Thanks for the stats again UAC. I'm still shocked at Ema and Ali's time drops of .77 and .80 respectively. That must have been one great motivational speech between sessions.
2019 Pac-12 Swimming & Diving Champs (Women's)
22,093 Views |
159 Replies |
Last: 5 yr ago by UrsusArctosCalifornicus
Last day, let's go BEARS!
200 Back:
Keeks- 5th (1:53.42)
Alicia- 8th (1:54.96)
Court- 10th (1:55.67)
Sophie- 11th (1:56.05)
Aislinn- 20th (1:58.89)
200 Back:
Keeks- 5th (1:53.42)
Alicia- 8th (1:54.96)
Court- 10th (1:55.67)
Sophie- 11th (1:56.05)
Aislinn- 20th (1:58.89)
tedbear said:
I'm still shocked at Ema and Ali's time drops of .77 and .80 respectively. That must have been one great motivational speech between sessions.
Indeed!!!
Well some more quick thoughts as I head out...
What a day yesterday - Bears had busted out at least 19 lifetime bests on Day 3 (sorry if I had missed anyone's :p)
9 during the morning heats courtesy of Katie & Izzy (100 Fly), Abbey & Robin (200 Free), Ema, Alexa B, Dannie & Natalie (100 Breast), Sophie (100 Back)
...followed by another 10 PBs @ evening finals - Elizabeth (400 IM), Katie & Izzy (100 Fly), Abbey & Robin (200 Free), Ema (100 Breast), Billy, Keeks, Sophie & Alicia (100 Back).
That's not taking into account the tally of season bests, school bests, and most importantly, more NCAA invites or close to one (Ema, Ali, Sophie, etc), as well as new additions to Cal's all-time Top 10 lists either.
Not to be sidetracked by the relative performance of the team in cardinal red (who did also achieve a bunch of personal & season bests), but here are the # of podium spots for Bears v. Trees:
400 IM - 1 v. 2
100 Fly - 2 v. 0 (Trees had put 0 into the A finals)
200 Free - 3 v. 0
100 Breast - 0 v. 0 (0 Bears in the A final, but swept the B final 1-2)
100 Back - 2 v. 1
Alright, so the Furdettes scored 571 points v. our Golden Bears' 509, but their 62 points advantage basically = their diving score differential (95 pts v. our 33 pts)
I'd also take Bears' 4 out of 4 relay wins any day, esp when 3 of them represent the top times in the nation currently!
Interestingly enough, the biggest threat to Cal's shot at the national title in the 400 MR may come from Indiana, where Lilly King can gift her team a 3 to 4+ sec lead over the rest of the field!
1. Cal - 3:26.41 ......Amy Bilquist (50.64), Ema Rajic (59.53), Katie McLaughlin (50.14), Abbey Weitzeil (46.10) ......2019 Pac-12s
2. IU - 3:26.60 ......Morgan Scott (52.21), Lilly King (55.66!), Christine Jensen (50.68), Shelby Koontz(48.05) ......2019 Big Ten
This will easily be our worse day of the meet. I just hope we get the relay sweep!
100 Free:
Amy- 1st
Abbey- 2nd
Robin- 3rd
Maddie- 12th
Elise- 22nd
Amy- 1st
Abbey- 2nd
Robin- 3rd
Maddie- 12th
Elise- 22nd
4 Trees in the A final of 2back dictated that (Ruck, Eastin, Nordmann, Voss).tedbear said:
This will easily be our worse day of the meet.
So, it doesn't look like Izzy is going to swim an event today, so I guess she will try to do the 100 Fly (#10) and 200 free (#32) double at NCAAs. She seemed to run out of gas in the latter event, so it will be interesting to see how she does.
Uh oh, looks like Katie got DQed in the 200 Fly. In other good news, Cass dropped two seconds off her seeded time to get the 6th spot for the final.
200 Breast:
Ema- 10th
Ali- 16th
Dannie- 21st
Alexa B- 23rd
2Fly:
Cass- 6th!!
Sarah- 8th
Elizabeth- 16th
Jenna- 19th
Katie- DQ
Ema- 10th
Ali- 16th
Dannie- 21st
Alexa B- 23rd
2Fly:
Cass- 6th!!
Sarah- 8th
Elizabeth- 16th
Jenna- 19th
Katie- DQ
Cass' time has her currently ranked 28th in the 200 Fly, so she is likely to make the Big Dance!
swimmer19 said:
100 Free:
Amy- 1st
Abbey- 2nd
Robin- 3rd
Maddie- 12th
Elise- 22nd
Bodes well for the 400 Free Relay to complete the sweep. Teri likely goes with McL instead of Maddie.
might be early, but baed on performances in the conference, how does Cal pencil out vs Furd, Texas and Michigan in the NCAAs?
Question for Cal women's swimming insiders: I looked at this morning's prelims and the Bears are only strong in two events (100m free & 400m free relay) out of seven. It appeared to me that McKeever might have surrendered and not entered her top personnel in several events. Cal will be crushed tonight. In otherwords, the Bears swam other people in the relay legs of the fly, back, etc. but did not enter them today. Am I interpreting things correctly or is it really this one-sided on the final day irregardless of any lineup McKeever fields? Cal was quite competitive on Wed, Thurs & Fri but does NOT appear to be tonight (Saturday).
Once again, I'm a novice fan that follows both mens & womens swimming every year from a distance. I realize that I could be incorrect on my observations. Thank you in advance for any education that you can pass along to me. GO BEARS!
beaverbear-I did not know that Katie McLaughlin DQ'd in the 200m fly. Yes-you were on the money on the initial
two MIA swimmers that I questioned. I do recall Amy Billquist being on crutches not that long ago so her lack
of endurance makes sense.
Cal was down by 190 points after three days but finished down 431 in the final standings. This big drop off on Saturday was the reason I was somewhat dumbfounded...GO BEARS!
Once again, I'm a novice fan that follows both mens & womens swimming every year from a distance. I realize that I could be incorrect on my observations. Thank you in advance for any education that you can pass along to me. GO BEARS!
beaverbear-I did not know that Katie McLaughlin DQ'd in the 200m fly. Yes-you were on the money on the initial
two MIA swimmers that I questioned. I do recall Amy Billquist being on crutches not that long ago so her lack
of endurance makes sense.
Cal was down by 190 points after three days but finished down 431 in the final standings. This big drop off on Saturday was the reason I was somewhat dumbfounded...GO BEARS!
Hi @Schroeder71. Are you referring to Amy Bilquist not swimming the 200 back and Katie McLaughlin not swimming the 200 fly? In Katie's case, she did swim it over the 100 free, where she was also highly seeded, but ended up DQ'ing the race (not sure if it was due to a one-handed touch or whatnot). From the psych sheets, Cal had plenty of potential A finalists in the 100 free, but none besides her in the 200 fly. Coach McKeever probably wanted the points and asked Katie to swim the 200 fly. In any case, Cal is fortunate that both Cassidy Bayer and Sarah Darcel ended up qualifying for the A final there. I am not totally sure which event Katie will swim on Day 4 at NCAAs.
In terms of Amy, I got the impression (from watching the Cal-Stanford dual meet a couple of weeks ago) that her endurance wasn't quite there in the 200 (back) distance, but her speed was fine in the 50 and 100. The 50-100-200 spread of distances taxes the aerobic and anaerobic systems differently, and it seems difficult to correctly taper well across multiple distances and strokes. Since Cal seemed to prioritize the relays for Pac-12s, it makes sense to have Amy swim the 100 free and ensure an NCAA invite time.
Generally, Cal is more of a sprint- and relay-oriented team, and Stanford has been stronger in the distances and IMs (but now is pretty well-rounded, much like the Cal men's team).
In terms of Amy, I got the impression (from watching the Cal-Stanford dual meet a couple of weeks ago) that her endurance wasn't quite there in the 200 (back) distance, but her speed was fine in the 50 and 100. The 50-100-200 spread of distances taxes the aerobic and anaerobic systems differently, and it seems difficult to correctly taper well across multiple distances and strokes. Since Cal seemed to prioritize the relays for Pac-12s, it makes sense to have Amy swim the 100 free and ensure an NCAA invite time.
Generally, Cal is more of a sprint- and relay-oriented team, and Stanford has been stronger in the distances and IMs (but now is pretty well-rounded, much like the Cal men's team).
tedbear said:
Cass' time has her currently ranked 28th in the 200 Fly, so she is likely to make the Big Dance!
Well, it's the last day of competition, one where Bears alas have historically been at their most vulnerable (not a single entrant in the mile compared to a quartet of Trees, longer distance stroke events, platform diving etc), and where conversely LSJU have always historically been at their strongest... ~sigh~
The good news from this morning's prelims:
1) Hooray, another invite that we had all been nervously keeping our fingers crossed for -yay, soo happy for our loyal & popular Baby Bear, so very well deserved!!!
Cass' 1:55.90 represents a drop of almost 2 sec from her former fastest time as a Bear, and within 0.7 sec of her (pre-injuries) lifetime best. btw, SwimSwam's estimated 2019 NCAA invite time for the 200 Fly = 1:55.91... :p
2) Congrats also to a pair of our other Baby Bears who had achieved new personal records @ prelims - Ema lowering her 200 Breast record by approx half a sec, and Alicia her 200 Back best by over a second & a half, well done!
3) Coming within shouting (and in some cases, whispering lol) distance of their PBs - Keeks & Sophie (200 Back), Billy & Robin (100 Free), Cassidy & Elizabeth (200 Fly).
Quite gutted really for Bug re her DQ, as she would have been a serious contender for a 200 Fly podium spot, but to look upon the bright side, McL will be swimming the 400 FR all fresh, and hopefully with a vengeance...
BearDevil said:
Bodes well for the 400 Free Relay to complete the sweep. Teri likely goes with McL instead of Maddie.
Agree w/BD that Amy, Robin, Katie & Abbey = the likely lineup for Bears. Well, with perhaps an off-chance that a fresh Izzy (or potentially Keeks) could be the backup for Robin - hmmm, upon further reflection, Teri can always have Izz lead off the B squad instead if she wants to go for a high seed time there for NCAAs...
LSJU may try to respond w/Ruck, Eastin, Pitzer & co (Drabot, Nordmann, Goeders, Volpenhein, Fackenthal, Raab?). Haven't kept proper track of the Furdette relay lineups thru the meet, so not sure if Ruck or Eastin have already reached their swim quotas for Pac-12s (i.e. 3 individuals, 4 relays)??
Trojans could well go w/Hansson, Ciesla, Wade and their pair of Commonwealth internationals who have been dropping massive time here.
Here are some 400 FR school records to shoot for tonight...prob. a bit of a tall order though, as would call for a pair of 46s + 47s splits, at the end of the 4-day session where everyone will be completely knackered physically & emotionally!
Cal All-Time Top 3 - 400-Yard Free Relay
#1 ...3:08.05 ...Amy (47.59), Abbey (46.37), Kathleen (47.21), Katie (46.88) ......2018
#2 ...3:09.08 ...Amy (47.55), Kathleen (47.72), Abbey (46.93), Farida (46.88) .....2017
#3 ...3:09.76 ...Missy (46.66), Bootsie (47.39), Camille (48.21), Farida (47.50) ..2015
NCAA, US & Pac-12 record:
3:07.61 ...Stanford (Manuel, Ledecky, Hu, Neal) ...2017
Anyway - last one fast one as they say...LFG Bears!!!
------
- UPDATE =>
wifeisafurd said:
might be early, but baed on performances in the conference, how does Cal pencil out vs Furd, Texas and Michigan in the NCAAs?
Haha, still a mite early, let's see how things go tonight first
Swimswam should be publishing a (very) detailed series of analysis & breakdown of all the 2019 Conference Championship results by teams & individuals, along with a projection of NCAA invites & scoring, so stay tuned...
In a nutshell, I'd say the Furdettes will repeat (imo), but will possibly not have the massive cushion & margin of victory they had enjoyed @ last year's edition of Nationals.
Thanks largely to Billy & Abbey's return to form (and more), Katie's continuing improvements, and a host of encouraging indications from quite a few of our Golden Bears at these Pac-12s (too many names to mention), I'd personally feel more confident right now that Bears can hang onto the runner-up spot, albeit Cal will be chased hard by the likes of Michigan & Texas, so nothing's a given...
*DAY 4* FINALS
1650 Free
Er, no Bears (0 pts) v. 4 Trees (#1, #3, #6, #12 = 98 pts)
2019 PAC-12 WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY 4 FINALS LIVE RECAP
The Stanford women look very strong heading into the final day of the Pac-12 championships. Along the way, Cal's Abbey Weitzeil headlines the Bears as she could take down another sprint record. Stock photo via Mike Lewis/Ola Vista Photography
2Back finals:
Keeks- 5th (1:51.73)
Alicia- 8th (1:55.11)
Sophie- 9th (1:55.05)
Court- 14th (1:56.73)
Aislinn- 20th (1:57.83)
Keeks- 5th (1:51.73)
Alicia- 8th (1:55.11)
Sophie- 9th (1:55.05)
Court- 14th (1:56.73)
Aislinn- 20th (1:57.83)
200 Back Finals
#5 Keeks - 1:51.73 (PB = 1:53.31, 2018 Pac-12s) => New PB by a lot!* = #6 on Cal's Top 10
#8 Alicia - 1:55.11 (PB = 1:54.96, 2019 Pac-12s Prelims)
#9 Sophie - 1:55.05 (PB = 1:55.87, 2018 Pac-12s) => New PB!*
#14 Coco - 1:56.73 (PB = 1:54.36, 2018 Pac-12s Time Trials)
#20 Aislinn - 1:57.83 (PB = 1:56.27, 2018 Pac-12s)
#5 Keeks - 1:51.73 (PB = 1:53.31, 2018 Pac-12s) => New PB by a lot!* = #6 on Cal's Top 10
#8 Alicia - 1:55.11 (PB = 1:54.96, 2019 Pac-12s Prelims)
#9 Sophie - 1:55.05 (PB = 1:55.87, 2018 Pac-12s) => New PB!*
#14 Coco - 1:56.73 (PB = 1:54.36, 2018 Pac-12s Time Trials)
#20 Aislinn - 1:57.83 (PB = 1:56.27, 2018 Pac-12s)
100 Free
Abbey's 46.35 breaks her own school record (46.49)!! Replaces Erika Brown's 46.41 as the top time in the nation for the season!!
Bears take the 1-2-3 sweep
Wow, great swims from Amy & Robin, with Amy almost going under 46!! and Robin going under 48 for the first time (I think??) Bodes well for the 400 FR and relay sweep
100 Free
#1 Abbey - 46.35 (PB = 46.29, 2015 Winter Jrs) - NCAA 'A' cut
#2 Amy - 47.01 (prev PB = 47.45, 2018 NCAAs) - NCAA 'A' cut => New PB!*
#3 Robin - 47.78 (PB = 48.07, 2018 NCAAs) => New PB!*
#13 Madds - 49.03 (PB = 48.22, 2017 NCAAs)
#24 Elise - 49.97 (PB = 49.45, 2017 Nov)
Billy's now #4 on Cal's Top 10 (behind Abbey, Missy & Natalie).
Robin @ #9 shared with Lizzie
#1 Abbey - 46.35 (PB = 46.29, 2015 Winter Jrs) - NCAA 'A' cut
#2 Amy - 47.01 (prev PB = 47.45, 2018 NCAAs) - NCAA 'A' cut => New PB!*
#3 Robin - 47.78 (PB = 48.07, 2018 NCAAs) => New PB!*
#13 Madds - 49.03 (PB = 48.22, 2017 NCAAs)
#24 Elise - 49.97 (PB = 49.45, 2017 Nov)
Billy's now #4 on Cal's Top 10 (behind Abbey, Missy & Natalie).
Robin @ #9 shared with Lizzie
Ema breaks out a new PB again with her B final winning time of 2:10.47 (over Furdette Kim Williams)!
UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:
Ema breaks out a new PB again with her B final winning time of 2:10.47 (over Furdette Kim Williams)!
200 Breast
#10 Ema - 2:10.47 (prev PB = 2:11.20, 2019 Pac-12s Prelims) => New PB!*
#16 Ali - 2:12.71 (PB = 2:10.21, 2018 NCAAs)
#21 Alexa B - 2:14.23 (PB = 2:13.20, 2018 UGA Invite)
#22 Dannie - 2:15.04 (PB = 2:14.02, 2017 UGA Invite)
Oh, Ema's now the 5th fastest ever @ Cal in the 200 Breast (Ali = #4).
200 Fly
#5 Sarah - 1:55.55 (PB = 1:55.26, 2018 Pac-12s)
#7 Cass - 1:56.12 (PB = 1:55.20, 2015 Mar)
#16 Elizabeth - 1:58.92 (PB = 1:59.31, 2015 Winter Jrs) => New PB!*
#19 Jenna - 1:59.26 (PB = 1:59.02, 2013 Apr)
Abbey won Swimmer of the Meet!
WowwwWoooo
3:07.41 - Bears smashes the Furdettes' NCAA &
Three 46 sec splits, sooo bloody incredible & brilliant!!!!
Bears sweeps all 5 relays, sooo sweeeet - Swim on you Bears!!!!
Go Bears! Go Bears! Go Bears!
--------
400 Free Relay
3:07.41 ...Robin (48.17), Katie (46.55), Amy (46.30), Abbey (46.39)
#1 on Cal's All-Time list. naturally!
Cal All-Time Top 10
#2 ...3:08.05 ...Amy (47.59), Abbey (46.37), Kathleen (47.21), Katie (46.88) ......2018
#3 ...3:09.08 ...Amy (47.55), Kathleen (47.72), Abbey (46.93), Farida (46.88) .....2017
UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:
Agree w/BD that Amy, Robin, Katie & Abbey = the likely lineup for Bears.
LSJU may try to respond w/Ruck, Eastin, Pitzer & co (Drabot, Nordmann, Goeders, Volpenhein, Fackenthal, Raab?).
Trojans could well go w/Hansson, Ciesla, Wade and their pair of Commonwealth internationals who have been dropping massive time here.
Here are some 400 FR school records to shoot for tonight...prob. a bit of a tall order though, as would call for a pair of 46s + 47s splits, at the end of the 4-day session where everyone will be completely knackered physically & emotionally!
Cal All-Time Top 3 - 400-Yard Free Relay
#1 ...3:08.05 ...Amy (47.59), Abbey (46.37), Kathleen (47.21), Katie (46.88) ......2018
#2 ...3:09.08 ...Amy (47.55), Kathleen (47.72), Abbey (46.93), Farida (46.88) .....2017
#3 ...3:09.76 ...Missy (46.66), Bootsie (47.39), Camille (48.21), Farida (47.50) ..2015
NCAA, US & Pac-12 record:
3:07.61 ...Stanford (Manuel, Ledecky, Hu, Neal) ...2017
Sooo happy to be proven wrong here lol Bears really lit it up in the finale - heck I don't even care about the overall standings where LSJU had actually ended up scoring 400+ points ahead of us haha.
Oh, not to overlook the efforts of our B relay squad, who would have placed 5th overall in the entire field if their time had counted!
3:14.60 ...Cal 'B' ...Izzy (48.22), Keeks (48.17), Madds (48.51), Aisy (49.70) ...2019 Pac-12s
Note that Isabel's 48.22 here is her 2nd fastest ever, her lifetime best being an impressive 47.88 from 2016 Winter Jrs.
Just imagine how much faster our record-breaking 400 FR could have even been, if Robin had reproduced her 47.78 from earlier (or if Izzy had led off with her PB), and Abbey wasn't so exhausted!!!!
Bug & Billy's splits were so fun to watch, esp when Katie wasted no time in casually wiping away that formidable 1.41 sec lead Ruck had gifted the Furdettes with at the conclusion of the first leg!
As mentioned, Taylor Ruck threw down a really swift leadoff leg for the Trees, a 46.76, which should now rank her as 5th fastest in the nation, pushing Billy's 47.01 from the 100 Free individual earlier down to #6...
---------
- UPDATES => (corrected the bit about a new AR, since I conveniently forgot that Robin's Dutch )
3:07.41 ...Cal 'A' ...Robin (48.17), Katie (46.55), Amy (46.30), Abbey (46.39) ...2019 Pac-12s
Former NCAA, US Open & Pac-12 record (still the current American record):
3:07.61 ...Stanford ...Manuel (46.02), Ledecky (47.59), Hu (47.63), Neal (46.37) ...2017 NCAAs
Former Pac-12 Championship Record:
3:08.51 ...Stanford ...Manuel (46.47), Ledecky (48.10), Hu (47.49), Neal (46.45) ...2017 Pac-12s
---------
A sweep of the relays! Incredible for these hard-working ladies. Wow, what an effort by all Bears to cap off a great meet. Excited to see progress at NCAAs. Roll on, you Bears!
Amy Bilquist, Abbey Weitzeil and Robin Neumann after the trio swept the 100 free at the Pac-12 Championships
Weitzeil Leads Bears To Record Night
Junior Sets Pac-12 Mark In 100 Free, Anchors 400 Free Relay To NCAA Record
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Cal put a firm stamp on its performance in the final event at the Pac-12 Championships Saturday night, swimming away with the 400 free relay in an NCAA-record time of 3:07.41. The result meant Bears swept all five relays at the meet for the first time ever.
Leading the way individually for the Golden Bears was junior Abbey Weitzeil, who lowered the Pac-12 meet record and her own Cal school record in the 100 free when she touched in 46.35. The victory added to her individual wins in the 50 free and 200 free earlier in the meet, and she was named the Pac-12 Swimmer of the Meet for her efforts.
"I feel we are in a really good place," head coach Teri McKeever said. "We now need to refocus, stay healthy and see what we can do in a couple of weeks at NCAAs. It's going to be exciting."
In the 100 free, Weitzeil rushed out to the lead and never looked back, finishing in 46.35. Her time, which stands at the fastest in the country this year, broke the meet record of 46.36 by Stanford's Simone Manuel in 2017.
And, as the Golden Bears did in the 200 free final Friday, they swept the top three positions in the 100 free. Right behind Weitzeil was senior Amy Bilquist, who raced to a personal-best 47.01, while sophomore Robin Neumann was third in a PR 47.78.
Cal picked up its ninth and final event title of the championships in the 400 free relay. Neumann led off and was followed by Katie McLaughlin, Bilquist and Weitzeil. By the time the Bears reached the final wall, they had broken the NCAA mark of 3:07.61 set by Stanford in 2017.
In the 200 backstroke, junior Keaton Blovad lowered her time to 1:51.73 to place fifth and put herself sixth on Cal's all-time list in the event. Freshman Alicia Wilson also reached the A final and took eighth in 1:55.11, with sophomore Sophie Krivokapic-Zhou earning the B final victory (9th overall) in 1:55.05.
Freshman Ema Rajic claimed victory in the B final of the 200 breaststroke, moving up to fifth all-time at Cal in 2:10.47. Sophomore Sarah Darcel led the Bears in the 200 butterfly, touching fifth in 1:55.55, and Cassidy Bayer joined her in the A final and placed seventh in 1:56.12.
In platform diving, sophomore Briana Thai led the Cal contingent with a 13th-place showing.
Cal's nine event victories came in all five relays 200, 400 and 800 free relay, 200 and 400 medley relay along with individual wins by Weitzeil (50, 100 and 200 free) and Bilquist (100 back).
Stanford earned the team title with 1,775 points, with Cal taking second with 1,352 points. USC was third (1,183.5), with Arizona State (932.5) and Arizona (837) rounding out the top five.
Cal returns to action March 20-23 at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas. The Bears have finished among the top three at the national meet each of the past 10 years the longest current streak in the country.