Swimcloud

Cal Women Drop USC

California felt right at home at Spieker Aquatics Complex Friday as the third-ranked Golden Bears dominated No. 14 USC in dual meet, winning 12 of 14 swimming events on their way to a 197.5-102.5 victory.

With the Cal Band present to create a loud and festive atmosphere, Cal opened the afternoon by winning each of the first five races, including a 1-2 finish by Cierra Runge and Catherine Breed in the 1000-yard freestyle followed by a 1-2-3 showing by Missy Franklin, Elizabeth Pelton and Camille Cheng in the 200 free.

“I’m really proud of them for getting back on track and doing the things we’ve been doing in practice,” head coach Teri McKeever said. “This team gets along really well. Everyone is supportive of each other. It’s about lifting each other up. It’s pretty neat to see. “

The Bears’ lineup featured four double-winners – Runge in the 500 and 1000 free, Marina Garcia in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, Farida Osman in the 50 and 100 free, and Pelton in the 200 backstroke and 200 individual medley. In addition, Rachel Bootsma claimed the 100 back, coming from nearly half a second down at the midway point to edge USC’s Hannah Weiss, 53.76 to 54.04.

“In the 50 free, that was by best time in a dual meet,” Osman said of her 22.57 clocking. “Just watching everyone swim well made me want to go faster. I didn’t have much time to rest (before the 100 free). I told myself to go after it. I wanted to help inspire the team by swimming fast.”

Cal started out the meet with an impressive performance in the 400 medley relay. The foursome of Bootsma, Garcia, Noemie Thomas and Rachael Acker broke away from USC late to touch the wall first in 3:38.20.

“We talked about being a little more aggressive starting out,” McKeever said. “I was really pleased with that. I saw some tough racing and I think we took advantage of the environment.”

Perhaps the Bears’ most complete race was the 100 free, where Osman (50.05), Acker (50.43), Cheng (51.24) and Caroline Piehl (41.41) swept the first four positions.

The Bears also closed out the day by taking the first two spots in the 400 free relay, led by Jasmine Mau, Kaylin Bing, Bootsma and Acker in 3:23.02.

Cal returns to action Saturday when the Bears host UCLA at 12 noon. The Bears’ final home meet will be Feb. 14 vs. Stanford.

 

Junior Kendyl Stewart won the 100y fly and junior Jasmine Tosky collected first in the 200y fly to lead the No. 12 USC women's swimming and diving team, which fell to No. 1 California, 197.5-102.5 on Friday (Jan. 30) in Berkeley.

USC falls to 4-2 overall, 3-2 in the Pac-12, while California improves to 6-1, 5-0.

Stewart won the 100y fly in 53.23, posting an NCAA `B' cut.

Tosky claimed first in the 200y fly in 1:58.28, another NCAA `B' cut. Her time was .25 seconds ahead of Cal's Celina Li who took second.

Senior Haley Ishimatsu swept the diving competition by earning first in both events of the day by a wide margin. Ishimatsu, the two-time defending NCAA platform champion, claimed the 1m with 306.68 points and the 3m with 335.63 points. In the 3m dive, USC's juniors Natalie Kalibat took second (294.98) and Sam Adams claimed third (292.50).

In the 100y back, the Women of Troy took second and third with freshman Hannah Weiss posting a time of 54.04 and Stewart finishing in 54.68, both NCAA `B' cuts.

Senior Andre Kropp took second in the 100y breast with a time of 1:03.47, just .84 seconds out of first claimed by Cal's Marina Garcia Urzainqui. Kropp also placed second in the 200y breast in 2:17.41, with Cal's Garcia Urzainqui taking first in 2:14.73.

Another second place finished came to the Trojans in the 500y free when sophomore Chelsea Chenault, a U.S. gold medalist in the 800m free relay at the 2013 FINA World Championships, posted a 4:53.57 time. Cierra Runge took first place for Cal in 4:47.83. 
 
In California's two relay victories, the Golden Bears team of Bootsma, Garcia Urzainqui, Thomas and Acker held onto first in the 400y medley relay in 3:38.20, just 1.25 over USC's quartet of Weiss, Kropp, Stewart and Kasia Wilk who finished in 3:39.45. Cal's team of Mau, Bing, Bootsma and Acker teamed up to win the 400y free relay in 3:23.02 over the third place quartet of Chenault, Nikki Chang, Joanna Stenkvist and Evan Swenson (3:28.70).

The Women of Troy will take on No. 2 Stanford tomorrow at 12 p.m. in Palo Alto, Calif.

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