Cal freshman midfielder Eric Sassano (right) and Cal volleyball's Erin Freeman (left) participated in the Battle of the Bears competition (and accompanying barbecue) on Aug. 25 at Edwards Stadium. Battle of the Bears was designed by student-athletes as a way for them to get to know athletes from other teams as well as the Cal staff members and coaches who work with them.

This season, California will play five games against opponents ranked in the NSCAA preseason poll - two against Pac-10 opponent and No. 5 UCLA, two against conference rival and No. 13 Stanford and one, the season opener, against No. 20 Indiana. The Golden Bears will open at Indiana in the Sept. 3 adidas/IU Credit Union Classic in Bloomington, Ind., play at Stanford on Oct. 2, host the Bruins on Oct. 17, play at UCLA on Oct. 24 and host the Cardinal in the Nov. 11 regular-season finale.

After the IU tournament, Cal will host its Cal Legacy Classic, with games against Saint Mary's on Sept. 10 and UNLV on Sept. 12, at Edwards Stadium. The complete 2010 schedule is available here.

At the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, Calif., Cal sophomore Caitlin Leverenz qualified for Thursday night's 400-meter individual medley championship final by taking second place in the morning prelim with a time of 4:39.59. Results are available here. Leverenz, the 2010 Pac-10 Newcomer/Freshman of the Year, won the 400 IM at the recent ConocoPhillips National Championships, also held in Irvine, to qualify for the United States' Pan Pacific Championships team.

Cal alumna Natalie Coughlin won the bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke championship final on Wednesday night at the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships held at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, Calif. The U.S. Olympic star posted a time of 59.70 to take third in the event.

Results are available at this website as well as at OmegaTiming.com. Live video of the races is available at SwimNetwork.com.

In other action, Cal senior Hannah Wilson clocked a time of 27.01 to take seventh place for Hong Kong in the 50-meter butterfly championship final, while former Bears All-American and New Zealand star Lauren Boyle finished ninth in the 800 freestyle in a time of 8:36.65.

Erstwhile Cal star Dana Vollmer clocked a time of 1:56.47 to win the consolation final of the 200 free. That time would have given her the 200-free silver medal had she reached the championship final. However, only two swimmers from each country qualify for the top race, and Vollmer had posted the third-best U.S. preliminary time.

In the first women's prelims on Thursday, Aug. 19, Vollmer and Coughlin finished 1-2 overall in the 100 free heats, with respective times of 54.01 and 54.09. Wilson finished 16th (55.24), former Cal All-American Madison Kennedy, swimming for the United States, placed 24th (55.67) and Boyle wound up 46th (56.96) in the 100 free heats.

However, with only two swimmers per country advancing to the championship and consolation finals, some swimmers' placements were affected. Wilson actually moved up to seventh place and into the top race on Thursday night. Kennedy was also affected and technically finished 29th after the finalists were determined. Boyle remained 46th.

Cal sophomore Caitlin Leverenz, who will compete in the 400-meter individual medley, is apparently the only other Bear slated to swim in Thursday's morning prelims.

California sophomore swimmer Caitlin Leverenz, a Tucson, Ariz., native, who is currently at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, Calif., is featured in an article in the Wednesday edition of the Arizona Republic newspaper. You can read Jeff Metcalfe's story by clicking here.

Cal alumna Kelley Cox of GoldenBearSports.com took Cal men's soccer's new photos, including this head shot of Mike Munoz, on Aug. 17 on Goldman Field at Edwards Stadium. The photos are available for purchase at GoldenBearSports.com.

Former California star Dana Vollmer won her heat of the 200-meter freestyle on Wednesday morning at the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships held in Irvine, Calif.

Lauren Boyle, her former Cal teammate, was listed as swimming in the same 200 free heat on the psych sheet but was apparently a late scratch.

Other morning prelims that will include Bears today include the 100 backstroke with Natalie Coughlin and the 800 free with Boyle.

You can view live video of the meet at http://www.swimnetwork.com/.

California junior Sara Isakovic took ninth place in the 100-meter butterfly semifinals on Thursday and did not advance to Friday's 100-fly final at the European Championships held in Budapest. The Slovenia native posted a time of 59.19 to take 10th place in the 100-fly preliminary race earlier on Thursday and improved on that by swimming a time of 59.08 in the semis.

Results are available by clicking on the Swimming link next to 30th LEN European Championships at http://www.omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/index.htm.

California junior All-American Sara Isakovic will represent Slovenia, her native country, in the European Championships that are taking place right now in Budapest, Hungary. She is slated to swim in the 100-meter butterly on Thursday, Aug. 12, and the 200-meter butterfly on Saturday, Aug. 14. The meet began on Aug. 9 and ends on Sunday, Aug. 15.

Isakovic captured the silver medal in the 200-meter freestyle in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games and won the 2008 European Championship title in the 200-meter freestyle.

Cal sophomore Caitlin Leverenz won the 400-meter individual medley at the 2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships on Aug. 5 in Irvine, Calif. The 2010 Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year posted a time of 4:35.60 to win her title at the long-course meet. Also on Thursday night, former Golden Bear Madison Kennedy took second place in the 50-meter freestyle in a time of 25.15, while former Cal star Dana Vollmer tied for fourth in the 50 free in a time of 25.32. With those results, Leverenz and Kennedy qualified in their respective events for the U.S. roster for the upcoming Pan Pacific Championships.

Cal junior Liv Jensen clocked a time of 25.61 to win the 50-free bonus final.

The Friday prelims are currently underway in Irvine. Results can be found here: http://www.star-meets.org/results/Nats/2010/.

Former California star Natalie Couglin won the 100-meter backstroke, former Golden Bears Olympian Dana Vollmer placed second in the 200-meter freestyle and California Aquatics won the 4x100-meter freestyle relay on Aug. 5 at the 2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships in Irvine, Calif.

The former and current Bears, competing for the California Aquatics club, also made news on Thursday morning, as rising sophomore Caitlin Leverenz won the 400-meter individual medley prelim, Vollmer tied for third in the 50-free prelim and former Bear Madison Kennedy finished fifth in the 50-free prelim.

Coughlin clocked a time of 1:00.14 to win the 100 back, Vollmer produced times of 1:56.93 in the 200 free and 25.36 in the 50 free, Kennedy notched a time of 25.56 in the 50 free and Leverenz swam a time of 4:36.76 in the 400 IM. The quartet of Kennedy, senior Erica Dagg, senior Katherine Raatz and junior Liv Jensen posted a time of 3:44.87 to win Wednesday night's relay.

Jensen, the 2010 NCAA champion in the 50-yard free, placed 17th in the 50-meter free prelim with a time of 26.08 at nationals.

Thursday's finals are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. PT.

Results are available at http://www.star-meets.org/results/Nats/2010/.

California alumna Dana Vollmer and returning sophomore Caitlin Leverenz most likely qualified for the U.S. team's Pan Pacific Championships roster when they collected second-place finishes in the Aug. 3 finals at the 2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships, held at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, Calif. Vollmer, the 2004 U.S. Olympic gold medalist, took second place in the 100-meter butterfly in a time of 57.45 and Leverenz, the 2010 Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year, finished second in the 200-meter individual medley in a time of 2:10.84 on the first day of competition at the long-course meet, which ends on Saturday, Aug. 7.

In the Wednesday morning prelims, Vollmer won the 200-meter freestyle in a time of 1:57.43.

Former Golden Bears star Natalie Coughlin also probably qualified for the Pan Pacific Championships by taking fourth place in the 100 fly in a time of 58.31 on Aug. 3.

On Wednesday, Coughlin won the 100-backstroke prelim in a time of 1:00.21.

Cal head coach Teri McKeever will serve as the U.S. women's head coach at the Pan Pacific Championships, which will take place from Aug. 18-21 in Irvine.

Results from the national championships are available at this page: http://www.star-meets.org/results/Nats/2010/. USA Swimming's roster-qualifying procedures for Pan Pacs are located here: http://tinyurl.com/27y75tn.

 

Two California products - alumna Dana Vollmer and rising sophomore Caitlin Leverenz - placed second in different preliminary events today, Tuesday, at the 2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships in Irvine, Calif. On the opening day of the long-course meet, Vollmer finished second in the 100-meter butterfly in a time of 57.87, while Leverenz took second in the 200-meter individual medley in a time of 2:12.51. Another star alumna, Natalie Coughlin, tied for fifth place in the 100 butterfly with a time of 58.74. All three qualified for today's championship finals, which start at 6 p.m. PT.

You can find the results for nationals at this page: http://www.star-meets.org/results/Nats/2010/.