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Coming up this weekend:
Cal Men's Swimming in Pac-12 Championship
Hear Coach Dave Durden and junior Ryan Murphy talk about winning the Big Meet and the Pac-12 Championship.
The Men's Swimming and Diving Pac-12 Championship is taking place this week. Well, the diving part was already done last week. Here are the diving points:
- USC 127
- Stanford 127
- Utah 86
- Arizona State 81
- Arizona 31
- Cal 8
It is really no surprise that the Bears face a big deficit from USC and Stanford. It is also important to note that traditionally, Cal Men under Dave Durden has really not cared about the conference championship compares to the Cal Women. For the Cal Men, they have shown again and again the ability to drop time between the Pac-12 and the NCAA; we shall see if this is again the case.
Want an example of how little the Cal Men cares about the Pac-12? The highest profile Cal swimmer and aspiring Calympian Ryan Murphy is not even at the Pac-12 Championships. Instead, Murphy is competing down in Orlando at the Arena Pro series (it's a longer swim like the Olympics format). Also not at the Pac-12 this week are seniors Josh Prenot and Jacob Pebley (UPDATE: the 4th Cal swimmer in Orlando is senior Jeremie DeZwirek). Nevertheless, the Cal Men's Swimming squad is so deep and good, they still are a contender at the Pac-12 this week.
The meet opened on Wednesday with the 200 medley relay. Bears quartet of Seliskar, Hoppe, Lynch, and Messerschmidt took 3rd place (the drop off from Murphy to Seliskar, a highly recruited swimming stud in his own way, is perhaps the difference between the Bears winning this relay, but it's just the Pac-12). Bears then won the 800 free relay. The Pac-12 championship winning quartet was Trent Williams, Andrew Seliskar, Kyle Coan, and Long Gutierrez.
.@CalMenSwim leads after day one of the Men's #Pac12Swim Championships https://t.co/mtmtgDjlOY pic.twitter.com/S3PcLKFWg8
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) March 3, 2016
Bears are "in the lead" if you only count the swimming points.
On Thursday, the Bears won an individual event. Freshman Andrew Seliskar won the 200 IM.
1:43.26 for Andrew Seliskar of @calmenswim and he is the 200y individual medley #Pac12Swim Champion! pic.twitter.com/jdq28ozO0U
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) March 4, 2016
Burns and Kao swam in the 500 Free final. Justin Lynch just got edged in the 50 Free final. Senior Messerschmidt, who has not reach the lofty bar set by himself yet this season, finished 4th. The Cal quartet of Messerschmidt, Gutierrez, Coan, and Lynch took 2nd place in the 200 Free relay.
In today's prelim, the Bears placed 3 guys in the 400 IM A-Final (Seliskar, Green, and Takahashi), 2 in 100 Fly A-Final (Lynch and Gutierrez), 3 in 200 Free A-Final (Gutierrez, Williams, and Coan) with Kao in the B-Final, 2 in 100 Breast A-Final (Sand and Hoppe) with 3 in B-Final (Cobleigh, Whittle, and Silverthron), and just 1 (Thomas) in 100 Back A-Final (an event that is Ryan Murphy's to lose at the NCAA).
Stanford is in the lead through 7 events (not including diving):
Team Scores Through Event 7
1. Stanford - 275
2. USC - 229
3. Arizona - 220
4. California - 198
5. Utah - 139
6. Arizona State - 128
Stanford again placed a bunch of guys in the finals on Friday night. The Pac-12 Championship will wrap up on Saturday.
Updates: Bears won 4 titles on Friday night, but Stanford still has a sizable lead due to depth.
Cal Beach Volleyball Season starts today
In the 3rd year of existence, Cal Beach Volleyball (I see that the NCAA has finally gone away from the "Sand Volleyball" moniker that was designed to have more flyover states involved in this sport) finally has a NCAA Championship to play for. I think the realistic expectation is that the Bears won't be a championship contender just yet.
Bears do open play down in Arizona this weekend. They actually won their first match of the season, a tight 3-2 win over LMU. Bears will face No.9 Arizona later today.
.@CalBeachVball opens the season today with a win over LMU! #GoBears https://t.co/gaCQQuFDbq
— GoldenBlogs (@GoldenBlogs) March 4, 2016
After filling the team with indoor volleyball players, the 2016 squad consists of all but 1 player that is solely playing beach volleyball only. Former Cal Volleyball DS/OH Sarah Cole is now focused only on Beach Volleyball. She forms the top Cal pair with freshman Mia Merino for head coach Meagan Schmitt's (former Cal Volleyball defensive specialist) squad.
It's Picture Day! #CalBeachVball pic.twitter.com/xYGhv3zovI
— Cal Beach Volleyball (@CalBeachVball) January 25, 2016
Cal Baseball continues tough early season schedule, take on Texas in Austin
In the 4 game series opener last night, Cal Baseball managed the same feat pulled off by Cal Football and Cal Men's Tennis this school year and defeated the Texas Longhorns in Austin.
Bears won 4-1 behind the strong pitching of sophomore Jeff Bain. With the victory, the 12th/13th ranked Bears are now 6-3 on the year.
#EMAR is now 3-for-3 in save opportunities, and the #Bears have won five of their last six #GoBears #LetsGo pic.twitter.com/RQ0KOpNSqt
— #LetsGo (@Cal_Baseball) March 4, 2016
#Bain's final line: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB's, 5 K's #GoBears #LetsGo pic.twitter.com/wi7axjAofb
— #LetsGo (@Cal_Baseball) March 4, 2016
Cal Friday ace, Daulton Jefferies will take the mound for the Bears in game two tonight. These games are all televised on the Longhorns Network, if you somehow gets that channel.
The #Bears take on @Texas_Baseball in game two of the four game series at 4 pm PT with @DJefferies22 on the bump pic.twitter.com/QnVQhpI9gY
— #LetsGo (@Cal_Baseball) March 4, 2016
Last Week:
Bears had a fine first homestand at Evans Diamond last week. After winning the midweek game over USF, the Bears swept Purdue in 3 straight games. Bears came close to a perfect homestand but dropped the Monday game to Michigan 5-0.
Rest of the Schedule:
Cal Lacrosse is back home again after a tough midwest trip. Cal Softball continues to travel (Fullerton this weekend, Hawaii midweek). Women's Water Polo are at the Davis Challenge in an easier tournament. Cal Rugby face East Bay rival in St. Mary's on Saturday before a midweek match against Santa Clara.
| Fri,
Mar 4
|
M Tennis | Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championships |
| Fri,
Mar 4
|
Softball | Michigan |
| Fri,
Mar 4
|
M Swimming & Diving | Pac-12 Swimming Championships |
| Fri,
Mar 4
|
Beach Volleyball | Loyola Marymount |
| Fri,
Mar 4
|
Beach Volleyball | at Arizona Invitational: LMU |
| Fri,
Mar 4
|
W Basketball | Arizona State |
| Fri,
Mar 4
|
W Tennis | at Arizona State * |
| Fri,
Mar 4
|
Softball | Missouri |
| Fri,
Mar 4
|
Baseball | at Texas |
| Fri,
Mar 4
|
Beach Volleyball | at Arizona |
| Fri,
Mar 4
|
Beach Volleyball | Arizona Invitational: Arizona |
| Fri,
Mar 4
|
W Gymnastics | Michigan State, Southern Utah, Lindenwood |
| Sat,
Mar 5
|
M Tennis | Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championships |
| Sat,
Mar 5
|
Track & Field | California Outdoor Opener |
| Sat,
Mar 5
|
Beach Volleyball | at Arizona Invitational: Cal Poly |
| Sat,
Mar 5
|
Beach Volleyball | Cal Poly |
| Sat,
Mar 5
|
W Tennis | at Arizona * |
| Sat,
Mar 5
|
W Water Polo | Davis Challenge: UC Davis |
| Sat,
Mar 5
|
M Swimming & Diving | Pac-12 Swimming Championships |
| Sat,
Mar 5
|
Baseball | at Texas |
| Sat,
Mar 5
|
W Water Polo | at Davis Challenge: Santa Clara |
| Sat,
Mar 5
|
Rugby | at Saint Mary's (reserve-grade follows) |
| Sat,
Mar 5
|
M Gymnastics | at Air Force |
| Sat,
Mar 5
|
Softball | North Carolina |
| Sat,
Mar 5
|
M Basketball | at Arizona State |
| Sat,
Mar 5
|
W Basketball | 2016 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament - Semifinal 1 |
| Sun,
Mar 6
|
M Tennis | Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championships |
| Sun,
Mar 6
|
Beach Volleyball | at New Mexico |
| Sun,
Mar 6
|
Beach Volleyball | at Grand Canyon |
| Sun,
Mar 6
|
Baseball | at Texas |
| Sun,
Mar 6
|
Softball | Fresno State |
| Sun,
Mar 6
|
W Basketball | 2016 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament - Championship |
| Mon,
Mar 7
|
W Golf | Bay Area Classic |
| Mon,
Mar 7
|
W Swimming & Diving | NCAA Zone E Diving Championships |
| Mon,
Mar 7
|
M Golf | Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters (Host: UNLV) |
| Tue,
Mar 8
|
W Swimming & Diving | NCAA Zone E Diving Championships |
| Tue,
Mar 8
|
W Golf | Bay Area Classic |
| Tue,
Mar 8
|
M Golf | Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters (Host: UNLV) |
| Tue,
Mar 8
|
Lacrosse | Longwood |
| Wed,
Mar 9
|
W Swimming & Diving | NCAA Zone E Diving Championships |
| Wed,
Mar 9
|
M Golf | Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters (Host: UNLV) |
| Wed,
Mar 9
|
M Basketball | Pac-12 Tournament - First Round: Game 1 |
| Wed,
Mar 9
|
M Basketball | Pac-12 Tournament - First Round: Game 2 |
| Wed,
Mar 9
|
M Basketball | Pac-12 Tournament - First Round: Game 3 |
| Wed,
Mar 9
|
Rugby | vs. Santa Clara |
| Wed,
Mar 9
|
Softball | Hawai'i |
| Wed,
Mar 9
|
M Basketball | Pac-12 Tournament - First Round: Game 4 |
| Thu,
Mar 10
|
M Basketball | Pac-12 Tournament - Quarterfinals: Game 1 |
| Thu,
Mar 10
|
M Basketball | Pac-12 Tournament - Quarterfinals: Game 2 |
| Thu,
Mar 10
|
M Basketball | Pac-12 Tournament - Quarterfinals: Game 2 |
| Thu,
Mar 10
|
Softball | North Dakota State |
| Thu,
Mar 10
|
M Basketball | Pac-12 Tournament - Quarterfinals: Game 3 |
| Thu,
Mar 10
|
M Basketball | Pac-12 Tournament - Quarterfinals: Game 4 |
In case you missed it:
Cal Women's Swimming finished 3rd at the Pac-12 Championships
A look back at Pac-12s and a look ahead to NCAAs by our blog squad. https://t.co/PLyNHjKc15. #CalWSwim.
— Cal W Swim/Dive (@CalWSwim) March 3, 2016
Bears finished 3rd at the Pac-12 Championships behind USC (winner for the first time) and Stanford. In the process, the Bears captured 4 Pac-12 titles.
Junior Farida Osman won two titles: 50 Free and 100 Fly. Freshman Amy Bilquist bested fellow Cal freshman Kathleen Baker for the 200 Back title. Cal also won the title for 200 Free relay: the winning quartet was Farida Osman, Kristin Vredeveld, Rachel Boostma, and Amy Bilquist.
Congrats Farida and Noemie on your top-3 finishes in the 100 fly! #GoBears pic.twitter.com/eRVmmoxFse
— Cal W Swim/Dive (@CalWSwim) February 27, 2016
Congrats, Farida! pic.twitter.com/DrvItkeMSK
— Cal W Swim/Dive (@CalWSwim) February 26, 2016
The NCAA championship will take place in two weeks, starting on March 16th, from Atlanta, Georgia. The Bears will try to make it a repeat title.
Cal Rugby had little issue beating UCLA
Penalty kick by Fawzi Kawash from 20m completes scoring as Bears beat UCLA 37-3 recap later https://t.co/IDkTKnXNir #PACRugby
— Cal Varsity Rugby (@CalVarsityRugby) February 28, 2016
RECAP: Bears Beat @UCLA_Rugby for Share of #PACRugby Conference lead https://t.co/iSqErSqdxW
— Cal Varsity Rugby (@CalVarsityRugby) February 28, 2016
Bears got 6 tries from 4 players to improve to 10-1, 3-0 in the Pac.
The Scoring Timeline vs. UCLA
04:00 Nicklas Boyer 5, 2
12:00 UCLA (Yoh Nakayama) 3
14:00 William Fuller 5
Halftime Score: Caifornia 12, UCLA 3
42:00 Nicklas Boyer 5, 2
48:00 William Fuller 5
52:00 Evan Coleman 5
56:00 Nick Salaber 5
80:00 Fawzi Kawash 3
Final Score: California 37, UCLA 3
The Team vs. UCLA
15. Coleman, 14. Fuller, 13. A. Salaber (Maggs @ 62:00), 12. Ternan, 11. Honens, 10. Howells (R. Webb @ 28:00, Coyle @ 62:00) , 9. Boyer (Kawash @ 62:00), 1. Ogburn, 2. Haynes (Joyce @ 40:00), 3. Vrame (Baylor @ 62:00), 4. Kondrat (Paylor @ 62:00), 5. Sweet, 6. N. Salaber, 7. Mirhashem, 8. Robles
Cal Women's Gymnastics fault hard but fell short against Utah
Bears made it close, but the 5th ranked Utes were just too good.
Make no mistake, the Bears had a great outing at home.
The unofficial final as Cal produces its third-highest score of the season, a 196.750! #Strive pic.twitter.com/WCBkinKrA0
— Cal W Gymnastics (@calwgym) February 27, 2016
The third highest score was not small feat, but a few blemishes from perfection cost the Bears of a victory over the Utes.
Did you see this fun dismount from Sofie? She earned a big 9.875 in her stellar bars debut! https://t.co/J3i7tJvVI2
— Cal W Gymnastics (@calwgym) February 28, 2016
Nevertheless, the Bears have improved their Regional Qualifying Standing to 12th.
Leaped ⬆️ 2 spots in RQS this week! This is the highest the Bears have ever been ranked this point in the season. ✨ pic.twitter.com/GFG1cmCH6H
— Cal W Gymnastics (@calwgym) March 1, 2016
Mixed Result for Cal Women's Water Polo
Playing in their 2nd tough tournament of the season, the Bears dropped a few matches and dropped in the rankings from No.3 to No.6.
At the UC Irvine Invitational, the Bears opened with a 8-6 win over UCSB. For their 2nd loss this year, the Bears were again beaten by Hawaii. Bears followed up the loss to Hawaii with a loss to Michigan before ending the tournament with a 9-6 win over UC Davis.
From senior Pippa Saunders's blog entry this week:
Although we prepared extensively for the weekend at the UCI Tournament and highly anticipated the competition, we were not able to sync up and perform at the highest level that we know we are capable of playing. After sealing a victory against UCSB, we suffered a tough loss to Hawaii and another tough loss to Michigan. We ended up placing seventh in the tournament after beating UC Davis, but this was nowhere close to where we wanted to end up. Despite the unfavorable result of the weekend, I want to emphasize to you all that we have notlost track of the ultimate goal, which is to achieve greatness as a team.
GO BEARS!