Thank you for starting the topic, HBear!

Should be a cracker of a National Championship!

Throughout this season, Bears have generally been projected to end up between a 3rd to a 4th place NCAA finish, with a shot at runner-up status, thanks to some strong in-season & mid-season results from rising threats Michigan, Texas, Tenn etc.

The Trees seen as almost a shoo-in for a comfortable three-peat sweep of Nattys, in respectful consideration of their formidable depth, of coach Meehan parlaying their bountiful crop after crop of very highly ranked recruits (incl. the top 2 divers for the 2018 freshie class who have both qualified for 2019 NCAAs), whilst the famed Furdette Juggernaut had blown out the competition with their 500+ points NCAAs scoring in the past consecutive seasons.

The unexpected loss of Thleen + injuries to key players such as Billy in the early season also contributed to some lowered expectations for Cal W Swim & Dive from some quarters...

So it was a bit of a bright spot for us when our Bears had valiantly put their hearts & guts out at last month's Pac-12s, overcoming all sorts of adversities & the challenge of being labelled a massive underdog! Handily claimed all 5 relays over highly-favoured LSJU at conference, with 4 top times in the country no less, not to mention putting down the Trees' NCAA & US Open record in the 400 FR

Not that Teri will be underestimating Meehan's #1 squad one wee bit next week, mind you. The Cardinal does hold an enviable reputation for (sneakily lol) reserving their fastest performances for when it really counts, in March, and that is historically validated by their considerable improvement curve between conference & nationals.

Stanford's heavy-hitters (Eastin, Ruck, Drabot, Forde & many more) didn't appear to be rested much if at all up @ Federal Way last month...TBH, what with all their fearsome depth & breadth, didn't really need to, as had easily outscored Cal in excess of 400 points @ Pac-12s, in spite of LSJU not having won a single relay! (Greg still experimenting & juggling his relay lineups?)

Note also that Bears had won an impressive 4 out of 5 relays @ 2018 Pac-12s (including the 800 Free where the Furdettes were heavy favourites), but didn't end up atop any of the relays @ 2018 NCAAs - in fact had finished 3rd in 2 of them (800 FR & 400 MR), even tho going faster in 4 relays @ Nattys.

That's partly cos the Furd Machine had dropped the hammer at the Big Dance last season, looking almost like a different team from their Pac-12s edition, with most of their big swimmers smashing tons of time & records @ 2018 NCAAs.

With that being said, how much faster the Trees can go next week is basically outside of Cal's control (other than how the team reacts to this) - we can look forward instead to Bears staying in their own space, giving their all for each other and for school pride!

I wouldn't be altogether surprised if Bug busts out a series of spectacular swims next week (esp in her sprints), since she appeared to be swimming quite tired at conference (as expected)

...Abbey was also relatively unrested and is on the verge of a breakout collegiate season finale, if her mental game's on

...Billy looked really sharp at Pac-12s busting out all manners of PBs & splits, particularly in her freestyle - has massive upside that has gone largely unrealised due to her constantly battling health issues in the past, but could finally get a well-deserved break in her senior year after all the stress fracture scares earlier on.

What will be equally critical to Bears' chances of success - how all the other relatively unsung heroes on the team will rise to the occasion: Robin, Sarah, Madds, Keeks, Ali and all.

The froskis too - Izzy, Ema, Alicia & Cass.

Fending off serious challenges to cement a remarkable run of eight Top 2 finishes in the last decade is looking a distinct possibility...with an outside (but not entirely out of reach) shot of snatching the national team title from under the Furdettes' potentially over-confident noses - well if all the stars align for Oski

Go Bears!

Thought it might be interesting to compare how Bears had fared in the relays from Pac-12s to NCAAs.

LSJU's relays may need quite a bit of fine-tuning, as their fly leg looks distinctly vulnerable, and the challenge of configuring a full quartet of sprint free studs at the highest level (despite the Furdettes' much vaunted depth) has to be causing Coach Meehan & Slusser some restless nights haha

Trees are still the heavy favourites on that 800 Free, but Bears can mount more than a credible challenge there I reckon...

=====

Hope didn't commit any serious errors or typos with all the copy & pasting from multiple websites... :p

* = swimmer no longer available for 2019 NCAAs due to graduation or going pro

=====

• 800 Free Relay (NCAA & AR = 6:45.91 by LSJU @ 2017 NCAAs)

* 2019 Pac-12s*
#1 - Bears - 6:50.63 (Izzy 1:44.75, Robin 1:43.04, Katie 1:41.25, Billy 1:41.59)
#2 - Trees - 6:51.69 (Ruck 1:42.80, Eastin 1:42.55, Drabot 1:44.64, Forde 1:41.70)

*2018 Pac-12s*
#1 - Bears - 6:52.62 (Robin 1:43.38, *Thleen 1:43.29, Katie 1:43.29, Billy 1:42.66)
#2 - Trees - 6:53.86 (Drabot 1:45.88, Eastin 1:42.77, Forde 1:44.00, *Ledecky 1:41.21)

* 2018 NCAAs*
#1 - Trees - 6:46.93 (Drabot 1:42.99, Eastin 1:41.13, Forde 1:42.94, *Ledecky 1:39.87)
#2 - Mich - 6:50.03 (C.Deloof 1:43.35, Haughey 1:40.49, Bi 1:43.88, *G.Deloof 1:42.31)
#3 - Bears - 6:50.83 (Robin 1:43.78, *Thleen 1:42.78, Katie 1:41.64, Billy 1:42.63)

=====

• 200 Free Relay

* 2019 Pac-12s*
#1 - Bears - 1:26.00 (Abbey 21.47, Madds 21.61, Katie 21.62, Billy 21.30)
#2 - Trees - 1:27.42 (Fackenthal 22.19, Ruck 21.59, Pitzer 21.88, Goeders 21.76)

* 2018 Pac-12s*
#1 - Bears - 1:25.87 (Madds 21.96, Billy 21.24, Katie 21.67, Abbey 21.00)
#3 - Trees - 1:26.81 (*Hu 22.28, *Manuel 21.22, Pitzer 21.76, *Howe 21.55)

* 2018 NCAAs*
#1 - Trees - 1:25.43 (*Hu 21.65, *Manuel 20.89, Pitzer 21.62, *Howe 21.27) -> NCAA & American record
#2 - Bears - 1:25.50 (Madds 21.94, Billy 21.08, Katie 21.47, Abbey 21.01)
#3 - Tenn - 1:27.10 (Brown 21.61, Banic 21.86, Moseley 21.74, Grinter 21.89)

=====

• 400 Medley Relay

*2019 Pac-12s*
#1 - Bears - 3:26.41 (Billy 50.64, Ema 59.53, Katie 50.14, Abbey 46.10)
#2 - USC - 3:29.83 (Hansson 50.74, Scott 59.12, Schlicht 51.87, Ciesla 48.10)
#3 - Trees - 3:31.04 (Eastin 51.26, Raab 59.56, Fackenthal 52.85, Pitzer 47.37)

*2018 Pac-12s*
#1 - Trees - 3:25.15 (*Howe 50.21, Williams 58.61, *Hu 50.38, *Manuel 45.95)
#2 - Bears - 3:25.50 (*Thleen 50.24, Ali 59.06, *Nono 50.20, Abbey 46.00)

*2018 NCAAs*
#1 - Trees - 3:25.09 (*Howe 50.34, Williams 58.59, *Hu 50.36, *Manuel 45.80) -> NCAA & American record
#2 - Indiana - 3:26.09 (*Rockett 51.31, King 56.02, Jensen 51.13, *Goss 47.63)
#3 - Bears - 3:26.86 (*Thleen 50.66, Ali 58.89, *Nono 50.25, Abbey 47.06)

=====

• 200 Medley Relay

*2019 Pac-12s*
#1 - Bears - 1:35.21 (Izzy 25.05, Ema 26.88, Madds 22.71, Abbey 20.57)
#2 - Trees - 1:35.51 (Eastin 24.07, Zhao 27.29, Fackenthal 22.72, Ruck 21.43)

*2018 Pac-12s*
#1 - Bears - 1:34.13 (*Thleen 23.59, Abbey 26.58, *Nono 22.74, Billy 21.22)
#2 - Trees - 1:34.79 (*Howe 24.05, Williams 26.73, *Hu 22.87, *Manuel 21.14)

*2018 NCAAs*
#1 - Trees - 1:33.11 (*Howe 23.54, Williams 26.50, *Hu 22.62, *Manuel 20.45) -> NCAA & American record
#2 - Bears - 1:33.85 (*Thleen 23.56, Abbey 26.68, *Nono 22.66, Billy 20.95)
#3 - Indiana - 1:33.89 (*Rockett 23.54, King 25.38, Jensen 23.18, Haskett 21.79)

=====

• 400 Free Relay (American Record = 3:07.61 by LSJU @ 2017 NCAAs)

*2019 Pac-12s*
#1 - Bears - 3:07.41 (Robin 48.17, Katie 46.55, Billy 46.30, Abbey 46.39) => NCAA Record!
#2 - Trees - 3:10.43 (Ruck 46.76, Pitzer 47.97, Goeders 48.24, Eastin 47.46)

*2018 Pac-12s*
#1 - Bears - 3:09.04 (Billy 47.79, Katie 47.43, *Thleen 47.47, Abbey 46.35)
#2 - Trees - 3:09.76 (*Hu 47.57, *Ledecky 48.08, *Meyers 47.98, *Manuel 46.13)

*2018 NCAAs*
#1 - Trees - 3:07.94 (*Hu 47.49, Eastin 47.13, Drabot 47.85, *Manuel 45.47)
#2 - Bears - 3:08.05 (Billy 47.59, Abbey 46.37, *Thleen 47.21, Katie 46.88)
#3 - UVA - 3:10.50 (Hill 48.23, *Reed 47.40, Valls 47.47, *Cooper 47.40)

=====

Always looking forward to your thoughtful and comprehensive responses, UAC!

Tossing a few more links in here:
Previews of 100 backstroke (https://swimswam.com/2019-w-ncaa-previews-beata-nelson-guns-for-100-bk-ar-again/) and 50 freestyle (https://swimswam.com/2019-w-ncaa-previews-brown-v-weitzeil-for-sprint-queen/).

Highlights in the 100 backstroke include this tidbit of Amy:
"With Nelson seeded with a time that's almost a second faster than her nearest competitor, the race for second is up for grabs from 4 swimmers. Cal's Amy Bilquist, the 2nd seed, broke her 2016 personal best at Pac-12s. In 2018, Bilquist's season best was 51.28, which was only good enough for consols at the time. This year, the senior's momentum could propel her to close out her collegiate career in fashion."

--

And of Abbey and Amy in the 50 freestyle:
"Cal Bear and current American record-holder Abbey Weitzeil will be pitted against Tennessee's Erika Brown, who shined at the SEC championships, with both gunning for the American record.

As compared to their 2018 season-bests, both Brown and Weitzeil improved a quarter of a second in 2019 to sit at season-best times of 21.15/21.16, respectively. The difference was that Weitzeil has the oldest personal best of the field, dating her time of 21.12 back to 2016, before arriving at Cal. That's the fastest-time ever in the event."

"While not having a terrible prelims swim in 2018, Cal's Amy Bilquist just missed the championship final. While Bilquist gained not even two-tenths, it was enough to bump her out of the top 8. This year, Bilquist dropped a tenth off her lifetime best and comes in seeded with a 21.64. While the senior looks good for the 2019 meet, a crew of freshmen come in as dark horse threats in the event."

Roll on, Bears!

A full list of SwimSwam previews:

• 800 free relay (Stanford): STANFORD RELOADS IN 800 FREE RELAY
• 200 free relay (Cal): CAL LOOKS FOR DOUBLE-20S IN 200 FREE RELAY
• 500 free (Cierra Runge, ASU): CAN CIERRA RUNGE HIT FRESHMAN-ERA 500 TIMES?
• 200 IM (Ella Eastin, Stanford): EASTIN AIMS FOR 200 IM TITLE NO.3
• 50 free (Abbey Weitzeil, Cal): BROWN V. WEITZEIL FOR SPRINT QUEEN
• 400 medley relay (Cal): STANFORD'S STREAK THREATENED IN 400 MR
• 400 IM (Ella Eastin, Stanford): FORDE & PICKREM TO BATTLE FOR 2ND PLACE IN 4IM
• 100 fly (Louise Hansson, USC): SUB-50 FLYERS HANSSON AND MACNEIL BATTLE
• 200 free (Mallory Comerford, Louisville): RUCK COULD DISRUPT COMERFORD'S 200 FREE STREAK
• 100 breast (Lilly King, Indiana): EVER MORE 57S PURSUE KING IN 100 BREASTSTROKE
• 100 back (Beata Nelson, Wisconsin): BEATA NELSON GUNS FOR 100 BK AR, AGAIN
• 200 medley relay (Tennessee): UNCERTAINTY ABOUNDS IN 200 MEDLEY RELAY
• 1650 free (Ally McHugh, Penn State): OPEN FIELD LEAVES ROOM FOR SURPRISE IN 1650
• 200 back (Taylor Ruck, Stanford): RUCK & NELSON NEARLY "CO-FAVORITES" IN 200 BACK
• 100 free (Mallory Comerford, Louisville): A LOADED 100 FREE WHERE ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN
• 200 breast (Lilly King, Indiana): 200 BREASTSTROKE PRESENTS A 2:07 LOGJAM
• 200 fly (Ella Eastin, Stanford): RAW SPEED VS. ENDURANCE IN 200 FLY
• 400 free relay (Cal): CAL, TEXAS SET FOR FIERCE 400 FR BATTLE
• Diving (Bacon, Minnesota; Xu, Kansas; Rosendahl, Northwestern): TWO-YEAR-OLD REMATCH HIGHLIGHTS DIVING EVENTS

2019 W. NCAA PREVIEWS: BROWN V. WEITZEIL FOR SPRINT QUEEN

Peering into the top sprint event of the women's NCAA meet, the 50 free should be a more competitive race than Simone Manuel's .33 second margin of victory last season. Cal Bear and current American record-holder Abbey Weitzeil will be pitted against Tennessee's Erika Brown, who shined at the SEC championships, with both gunning for the American record.

As compared to their 2018 season-bests, both Brown and Weitzeil improved a quarter of a second in 2019 to sit at season-best times of 21.15/21.16, respectively. The difference was that Weitzeil has the oldest personal best of the field, dating her time of 21.12 back to 2016, before arriving at Cal. That's the fastest-time ever in the event.

While not having a terrible prelims swim in 2018, Cal's Amy Bilquist just missed the championship final. While Bilquist gained not even two-tenths, it was enough to bump her out of the top 8. This year, Bilquist dropped a tenth off her lifetime best and comes in seeded with a 21.64. While the senior looks good for the 2019 meet, a crew of freshmen come in as dark horse threats in the event.

TOP 8 PICKS:
PLACE | SWIMMER | TEAM | SEASON BEST | PERSONAL BEST
1 | Abbey Weitzeil | Cal | 21.16 | 21.12
2 | Erika Brown | Tennessee | 21.15 | 21.15
3 | Mallory Comerford | Louisville | 21.58 | 21.58
4 | Maggie MacNeil | Michigan | 21.65 | 21.65
5 | Anna Hopkin | Arkansas | 21.47 | 21.47
6 | Amy Bilquist | Cal | 21.64 | 21.64
7 | Morgan Hill | Virginia | 21.68 | 21.68
8 | Ky-lee Perry | NC State | 21.58 | 21.58

Dark Horse: Catie Deloof (Michigan)

---



2019 W. NCAA PREVIEWS: BEATA NELSON GUNS FOR 100 BK AR, AGAIN

With Nelson seeded with a time that's almost a second faster than her nearest competitor, the race for second is up for grabs from 4 swimmers. Cal's Amy Bilquist, the 2nd seed, broke her 2016 personal best at Pac-12s. In 2018, Bilquist's season best was 51.28, which was only good enough for consols at the time. This year, the senior's momentum could propel her to close out her collegiate career in fashion.

TOP 8 PICKS:
PLACE | SWIMMER | TEAM | SEASON BEST | LIFETIME BEST
1 | Beata Nelson | Wisconsin | 49.67 | 49.67
2 | Elise Haan | NC State | 51.23 | 50.42
3 | Maggie MacNeil | Michigan | 50.50 | 50.50
4 | Amy Bilquist | Cal | 50.46 | 50.46
5 | Taylor Ruck | Stanford | 50.52 | 50.52
6 | Alyssa Tetzloff | Auburn | 50.92 | 50.92
7 | Sherridon Dressel | Florida | 50.93 | 50.93
8 | Asia Seidt | Kentucky | 51.16 | 50.86

4x50 relay is 45 minutes before the 50 final. This schedule is not in Weitzel's favor.

Bootsma & Adrian managed their energy very well to save for finals. Hopefully, Weitzel can do the same.

2019 W. NCAA PREVIEWS: RUCK COULD DISRUPT COMERFORD'S 200 FREE STREAK

Katie McLaughlin pulled off the 100 fly-200 free double last year, finishing 6th and 8th respectively, and the Cal senior will be attempting the same feat this year. Her entry time of 1:43.04 is well over a second faster than her entry time from last year, and while that's a tough double, McLaughlin has looked sharp all season.

Cal's Robin Neumann replicated her entry time of 1:43.38 last year to make the A-final. This year, her seed time of 1:43.25 is just a bit faster than last year's time of 1:43.38, but she sits at #9 on the psych sheet, meaning she'll need to drop a little more time to make the A-final again, after finishing 5th last year as a freshman.

Most of the top eight names on this year's psych sheet, however, consist of those who did not make the A-final last year.

Leading that category is Cal's Abbey Weitzeil. While she'll get the most attention for her 50/100 free prowess, and rightfully so, her 1:41.97 from Pac-12s was her first personal best in this event in three years, and puts her at #3 on the psych sheet.

TOP 8 PICKS:
PLACE | SWIMMER | TEAM | SEASON BEST | LIFETIME BEST
1 Mallory Comerford | Louisville | 1:41.29 | 1:39.80
2 Taylor Ruck | Stanford | 1:42.80 | 1:42.80
3 Siobhan Haughey | Michigan | 1:41.57 | 1:40.69
4 Abbey Weitzeil | Cal | 1:41.97 | 1:41.97
5 Katie Drabot | Stanford | 1:42.99 | 1:42.99
6 Catie DeLoof | Michigan 1:42.55 | 1:42.55
7 Claire Rasmus | Texas A&M 1:43.96 | 1:43.01
8 Katie McLaughlin | Cal | 1:43.04 | 1:43.01

Dark Horse: Cierra Runge, ASU

---



2019 W. NCAA PREVIEWS: A LOADED 100 FREE WHERE ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN

Abbey Weitzeil and Erika Brown have each had fantastic seasons, albeit in different ways for the both of them. Weitzeil has *finally* gotten back to her unbelievable times she posted in her senior year of high school (2016). Most notably, this season she has dropped well over a second from her 200 free best time, and is now just .04 seconds off her 50 free best time, and .06 seconds off her 100 best so far this season. All 3 of those best times were swum in 2016. Weitzeil has seemed like an unstoppable force throughout this season, and it will not take much more than she has already done for her to keep on rolling right to an NCAA title. Her lifetime best 46.29 makes her the 3rd fastest performer of all-time.

Amy Bilquist has not yet been under 47 seconds flat-start in the 100 free, which pretty definitively seems to be a prerequisite for being in the title hunt here. However, Bilquist did split an absolutely incredible 46.30 on Cal's 400 free relay at Pac-12s this year, a relay which broke the NCAA record. That time certainly points to Bilquist at the very least having the ability breakout in the actual 100 free itself. She's already dropped a considerable amount of time this season, but she may have more in the tank waiting to be unleashed.

TOP 8 PICKS:
PLACE | SWIMMER | TEAM | SEASON BEST | LIFETIME BEST
1 | Mallory Comerford | 46.57 | 46.20
2 | Abbey Weitzeil | Cal | 46.35 | 46.29
3 | Erika Brown | Tennessee | 46.41 | 46.41
4 | Amy Bilquist | Cal | 47.01 | 47.01
5 | Siobhan Haughey | Michigan | 46.72 | 46.72
6 | Veronica Burchill | UGA | 47.30 | 47.30
7 | Anna Hopkin | Arkansas | 47.05 | 47.05
8 | Claire Adams | Texas | 47.32 | 47.32

Dark Horse: Julia Cook, Texas

---



2019 W. NCAA PREVIEWS: CAL, TEXAS SET FOR FIERCE 400 FR RELAY BATTLE

Stanford has won this event 4 of the last 5 years, but they do not appear to be a favorite to win this time around. Afterall, Cal took down Stanford's NCAA record from 2017 at Pac-12s, a record in which that relay team consisted of an Olympic Gold medalist in the 100 free (Simone Manuel) and an Olympic Silver medalist in the 400 free relay (Lia Neal). While we knew Cal would be fast in the 400 free relay this year, especially given how well Abbey Weitzeil has been swimming, that Pac-12 relay was still shockingly fast. The only question that remains now is can this Cal squad re-make their Pac-12 magic? They should be able to, at the very least, since there's no reason to think that Abbey Weitzeil, Amy Bilquist, or Katie McLaughlin would have peaked for Pac-12s. But on the other hand, relays can be unpredictable, and this one comes at the very end of a meet, so it's possible they won't quite reach their time from Pac-12s.

In case you need a refresher on the Cal 400 free relay from Pac-12s, here's what you need to know: Robin Neumann led off in 48.17, then Katie McLaughlin split 46.55, Amy Bilquist split 46.30, and Abbey Weitzeil split 46.39 on the anchor. They swam a 3:07.41 for the fastest yards 400 free relay in history.

TOP 8 PICKS:
PLACE | TEAM | SEED TIME | 2018 FINISH
1 | Cal | 3:07.41 | 2nd
2 | Texas | 3:09.56 | 7th
3 | Stanford | 3:10.43 | 1st
4 | Michigan | 3:10.29 | 5th
5 | Auburn | 3:10.45 | 11th
6 | Louisville | 3:11.63 | 4th
7 | Tennessee | 3:13.15 | 6th
8 | USC | 3:11.96 | 14th

Bears have arrived in Austin!



Smashing to see Sophie included in the squad (if just for the experience?) - where's Sarah tho...

lol @ Izzy on tiptoes so that her face gets to stay visible for the group photo


https://instagr.am/p/BvIiM-vFzJu

--------

• UPDATES =>

https://instagr.am/p/BvJ1QahFUfb


https://instagr.am/p/BvLVo3HFXIo
Hmmm, still missing Darcel? Hope she's OK and will be competing this week, as Bears will really need our fave Canadian's IM skillz to mount a hopefully successful challenge to the Trees for the national title!



Video clip: https://scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/405745026a00802d804f218cce3b15ae/5C924C01/t50.2886-16/55535811_364802601033836_7719618185207359571_n.mp4?_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com

Swimming World's Predictions for NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships: Part One

Wot an exemplary Bear!

Katie McL said:

---

"I know that is where I can be the most help for my team. It is not about winning as an individual. That is way more important to the team. I want to give the team the best opportunity.

Our focus isn't doing anything we can to win, of course we want to. But we do our best when we are having fun together, which is why our relays do so well. For me as a senior, I want to enjoy my last NCAAs. I am going to put it on the line and I know my teammates will, too. That is all you can ask for."

---

Katie McLaughlin Set for Another NCAA Daily Friday Double

And in other ace news of the day, our 2019 NCAA Golden Bears will have @ Austin the distinctive honour & privilege of a vocal cheering section (no doubt fuelled by caffeine during the day, and perhaps refreshed by alcoholic beverages after each finals session lol), who has been thru it all before - a number of their big sisters, all Swim Bears alumna, will be flying out to Texas on Thursday to support our women - Bootsie, Lizzie, Val, KV, Klaren, Piehl, Bing, Eva & Nanfria!

Once a Bear, always a Bear!

Sights Set On NCAA Championships

Cal Brings Strong Contingent Of 14 Swimmers And Divers To National Meet

With a squad of 14 swimmers and divers, Cal travels to the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, this week fresh off an impressive performance at the Pac-12 Championships, where the Golden Bears captured nine of 18 swimming events. The national meet runs Wednesday through Saturday, with prelims starting at 7 a.m. PT and finals at 3 p.m. PT.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS COVERAGE

Fans have the ability to follow the NCAA Championships on several different platforms throughout the meet. Finals sessions on Wednesday and Thursday will be streamed on ESPN3.com, while Friday and Saturday finals will air live on ESPNU. All sessions not part of ESPN's broadcasts will be streamed live on the NCAA Championships microsite at texassports.com.

10 IN A ROW AMONG NCAA TOP 3

Cal has finished among the top three at the NCAA Championships 10 years in a row - the longest current streak in the country. Included in the run are four national titles, coming in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015. The Bears were also second in 2013, 2017 and 2018, and third in 2010, 2014 and 2016.

ADDING UP THE TITLES

Not only have the Golden Bears captured four team national titles in 26 prior seasons under head coach Teri McKeever, but Cal has also secured 56 event wins at the NCAA Championships during her tenure - 38 individual races and 18 relays. At total of 33 of those victories have come since 2011 with the Bears claiming at least five national crowns in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2017.


LIVE RESULTS => http://sidearmstats.com/texas/swim/index.htm

2019 W. NCAAS PREVIEW: SUB-50 FLYERS HANSSON AND MACNEIL BATTLE

Nearly a second behind the sub-50 top 3 are two returning members of the 2018 A-final, Katie McLaughlin (Cal) and Grace Oglesby (Louisville). In 2018, both swimmers stayed within a tenth of their entry times going into the NCAAs, finishing in 6th and 7th respectively.

Potentially standing in the way of Ochitwa and qualifying for the A-final this year is Cal freshman Isabel Ivey, who joined the Bears in January after graduating high school early. After knocking out her 2016 PB of 52.61 at 2018 Junior Nationals, Ivey has dazzled with the Bears. At the 2018 Pac-12s, Ivey finished 3rd in this event with a lifetime best of 51.15, behind Louise Hansson and Katie McLaughlin.

TOP 8 PICKS:
PLACE SWIMMER SEASON BEST LIFETIME BEST
1 Louise Hansson (USC) 49.34 49.34
2 Maggie MacNeil (Michigan) 49.59 49.59
3 Erika Brown (Tennessee) 49.85 49.85
4 Katie McLaughlin (Cal) 50.67 50.67
5 Alyssa Tetzloff (Auburn) 50.94 50.94
6 Morgan Hill (Virginia) 51.01 51.01
7 Grace Oglesby (Louisville) 50.75 50.75
8 Ann Ochitwa (Missouri) 51.25 51.02

Dark Horse: Maddy Banic, Tennessee

---



2019 W. NCAA PREVIEWS: FORDE & PICKREM TO BATTLE FOR 2ND PLACE IN 4IM

Cal sophomore Sarah Darcel was off her lifetime best this season, topping out at a 4:05.55 at Pac-12s last month. But her lifetime best of 4:03.00 ranks high in this field, and she was able to shave a couple seconds off between conference and NCAAs last year. Just behind her we've got Florida first-year Vanessa Pearl, who hit a lifetime best of 4:03.56 in February at her first SECs we're banking on her to repeat in her first NCAA appearance.

TOP 8 PICKS

Place Swimmer Team Season Best Lifetime Best
1 Ella Eastin Stanford 3:57.75 3:54.60
2 Brooke Forde Stanford 4:00.27 3:59.34
3 Sydney Pickrem Texas A&M 4:01.73 3:59.05
4 Emily Barksdale South Carolina 4:01.52 4:01.52
5 Bailey Andison Indiana 4:02.37 4:02.37
6 Sarah Darcel Cal 4:05.55 4:03.00
7 Vanessa Pearl Florida 4:03.56 4:03.56
8 Allie Szekely Stanford 4:05.93 4:02.34

Dark Horse: Calypso Sheridan (Northwestern)

---



2019 W. NCAA PREVIEWS: UNCERTAINTY ABOUNDS IN 200 MEDLEY RELAY

Stanford won and set the American record last year, but don't return any of the four legs: three graduated and one didn't make NCAAs this year. That leaves Cal as the de facto fastest returners. They lose two legs from last year, but replaced them very well. This is likely to be the relay Cal doesn't use Amy Bilquist there's not a great replacement for her on the 800 free relay, which seems like the other alternative. Luckily, the Bears had Keaton Blovad step up at Pac-12s she split 24.1 backstroke on a B relay, well outpacing Izzy Ivey on the A. Freshman Ema Rajic blasted a 26.8 on breaststroke which is a huge development: in the past, Cal has had to burn star sprinter Abbey Weitzeil on breaststroke to cover a roster hole. Assuming Weitzeil doesn't swim the 800 free relay, she's a good bet for a nasty split on this relay she was 20.5 anchoring at Pac-12s. And Maddie Murphy is a solid flyer who went 22.7 at Pac-12s.

TOP 8 PICKS

PLACE TEAM SEED TIME 2018 FINISH
1 Tennessee 1:34.26 19th
2 Cal 1:35.21 2nd
3 NC State 1:34.52 DQ (11th in prelims)
4 Michigan 1:34.98 20th
5 Indiana 1:34.71 3rd
6 Louisville 1:36.31 5th
7 Stanford 1:35.51 1st
8 USC 1:35.59 7th

---



2019 W. NCAA PREVIEWS: RAW SPEED VS. ENDURANCE IN 200 FLY

Cal's Katie McLaughlin hasn't swum her best in this race since 2017, but looks due for a drop after a strong performance at her conference meet. In this race, however, she was disqualified in prelims of 2019 Pac-12s, so we never got a chance to see what she could do in finals. She did swim a best time in her 100 fly there on the back end of a 200 free/100 fly double, so that bodes well for her 200 fly. McLaughlin was 4th in this race last season, and will enter the meet with a 1:54.63 from midseason.

TOP 8 PICKS:

PLACE SWIMMER SEASON BEST LIFETIME BEST
1 Ella Eastin (Stanford) 1:52.07 1:49.51
2 Louise Hansson (USC) 1:50.68 1:50.68
3 Katie Drabot (Stanford) 1:51.42 1:51.42
4 Katie McLaughlin (Cal) 1:54.63 1:52.37
5 Grace Oglesby (Louisville) 1:52.64 1:52.64
6 Brooke Forde (Stanford) 1:53.67 1:53.67
7 Remedy Rule (Texas) 1:53.65 1:53.65
8 Olivia Carter (Georgia) 1:53.23 1:53.23

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

Sights Set On NCAA Championships

Cal Brings Strong Contingent Of 14 Swimmers And Divers To National Meet

---

I may have missed mention of it on SwimSwam, but FWIW, Meehan will be bringing 16 swimmers + 4 divers from the Farm to compete in Austin. Largest group of NCAA qualifiers in the nation once again, needless to say.

The pair of furdettes who had initially received invites but will not get to compete this year due to the roster limit of 18 having been reached = Kuks & Katie G.

The Card duo may still get to fly out to Texas, going by what had happened @ 2018 NCAAs (where KG had also qualified but was dropped from competition) - when Meehan had generously flown the entire Trees squad to Columbus just to cheer on their teammates in the team area during races, as well as participate in the victory celebrations, as can be seen here:



In contrast, Bears will be racing with a much more compact but talented & loveable group of 12-13 swimmers + 1 diver.

I'm not certain whether Sophie's signed up for "relay only" duty, or instead will be in charge of cheering duties??

https://swimswam.com/2018-w-ncaa-previews-cal-looks-for-double-20s-in-200-free-relay/



200 FREESTYLE RELAY

• NCAA Record: Stanford (Hu, Manuel, Pitzer, Howe), 2018 1:25.43
• American Record: Stanford (Hu, Manuel, Pitzer, Howe), 2018 1:25.43
• U.S. Open Record: Stanford (Hu, Manuel, Pitzer, Howe), 2018 1:25.43
• Meet Record: Stanford (Hu, Manuel, Pitzer, Howe), 2018 1:25.43
• 2018 Champion: Stanford (Hu, Manuel, Pitzer, Howe) 1:25.43

Stanford won the event and set basically every record possible last year, but things look significantly different in 2019 with three of those four legs graduated. It's Pac-12 rivals Cal who look like the team to beat, with the top incoming time and two of the top six 50 freestylers in the national ranks this year.

Cal has American record-holder Abbey Weitzeil, who blasted a 21.16 at Pac-12s. (Weitzeil holds the American record at 21.12 from her pre-college years). They also have Amy Bilquist, who sits #6 on the current 50 free psych sheets at 21.64 and who split 21.0 at NCAAs last year. That's not a bad way to build a relay: with two swimmers who could put up 20-point swims, one of them perhaps on a leadoff leg.

Cal returns all four legs from last year's runner-up relay that was .07 seconds behind Stanford. Katie McLaughlin was 21.4 last year and only seems to be improving her sprinting over her college career. Maddie Murphy was 21.9 leading off last year, but relay split 21.6 at Pac-12s this year.

And the second relay preview of the morning, highlighting the Bears once again!

400 MEDLEY RELAY



(Super sweet photo from U.S. Nationals, I believe, featuring Billy and Bug!)

Last year, the Stanford Cardinal demolished all the records, knocking down the NCAA, American, and U.S. Open Records in this event at both the Pac-12 and NCAA championships. At the latter event, the quartet of Ally Howe, Kim Williams, Janet Hu, and Simone Manuel combined for a 3:25.09. Manuel split sub-46, as Stanford won by over a second, en route to their NCAA title.

It's going to be a completely new-look relay for Stanford this year, though. Everyone except Williams was a senior last year and Williams didn't qualify for NCAAs this season. While the team still figures to be the favorite to win the overall team race this week, their 400 medley relay has been hitherto unspectacular, and the Cardinal sit at 11th on the psych sheet with a 3:31.04. At Pac-12s, Stanford trotted out a lineup of Ella Eastin (51.26), Allie Raab (59.56), Amalie Fackenthal (52.85), and Lauren Pitzer (47.37). There is a potential path for Stanford to get down to around 3:27. That would involve something like putting Taylor Ruck on back, bringing in freshman Zoe Bartel, who went 58.7 in high school but hasn't been better than 59.9 this year, and either using Eastin on fly (52-low out of high school), or Fackenthal splitting 51-something (also a lifetime best of 52-low).

Meanwhile, the California Golden Bears arrive in Austin with the fastest time this season in this event, courtesy of a 3:26.41 victory at Pac-12s, where they won by over three seconds. That squad consisted of Amy Bilquist (50.64), Ema Rajic (59.53), Katie McLaughlin (50.14), and Abbey Weitzeil (46.10). Breaststroke remains a relative weakness for the Bears, but those other three legs are about as fast as you'll find. It's worth noting that McLaughlin was on her third swim of the night after having pulled the 100 fly-200 free double earlier that session. This event falls on day 2 at NCAAs, meaning that McLaughlin should be fresher, and we could very see her break 50 on the fly leg. Cal might be able to eke out a little more speed by swapping Ali Harrison in for Rajic on the breaststroke leg. Harrison split 58.89 last year at NCAAs, but finished just behind Rajic in the individual event at Pac-12s last month.

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

Swimming World's Predictions for NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships: Part One

---

Swimming World's Predictions for NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships: Part Two


Bear-ents @ 2018 NCAAs


---------


2019 NCAA Division I Diver Qualifiers Announced: Stanford Women, Texas Men Qualify Big Points

Stanford and Cal are expected to fight for the women's national title this week in Austin and both have qualified at least one diver. Cal have one diver qualified in Phoebe Lamay and Stanford has three.


---------


LIVE RESULTS: http://sidearmstats.com/texas/swim/index.htm


LIVE STREAMING:

All Morning Prelims (Thu to Sat) + Wed Evening Finals: https://texassports.com/watch/

Wed Evening Finals (ESPN3): http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3492314/ncaa-womens-swimming-and-diving-championships

Thu Evening Finals (ESPN3): http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3492316/ncaa-womens-swimming-and-diving-championships

Fri Evening Finals (ESPNU): http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3472401/ncaa-womens-swimming-and-diving-championships

Sat Evening Finals (ESPNU): http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3472431/ncaa-womens-swimming-and-diving-championships


---------

Cal women's swim aim to defy odds in NCAA Tournament



BY CHANUN ONG | STAFF

In the realm of high-octane college sports, it's far too easy to forget what brought athletes to the sport in the first place. This year, the Bears plan to turn back the clock and have some fun on college swimming's biggest stage.

"I just think we've really come together as a strong unit and we're just a team now that's having fun," said senior backstroke specialist Amy Bilquist, speaking on the team's mentality. "We have each other's backs, and for me, it's the most supported I've felt by a team in all my four years."

In a year that began with the loss of Cal's top swimmer in Kathleen Baker, the Bears were expected to have a tougher time treading water at the national level. Without a doubt, Baker's presence was sorely missed in the points department, but the swimmers in the water for Cal have proved more than capable of keeping the team afloat.

Junior Abbey Weitzeil and seniors Katie McLaughlin and Bilquist have all stepped up to fill the void, accompanied by freshman talent in Ema Rajic, Alicia Wilson, Cassidy Bayer and midyear addition Isabel Ivey. Sophomores Sarah Darcel, Robin Neumann and Ali Harrison along with juniors Maddie Murphy and Keaton Blovad round off the 12-women swimming contingent that will be representing Cal at nationals.

By the standards set in years past, this season has been shaky - one would need to look back to the Bears' 2016-17 campaign to find the last time they lost two dual meets in a season.

Despite the Bears' respectable performance in conference, Cal remains an outside contender for the title this season. Even so, the team believes that it can prove doubters wrong at the NCAA championships.

"I think our biggest strength right now is that we're the underdogs, and no one was really expecting us to do well at our conference meet," Bilquist said. "I think we can perform well when we're having fun and we're doing it for each other; that's how we've been swimming this year, and I know that's how we'll swim at NCAAs."

For Bilquist and McLaughlin, the two graduating seniors in attendance, it will be their last time swimming with a Cal cap.

"I think we're ready. I most definitely think we are," Bilquist said. "I know when we come together and have fun, very few things can stand in our way. I'm just excited to go out there and let it rip with these girls one last time."

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

Hmmm, still missing Darcel? Hope she's OK and will be competing this week, as Bears will really need our fave Canadian's IM skillz to mount a hopefully successful challenge to the Trees for the national title!

---

Curious..any sighting of Sarah yet?

OBear073akaSMFan said:

---

Curious..any sighting of Sarah yet?

---

No sightings yet, but we are all hopeful...FWIW, Darcel's still entered in the 200 IM for tomorrow's prelims session...

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

LIVE RESULTS: [url=http://sidearmstats.com/texas/swim/index.htm][/url]http://sidearmstats.com/texas/swim/index.htm

LIVE STREAMING:

All Morning Prelims (Thu to Sat) + Wed Evening Finals: https://texassports.com/watch/

Wed Evening Finals (ESPN3): http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3492314/ncaa-womens-swimming-and-diving-championships

Thu Evening Finals (ESPN3): http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3492316/ncaa-womens-swimming-and-diving-championships

Fri Evening Finals (ESPNU): http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3472401/ncaa-womens-swimming-and-diving-championships

Sat Evening Finals (ESPNU): http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3472431/ncaa-womens-swimming-and-diving-championships

---

HOW TO WATCH THE 2019 WOMEN'S DIVISION I NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS


My note: Couldn't resist linking this SS writeup since it does feature SwimSwam (and everyone)'s favourite, Katie McL

-------

ALL THE LINKS YOU NEED FOR THE 2019 WOMEN'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

DAY | EVENT | WINNER


Wednesday
800 Free Relay | Stanford

Thursday
200 Free Relay | Cal
500 Free | Cierra Runge, Arizona State
200 IM | Ella Eastin, Stanford
50 Free | Abbey Weitzeil, Cal
400 Medley Relay | Cal

Friday
400 IM | Ella Eastin
100 Fly | Louise Hansson, USC
200 Free | Mallory Comerford, Louisville
100 Breast | Lilly King
100 Back | Beata Nelson, Wisconsin
200 Medley Relay | Tennessee

Saturday
1650 Free | Ally McHugh, Penn State
200 Back | Taylor Ruck, Stanford
100 Free | Mallory Comerford, Louisville
200 Breast | Lilly King, Indiana
200 Fly | Ella Eastin, Stanford
400 Free Relay | Cal

Diving | Bacon/Xu/Rosendahl

-------

DAY 1 FINALS HEAT SHEET: https://s3.amazonaws.com/texassports_com/documents/2019/3/20/Wednesday_Heat_Sheet.pdf

-------

https://instagr.am/p/BvOoTe3lCHk
-------

https://instagr.am/p/BvPUJ15l-zn

800 Free relay in less than 3 hours' time!

LSJU are the heavy favourites with Bears projected as a distant 2nd whilst being challenged by the Tenn Vols (led by ex-Pleasanton Seahawks stud Erika Brown & former Cal recruit Meghan Small).

Much will fall upon the shoulders of Izzy & Robin as they will likely form the front half of our relay (Abbey has potentially the fastest 200 Free of the whole team, but her sprint prowess as a closer is more valuable on the other 4 relays). The pair of underclassmen will try their best to prevent the frontrunners amongst the competition (other teams will likely field their top or 2nd best swimmers on the leadoff leg) from, well, running away.

Robin has already made further improvements from her froski season exploits, so if Neumann can drop a sub 1:43 split...

With Izzy digging deep to hopefully lower (the lower the better lol) her lifetime best of 1:43.64 from back in 2016...

In which case, I shall have every confidence that a pair of 1:41 legs from our Dream Team back half of Bug & Billy can swiftly close on almost any distance the formidable Furdette Machine may have carved out in front of our Bears, courtesy of their superstar squad of Eastin, Ruck, Forde & Drabot.

How it will all play out in this evening's debut event will surely set the tone for the rest of the meet...

#nattychampszn...leggo Bears!

Lets go Bears. Lets clip those furds!

800 Free relay lineup: Robin, Izzy, Katie, Billy

LFG Bears!

It's go time! LET'S GO BEARS!

Bears take second!! Forde overswam a 50 but touched first for the Card. New school record for the Bears, though, to cap off night 1

Good job by Amy to get us second.

I wish Rowdy had been right, and Ruck left early. That would have changed the whole meet!

Really valiant efforts by all 4 Bears!!!

New lifetime best for Robin, and that 6:50.12 is a new SCHOOL record to boot!!! Faster than the previous Cal All-Time mark of 6:50.18 by a Missy-led squad @ 2015 Pac-12.

Izzy had a nice 1:43 split going head to head against Eastin, and Katie & Amy did put down upper 1:41s even tho they couldn't quite match their outstanding 2019 Pac-12 splits.

Well done all

I don't think Abbey would have made up the difference in this relay, so thankfully we have her for the last four.

Splits of top 3:

1 Stanford 6:51.69 6:47.22P 40
1) Katie Drabot JR 2) r:0.20 Ella Eastin SR
3) r:0.15 Taylor Ruck FR 4) r:0.31 Brooke Forde SO
r:+0.70 23.91 50.02 (50.02)
1:16.66 (1:16.66) 1:43.99 (1:43.99)
2:07.49 (23.50) 2:33.21 (49.22)
2:58.84 (1:14.85) 3:25.02 (1:41.03)
3:47.09 (22.07) 4:12.39 (47.37)
4:38.37 (1:13.35) 5:04.85 (1:39.83)
5:28.91 (24.06) 5:54.26 (49.41)
6:20.20 (1:15.35) 6:47.22 (1:42.37)

2 California 6:50.63 6:50.12P 34
1) Robin Neumann SO 2) r:0.50 Izzy Ivey FR
3) r:0.31 Katie McLaughlin SR 4) r:0.35 Amy Bilquist SR
r:+0.66 24.39 50.39 (50.39)
1:16.61 (1:16.61) 1:42.94 (1:42.94)
2:06.15 (23.21) 2:32.00 (49.06)
2:58.86 (1:15.92) 3:26.27 (1:43.33)
3:49.50 (23.23) 4:15.32 (49.05)
4:41.65 (1:15.38) 5:08.19 (1:41.92)
5:31.47 (23.28) 5:56.94 (48.75)
6:23.14 (1:14.95) 6:50.12 (1:41.93)

3 Southern Cali 6:54.56 6:52.13P 32
1) Louise Hansson JR 2) r:0.18 Laticia-Leigh Tnsom FR
3) r:0.30 Tatum Wade JR 4) r:0.38 Kirsten Vose SR
r:+0.74 23.47 49.05 (49.05)
1:15.30 (1:15.30) 1:41.95 (1:41.95)
2:05.86 (23.91) 2:32.26 (50.31)
2:58.84 (1:16.89) 3:25.56 (1:43.61)
3:49.06 (23.50) 4:14.99 (49.43)
4:41.62 (1:16.06) 5:08.56 (1:43.00)
5:32.00 (23.44) 5:57.85 (49.29)
6:24.66 (1:16.10) 6:52.13 (1:43.57)

... with Ruck's 1:39.83, Haughey's 1:40.98, Comerford's 1:39.19 really pacing the field for some fast splits (not to knock the great swims of all 4 Bears tonight!)

Was quite busy so couldn't catch the swims, but solid splits overall from our Bears, and a new schools record! #gobears

2019 WOMEN'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY 1 FINALS LIVE RECAP

2019 NCAA WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY 1 SCORING UPDATE



TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 1:

[ol]

Stanford- 40

Cal- 34

USC- 32

Michigan- 30

Texas- 28

Louisville- 26

Wisconsin- 24

Texas A&M- 22

Virginia- 18

Kentucky- 16

Georgia- 12

ASU- 10

Arizona- 8

Ohio State- 6

Auburn- 4

Minnesota- 2

[/ol]

W. NCAA RELAY ANALYSIS: WEITZEIL SKIPS 800, HANSSON SWIMS IT

NO 800 TONIGHT:

- Cal's Abbey Weitzeil
- Texas's Julia Cook
- Anyone from NC State (Kylee Alons, in particular)

This is pretty much what we projected in our 800 free relay preview Cal didn't have much incentive to use Weitzeil on a relay that wouldn't beat Stanford without some help. (Side note: we took some heat for considering Stanford the heavy favorites. But our projected composite splits had Stanford going 6:47.5 and Cal 6:50.1. Stanford went 6:47.2 and Cal went 6:50.1. So we feel pretty good about our projections there.)

WHO SWAM WELL & WHO DIDN'T

The other minor projections we can do tonight are which teams appear primed to swim their best this week, and which ones missed the mark on night 1. Tennessee certainly falls into the latter: they gained six seconds from seed and went from 6th to 18th. None of the four swam particularly well, but a 1:48.1 from Stanzi Moseley can't bode well. Moseley was a full five seconds faster last year, but looked off at SECs. She's also a key part of the 400 free relay, and her struggles tonight probably reinforce the decision to keep Brown off that relay. Projections of Tennessee finishing fourth as a team are looking a lot shakier.

As noted above, Cal and Stanford both swam about where we projected them. USC outperformed what we expected from them straight 1:43s to go with Hansson's 1:41 are a good sign for the Trojans this week.

In addition, Wisconsin really swam well. They were the biggest point gainers tonight, and three of their four legs went significantly faster than at Big Tens. Nelson dropping from 1:42.0 to 1:41.3 has got to bode well for her in the 200 IM, not to mention her backstroke races.

---

Wow Tennessee really underperformed tonight, after receiving much hype (Erika Brown split only a 1:43.3 after spliting a 1:42 low at SECs). Perhaps this will give Abbey a clearer path towards 50 free victory , as well as victory in our 200 medley relay!

Here are some great splits I saw tonight, probably means that team and/or the swimmer hit their taper:
- Wisconsin's Beata Nelson's 1:41.39 is faster than her 1:42 from last year, bodes well for her IM & back
- Virginia's Paige Madden's 1:42.90 is way faster than she was last year
- Louisville's Mallory Comerford with the fastest split of the field, 1:39.1
- Stanford's Taylor Ruck with another 1:39 split

Disappointing splits:
- Tennessee's Stanzi Moseley's 1:48 split doesn't bode well at all for their 400 MR, in fact, they all looked very off today, placing only 18th.
- Stanford's Katie Drabot's 1:43.99 lead-off is exactly one second slower than she was last year.
- Virginia's Megan Moroney's 1:45 split is a second off her flat-start PB