hoffer were even slower than the NCAA invite time last year. Hopefully, this's just because of heavy training or the fire-smoke effect. Bears rely heavily on them.

This morning
Michael Jensen - 100 free - 42.40 - PR?

Btw, out of nowhere, UT got a good breaststroke leg (Charles Scheinfeld, FR) and a decent fly leg (SR Tate Jackson, SR).

Results:

Daniel Carr with the W in the 2Back (1:39.43), with Bryce taking 4th in the A in 1:40.59 after leading through the 150.

Andy Song wins the B heat in a 1:43.23, with Ethan Young taking 7th in 1:46.66. David Puczkowski and frosh Kyle Millis go 4-5 in the C final with 1:47.68 and 1:47.84, respectively.

100 Free

Bears go 1-2-3 in the A with Jensen, Sendyk and Hoffer (42.10, 42.40, 42.53).

Nate Biondi goes a 43.77 for the win the B heat, with Shane Forker in 5th (44.75). Frosh O'Connell and Penvenne go 2-4 in the C heat with times of 45.53 and 45.81.

Seli and Reece go 1-2 in the A heat with times of 1:51.85 and 1:52.47, both under the A standard. Carson Sand adds ~1 sec ish from prelims for a 1:58.12 for 8th in the heat

Karl Arvidsson goes 1:58.82 for 4th in the B heat.

Zheng Quah wins the 2fly in an A cut of 1:39.29. Mike Thomas takes 2nd in the A with 1:41.29, with Trenton behind in 5th (1:42.71).

Jarod Hatch places 3rd in the B heat with a time of 1:46.80.

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Bears Defend Title At Georgia Fall Invite



Cal Finishes Relay Sweep, Adds Four Individual Titles On Final Day In Athens


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2018 GEORGIA FALL INVITE: DAY 3 FINALS LIVE RECAP




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Pretty good last swim session for bears. Phew.
Mefford had the beard for this meet. Some bears are unshaved?
The scoring sophomores all made last year invited time.

Daniel Carr - 200 Back (1:39.43)
Sean Grieshop - 400 IM (3:42.80)
Ryan Hoffer - 100 Fly (45.77), 100 Free (42.43)
Trenton Julian - 500 Free (4:15.33)
Bryce Mefford - 100 Back (45.78), 200 Back (1:40.59)

NCAA Swimming Notebook: Andrew Seliskar Now the Best in the Country?



At his junior year NCAA championships, Andrew Seliskar was a national title waiting to happen or at least it seemed that way. He went into the 200 IM final as the top seed, only to end up fifth in the fastest final in history. He was the top seed again the next day in the 400 IM, only to fall to third, as Abrahm DeVine blew everyone away.

And in his last chance, the 200 breast, he left too much ground to make up against Ian Finnerty on the last 50 and finished a quarter-second behind.

Sure, Seliskar wanted to win an individual national title, but the bigger deal for him was the clock ticking on his swimming career. Finishing up his junior year, he had to start wondering what his future looked like after the 2019 NCAA championships. He hadn't carved out a niche in long course, a necessity for anyone looking at a pro career and an injury which kept him out for the entire 2017 summer season didn't help.

"I think last summer was a big turning point for me," Seliskar said in July 2018. "I was forced to take some time out of the water. I knew it was make-or-break for me. I could either finish out my career and be alright, or I could try to push through it and have a big breakthrough swim."

Well, that's exactly what happened, with a national title few saw coming. Seliskar has always been an IMer, and he's had some success in breaststroke and butterfly. But freestyle, the 200 free? Not traditionally his thing, not when he was named national High School Swimmer of the Year and not during his early time at Cal.

Maybe what changed everything was his first swim at that junior-year NCAA championships: a 1:31.28 leadoff leg on Cal's 4x200 free relay. So Seliskar and Dave Durden, his coach at Cal, made the call to train more freestyle.

Fast forward four months, and Seliskar was a national champion in the 200 freeand then an individual silver medalist at Pan Pacs.

Now, he's back in college, at the halfway point of his senior season as a Golden Bear. At this weekend's Georgia Invitational, here were some of his times: 1:40.55 in the 200 IM, the top time in the country by two seconds; 1:51.85 in the 200 breast, the top time in the country; 1:30.86 as a 200 free relay leadoff, the top time in the country and good enough to make him the third-fastest performer in history in the event behind Townley Haas and Blake Pieroni.

For good measure, he swam a 45.59 in the 100 fly and split 51.32 as the breaststroker on Cal's medley relay. To end the meet, he anchored Cal's 4100 free relay in 42.06.

So now, Andrew Seliskar is the best swimmer on the men's collegiate scene. No, he's not Caeleb
Dressel let's be honest, who is? But he's a threat for a national title in whatever events he swims at the end of the season (including the 400 IM).

And after NCAAs, Seliskar will step into a new role: as someone the U.S. National team will be depending on.

Thank you very much for your smashing breakdown and detailed take on the current status and what to look forward to for our Bear Bros, swan!

Just noticed this entry on College Swimming on a late 2018 international addition to the squad (breaststroker looks like - coming in next semester?), and was wondering if anyone has any further info?


Jacques Lauffer (SUI) => Cal

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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Just noticed this entry on College Swimming on a late 2018 international addition to the squad (breaststroker looks like - coming in next semester?), and was wondering if anyone has any further info?


Jacques Lauffer (SUI) => Cal

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Not much on young Mr Lauffer from a quick internet search. Using the available time converters (always tricky as I have learned from the Marina Garcia experience where the Spanish Olympian's converted long course times proved a poor forecast for her results in college yards) Jacques' long course results from last
April convert to a high end breaststroke recruit. His best converted times still place him well behind Reece Whitley but rather in the same category as Jian Mao, Brennan Pastorek or Paul Delakis from the 2017 class of outstanding breaststroke recruits. He is listed as a class of 2018 recruit so he may be able to swim for Cal starting second semester.

Edit 12/5. I took another look at Lauffer's 200 L breast curve and his improvement from 2:20.17 in March 2017 to his PB of 2:13.04 in April 2018 is startling. That April 2018 time would have placed him 3rd at the recently concluded Winter Nationals, ahead of former Bear great Chuck Katis, who swam an US Olympic qualifying time of 2:13.95. If Jacques can adjust to college and yards quickly, he projects as a potential NCAA scorer in the 200 breast. I would enjoy learning more about his journey to Cal. Interestingly, Swimswam has yet to comment on the commitment, but I believe that is somewhat normal for international recruits.

After comparing the Bears and UT, I like the Bears' chances even though it seems so concerning at the first glance. It will come down to who pays more attention to little details and peaks at the right time.

-- Bears didn't swim well for 2.5 days at the last NC. The same thing happened again at this GA Invite. Hopefully, this won't happen at 2019 NC.
-- The depth of UT team is scary. However, comparing to last year A & B qualifying time, not all of them will score.

UT will use different relay lineups at NC, so the current comparison is not fair but does give some ideas of what's coming.

solobear said:

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After comparing the Bears and UT, I like the Bears' chances even though it seems so concerning at the first glance. It will come down to who pays more attention to little details and peaks at the right time.

-- Bears didn't swim well for 2.5 days at the last NC. The same thing happened again at this GA Invite. Hopefully, this won't happen at 2019 NC.
-- The depth of UT team is scary. However, comparing to last year A & B qualifying time, not all of them will score.

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When you include the 200 IM where the Bears have Seliskar, Quah and Thomas versus Horn's Shebat, Willenbring and Harty, and the 400 IM with Grieshop, Thomas and Julian taking on Vines and possibly Larson, the picture brightens for the Bears. But I expect the Horns to get scoring from Newkirk and Pomajevich in addition to Haas and Kibler in the 200 Free for a huge scoring event for Texas. The Horns will also have a decided advantage in both the 100 and 200 back.

Texas will have home field advantage, but that was also true in 2014 when the Bear's upset the Horn's. I believe we will outswim Texas, but I think it will be difficult to overcome the 70 returning diving points from Windle, Cornish and Campbell.

SONS OF OLYMPIC GREATS CREATING THEIR OWN LEGACIES IN THE NCAA


Karl & Par Arvidsson, Matt & Nate Biondi


Right now, there are two particular college sophomores in the NCAA who live in the world of comparisons based on their famous last names. Both have fathers who were Olympic Champions, former world record holders, and trailblazers in the sport they've even gone head-to-head.

Both Borges and Biondi were titans of the sprint freestyle in their time. Biondi broke Rowdy Gaines' 100 free long course WR in 1985 with a 49.24, then broke it three more times in the '80s, until it settled at 48.42 in 1988 and stood for six years. With no swimmer breaking 48.0 until the 21st century, Biondi was well ahead of his time, and was known for a whopping five gold medal performance at the '88 Games as he chased Mark Spitz's record of seven golds.

While not on quite as grand a stage as their fathers, Luiz Gustavo Borges and Nate Biondi are continuing swimming legacies at Michigan and Cal (which is where Gustavo and Matt went, respectively).

Nate Biondi, meanwhile, did not come to Cal with ludicrous sprint times. When he announced his verbal commitment in November of 2016, he was 21.26 in the 50 free, which is not the kind of time many people are used to seeing going to swim at Cal. Biondi chopped that all the way down to a 20.27, though, at the 2017 CIF D3 Champs. Growing up playing basketball, soccer, and water polo in Hawaii, Biondi didn't focus on swimming year-round until high school, so some late progressions were expected. After not making the 2018 Cal NCAA team and not improving upon his high school 50 free best, Biondi rocked a milestone 19.91 at the UGA Invite last weekend, his first time under 20 seconds, as Cal's B relay lead-off. He also broke 44.0 for the first time in the 100, clocking a 43.77 to win the B final.

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• SwimSwam comments of interest:

YEARS OF PLAIN SUCK - "Let's not overlook KARL ARVIDSSON, a junior at Cal. He is the son of Par ARVIDSON, the 1980 Olympic Champion in the 100 fly representing Sweden (and also a stalwart member of Cal's 1980 NCAA championship team).

Karl went a 53.14 in the 100 breaststroke (yds) and 1:54.9 in the 200 earlier this year, and also made the All PAC-12 Academic Team. Plus, he's a good guy!"

HONEST OBSERVER - "Excellent article. You could add Trenton Julian to this mix. His mother, Kristine Quance, once won four individual titles at nationals. (She also won gold in '96 as part of the US medley relay.) Most of us remember her as the woman who was (unfairly?) disqualified in the 200 breast and 400 IM, her best events, at '96 Trials."

JAMES - "Really impressive results in Georgia for Nate Biondi. On plenty other teams outside of Cal, he would fit well into the very top of a sprint program. But I also suspect training with the group he does has helped move those times from mostly pedestrian fast to a much more high level performer."

THE READY ROOM - "Especially considering his lack of experience out of high school! I'm not much privy to the inside scoop, but my guess would be that his "off" year last year was just him adjusting to what "real" swimming is actually like. So glad he's starting to thrive!"

Thanks Swan. For some reasons, I forgot Cal's best event, 200 IM. Arguably Durden can coach anybody into 200 IMer. It's the one event that can help erasing UT's diving discount.