BERKELEY – California built an early lead against Texas, but the Longhorns came through with a strong finish, winning five of the final six events, to edge the Golden Bears, 161-139, Friday at Spieker Aquatics Complex

The meet came down to the final event, with Cal needing to take the first two spots in the 200-yard freestyle relay to clinch a tie. But Texas, which upended Stanford Thursday, claimed first and third place in the race to hold off the Bears.

“There was a lot of tough racing and unfortunately a few tight finishes went the wrong way for us,” Cal associate head coach Kristen Cunnane said. “I'm proud of how the girls showed up. I think that everybody gave their best, and that's all you can do. We're working real hard now and are staying true to that.”

Junior Elizabeth Pelton did what she could to help Cal's cause, winning the 100 and 200 backstroke, the 200 individual medley and swimming the anchor leg on the victorious 400 medley relay that opened the afternoon. Her times of 53.79 in the 100 back and 1:58.69 in the 200 IM were both season bests, as was the relay's time of 3:40.96.

“I knew going into it that it was going to be raining and probably not ideal conditions,” Pelton said. “At Pan Pacs (in Australia) this summer, there was a torrential downpour, so I knew that wasn't going to be a problem. I wanted to take pride in putting in a good effort.”

The Bears jumped out to an early advantage after the victory in the medley relay, Missy Franklin's triumph in the 200 freestyle (1:47.37) and Pelton's in the 100 back. Franklin (100 free, 50.13) and Pelton (200 back) won consecutive events for the second time to keep the Bears in front through 10 events before Texas mounted its comeback.

Several races came down to the final few yards, including the 100 butterfly, where Texas' Brynne Wong out-touched Cal's Noemi Thomas, 54.08 to 54.09. Wong also nipped Farida Osman at the finish of the 50 free, winning 23.19 to 23.32.

Cal will be back in action next Friday, Nov. 7 when the Bears host Wisconsin in a dual meet featuring the men's and women's teams. The matchup will get underway at 1 p.m. and admission is free.