ATLANTA – The Cal women's swimming & diving team won the NCAA championship in the 200 freestyle relay for the second consecutive year and the Bears stand in second place after the second day of the 2016 NCAA Championships at the McAuley Aquatic Center at Georgia Tech University.

The Bears' 200 free relay team of junior Farida Osman, junior Kristen Vredeveld, sophomore Valerie Hull and freshman Amy Bilquist clocked in with a time of 1:26.80. Initially, it appeared Cal placed second, but apparent winner Stanford was disqualified for an early exchange and the Bears moved up to the top spot.

The Bears were also big scorers in the 200 individual medley, with three swimmers advancing to the championship finals. Freshman Kathleen Baker placed second with a time of 1:52.95, senior Kelly Naze tied for fifth at 1:55.89 and junior Celina Li was eighth in a time of 1:56.16.

Georgia leads the team race with 174 points while the Bears are second with 144.5. USC is in third place with 121.5 points.

“We just really want to be in the running for this, and I think we are,” Baker said. “Tomorrow is a really big day for us. I'm excited to see the next two days. It will be exciting.”

Bilquist raced the anchor leg of the 200 free relay and closed on Stanford's Lindsey Engel with a split time of 21.64. The Cardinal initially celebrated the win an apparent victory of less than a tenth of a second. But after a lengthy delay for a video review, it was ruled Stanford had an illegal exchange and Cal was awarded the championship.

“Honestly, we weren't thinking somebody got DQed,” Osman said. “We were just wondering what was talking so long. We were all obviously happy.”

Baker led for much of the 200 IM but was overtaken by Stanford's Ella Eastin, who ended up setting an American record with a time of 1:51.65. That mark broke former Cal star Caitlin Leverenz's record, set in 2012. Baker was less than two-tenths off her personal-best time in the event.

“I know my breaststroke is my weakest leg, so I wanted to try to get ahead,” Baker said. “I was really happy with it. I swam my race well. It went the way I wanted it to.”

Osman, who entered the NCAA Championships with the nation's best time this season in the 50 freestyle, ended up second in a time of 21.46. She qualified fourth in the prelims Thursday morning and then bettered her time by more than three-tenths of a second in the finals.

“There are always a lot of nerves with the first race,” Osman said. “I was really confident that I would be better at night.”

The NCAA Championships continue Friday with six more events, including some in which the Bears have some of the best times in the country this season. That includes the 100 backstroke, where Cal has three of the top-10 times this year.