Junior Elizabeth Pelton and sophomore Missy Franklin won three events apiece, leading the No. 1-ranked California women’s swimming & diving team to a 197.5-102.5 victory at Arizona State Friday. The Golden Bears continue with their weekend trip to the desert when they face No. 14 Arizona Saturday in a meet that will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks beginning at 11 a.m. PT.
Against the Sun Devils, Cal won 12 of 16 events and swept the top three place four times – 200-yard butterfly, 200-yard backstroke, 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard individual medley. The dual also featured the Cal men vs. ASU, with the Bears also winning that competition, 163-130.
“We’ve been in a training mode for about the last five weeks, and I thought we did a nice job getting back into racing,” head coach Teri McKeever said. “We’re going to have to continue to get better tomorrow and through the rest of the month. It was good to have the men present, as well, and see the camaraderie it brings.”
Pelton’s first victory came in the 200 free when she was timed in 1:48.50. She came back to claim the 200 back in 1:56.15, more than four seconds ahead of teammate and runner-up Melanie Klaren (2:00.30), with Kelly Naze third in 2:02.57. Pelton wrapped up her trifecta with a season-best 54.30 in the 100 fly.
The first of Franklin’s three wins came in the 100 back when she touched the wall in 54.30, more than a second ahead of the field. She also led 1-2-3 finishes in the 500 free (4:52.38) and 200 IM (2:01.76). Cierra Runge was second in the 500 free (4:53.08) and Catherine Breed third (4:57.86). Rachel Bootsma took second in the IM in 2:03.65 with Naze third (2:04.42).
Celina Lin captured the 200 fly in 2:01.26, in front of No. 2 Noemie Thomas (2:02.73) and No. 3 Breed (2:03.67).
Other winners on the afternoon were Runge in the 1000 free (9:54.64), Bootsma in the 50 free (season-best 23.47) and Camille Cheng in the 100 free (50.66). The Bears also took both relays – the 200 medley relay in 1:41.27 and the 400 free relay in 3:23.89.
In diving, Anne Kastler was second on both boards with season-best marks – 314.33 on 3-meter and 292.50 on 1-meter.
After this weekend’s trip, Cal returns to Berkeley for its final three dual meets of the season – Jan. 30 vs. USC (2 p.m.), Jan. 31 vs. UCLA (12 noon) and Feb. 14 vs. Stanford (11 a.m.).
Led by two wins from junior Josh Prenot, the Cal men’s swimming and diving team started its 2015 Pac-12 slate with a 163-130 dual meet victory Friday at Arizona State. The Golden Bears (4-0, 1-0), winners of three of the last four NCAA championships, had seven different individual winners against the Sun Devils and captured the opening event – the 200 medley relay (1:27.67) behind the swims of sophomore Ryan Murphy, senior Chuck Katis, freshman Justin Lynch, junior Tyler Messerschmidt.
Prenot paced Cal with wins in the 100 breast (55.32) and 200 back (1:46.59). In addition, the Bears had the fastest time in the final event, the 400 free relay (3:01.34, junior Trent Williams, senior Fabio Gimondi, sophomore Sven Campbell, freshman Kyle Gornay), but swam the race as an exhibition. Cal’s top diving effort was freshman Finn Scribbick placing second on the one-meter board with a score of 324.75.
David Durden’s squad has now won 19 consecutive dual meets carrying over from the 2011-12 season.
Other individual winners for Cal were Murphy in the 200 IM (1:47.10), Lynch in the 200 fly (1:49.17), sophomore Long Gutierrez in the 1000 free (9:24.38) and senior Will Hamilton in the 200 free (1:39.18). Additional Bear victors were newcomer Gornay in the 100 back (49.60) and senior Adam Hinshaw in the 500 free (4:30.11).
The Bears next travel to Tucson to compete in a televised (Pac-12 Networks) dual meet versus Arizona, Saturday, Jan. 24 beginning at 12 p.m. Mountain Time.
