BERKELEY - With winter fast approaching and the fall season nearly done, the Cal men's swimming team will take a cross-country trip in search of good competition and fast times as the Bears head to Athens, Ga. to compete in the Georgia Fall Invitational.

Last year, Cal made the same cross-country trek to begin the month of December and came home with a second-place finish as a team. Then-junior Ryan Murphy used the meet to excel in a variety of events, winning his usual 100 and 200-yard backstroke while also adding to Cal's wins in the 400 medley relay, 800 free relay and 400 free relay. Josh Prenot captured the 200 IM and 200 breast, Nick Norman won the 1,650 free and Justin Lynch won the 100 fly during a fast weekend of racing by the Golden Bears.

Several of those stars return for this year's squad and a variety of new faces have joined the fray looking to post their top times of the fall season. Murphy is back for his senior season and, after taking much of the fall off to recover from a busy summer, the three-time Olympic gold medalist will look to continue his training in his second competition of the season.

With a strong fall campaign already in the books, junior Justin Lynch stands a good chance of factoring heavily for the Bears this weekend. Lynch owns the team's top times in the 50 free, 100 fly and 200 fly as well as the squad's second-fastest mark in the 100 free. 

Sophomore Andrew Seliskar established himself as one of the nation's most versatile swimmers last year, winning the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year award as well as being named Swimmer of the Meet at the Pac-12 Championships. He has also had a productive fall so far, setting the team's top times in the 200 and 400 IM and trailing only Lynch in the butterfly events.

In the breaststroke, junior Connor Hoppe and senior Hunter Cobleigh have enjoyed strong starts to the season with Hoppe swimming the team's top time in the 100 and Cobleigh doing the same in the 200. Sophomore Nick Norman has set the pace in both the 500 and 1,000 free while freshman Michael Jensen has emerged with the team's best marks in the 100 and 200 free. 

Though the Georgia Fall Invitational brings one portion of the season to a close, the work won't stop for the Golden Bears. Cal hosts the annual Cal Invitational all-comers meet on Jan. 14 and 15 and returns to dual meet action on Jan. 20 and 21 at Arizona and Arizona State. USC pays a visit to Spieker Aquatics Complex for on Feb. 3 and the dual meet season concludes against Stanford in Berkeley on Feb. 18.