TUCSON, Ariz. – Racing for the first time since December and removed by only a few weeks from training at altitude, the Cal men's swimming and diving team returned to competition in style as the Bears posted the top time in every event to score a 161-113 victory over Arizona in a Pac-12 dual meet in Tucson.

Cal, which improved to 2-0 in dual meets in 2016-17, didn't wait long to find its rhythm as the No. 1-ranked Bears kicked off the second half of their collegiate season. The team of Ryan Murphy, Connor Hoppe, Justin Lynch and Pawel Sendyk stopped the clock in 1:27.67 to win the 200-yard medley relay and beat teammates Mike Thomas, Carson Sand, Matthew Josa and Michael Jensen, who finished second.

Success carried into the distance freestyle as Ryan Kao and Ken Takahashi combined to finish 1-2 in the 1,000 freestyle. Kao's winning time of 9:23.76 is a season-best for the junior. The distance shortened with the 200 free but Cal teammates again battled for the win as senior Long Gutierrez finished in 1:36.62 to place just ahead of Murphy and Kyle Coan.

Josa found himself in the winner's circle in his first dual meet as a Golden Bear, clocking a time of 48.97 to lead a trio of Bears – Thomas and freshman Andy Song included – in the 100 backstroke. Senior Hunter Cobleigh followed with the first of two wins on the day, out-touching Hoppe to win the 100 breaststroke with a time of 54.88. That pair battled again in the 200 breast and again Cobleigh prevailed with a time of 1:59.00 but this time fellow Golden Bear Carson Sand got into the mix, narrowly pulling into the wall for second ahead of Hoppe.

Sophomore Andrew Seliskar picked up his first win of the day with a time of 1:45.67 in the 200 butterfly and returned to the pool near the end of the meet to swim the 200 IM in a top time of 1:47.67. Lynch and Josa finished 1-2 in the 100 fly while Murphy competed in one backstroke event Friday, cruising to a six-second win with a time of 1:43.25 in the 200.

The Bears proved proficient in the sprint freestyle events as well, showcasing a bit of their youth as well as some veteran speed. A pair of freshmen, Jensen and Sendyk pulled away in the 50 free with Jensen getting the win in 20.09. Gutierrez added some experience to the mix as the senior finished in 43.71 to finish just ahead of Jensen and win the 100 free.

Sophomore Nick Norman and freshman Andy Song made it a distance freestyle sweep for the Bears as Norman won the 500 free in a time of 4:29.12 and Song placed second ahead of four Wildcats. Cal also earned its share of points in diving as freshman Connor Callahan continued a strong stretch of competition with wins in both the 1-meter and 3-meter. In both cases, Callahan set a season-best in scoring, recording a mark of 314.48 in the 1-meter and 346.65 in the 3-meter.

The Bears wrapped up their day with a strong performance in the 400 free relay as the team of Gutierrez, Dillon Williams, Josa and Lynch finished in 2:58.96 to touch the wall first.

Cal won't wait long to jump back in the water. The Bears head to Tempe on Saturday for an 11 a.m. showdown with Arizona State. The meet will be streamed live through Pac-12.com and the Sun Devils' website, TheSunDevils.com.