March 25, 2008 Complete Release in PDF Format
BERKELEY, CALIF. - Thu.-Sat., Mar. 27-29 at NCAA Championships Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center, Federal Way, Wash. All Day The No. 11-ranked California men's swimming and diving team (5-2, 3-2), fresh off a second-place finish (769 points) at the Pac-10 championships, will compete at the 2008 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships this Thursday through Saturday at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way, Wash. Prelims will be at noon and finals at 7 p.m. each day. Complete results will be available on www.ncaa.org (or the Cal men's swimming page on calbears.com). Live stats will be available on http://ncaaswim.com/men08/. A tape delay of the 2008 NCAA men's swimming championships will be shown on Thursday, Apr. 3, at 11 a.m. on ESPN2. The Golden Bears will be looking to continue their strong performance at the conference meet. Senior William Copeland won two individual events (50 and 100 free) and was a member of Cal's victorious 200 free and 400 medley relays. The Bears also captured the Pac-10 title in the 200 medley relay, junior David Russell won the 200 back (1:42.01) after placing first in the 100 back in 2007, and Cal trailed only No. 3 Stanford in the final meet standings. A total of 13 swimmers, plus junior diver Sam Helvie, will be competing at the NCAA championships for the Bears. Cal is coming off an eighth-place finish at the 2007 NCAA meet and has nine returning All-Americans, including senior Dominik Meichtry, the 2007 NCAA runner-up in the 200 freestyle. The Bears also feature new head coach David Durden, the former top assistant at Auburn who helped guide the Tigers' men and women's teams to six NCAA team championships from 2002-05. Durden was most recently the head men's and women's swimming coach at Maryland from 2005-06. Cal Gears Up for the NCAAs The Bears' top individual candidates for national crowns this season include Copeland, who is seeded second in the nation in both the 50 (19.30) and 100 free (42.47) behind Auburn's Cesar Cielo, last year's NCAA champion in both events. Freshman Dumir Dugonjic, from Ravne na Koroskern, Slovenia, is another Cal favorite as he is seeded second in the 100 breast with a time of 52.58. Junior backstroker Russell is also a top competitor with the nation's third-seeded time in the 100 back (46.26) and fourth-seeded mark in the 200 back (1:42.01). Cal's relays are among the nation's best as well. The Bears' 400 medley relay of Russell, Dugonjic, senior Jernej Godec and Copeland is the No. 1 seed with a school-record time of 3:06.84, while Cal's 200 medley relay of Russell, Dugonjic, Godec and senior Joe Whittington is the No. 2-seed (behind 2007 NCAA champion Auburn) with a school-record 1:25.09. Finally, the Bears' 200 free relay of Copeland, Godec, Whittington and freshman Graeme Moore is the nation's third seed (behind Auburn and Arizona) with a time of 1:17.99. Bears Perform Well at Pac-10 Meet In wrapping up the 2008 conference meet, Cal had Pac-10 champions in the 50 and 100 free (Copeland, whose 19.47 in the 50 free was the seventh-fastest time in school history), in the 200 back (Russell), the 400 medley relay (school-record 3:06.84; Russell, Dugonjic, Godec, Copeland), the 200 free relay (1:17.99; Copeland, Godec, Whittington, Moore; ninth-fastest time in school history) and the 200 medley relay (school-record 1:25.09; Russell, Dugonjic, Godec, Whittington). The Bears won six conference crowns in 2008 after winning two conference titles in 2007, when they also placed second in the meet. Cal's Standout Diver Sam Helvie Junior Sam Helvie placed second on the one-meter board Mar. 14 at the Zone E Diving Regional in Oklahoma City, Okla. Helvie, from Bakersfield, Calif., had a score of 337.55 in the morning preliminary round, and came back to have the highest score of the meet in the final round with a mark of 370.45. In the final combined tally, he trailed only winner Magnus Frick of Hawaii, 726.00 to 708.00. Earlier, Helvie was named Pac-10 Diver of the Month for January, when he captured the one-meter title against both Arizona and Arizona State during the last weekend of January. Helvie has won a total of seven competitions this season. Last year, he was an honorable mention All-American, placing 12th on the one-meter board at the 2007 NCAA meet. Helvie is the Cal school record-holder in the one-meter (375.92, set in 2006), three-meter (381.15, set in 2007) and platform (279.90, set in 2007) competitions. Bears Returning All-Americans Cal's returning All-Americans from last season include Meichtry (free), senior Mark Eckert (backstroke/IM), Richard Hunter (breaststroke), Copeland (sprint free), Godec (free/fly/back), Whittington (free), Louis Vayo (back/IM/free), and Russell (backstroke). Meichtry placed second at the NCAA meet with a time of 1:33.45 in the 200 free, the second-fastest time in school history behind the eight-time Olympic gold medalist Matt Biondi's time of 1:33.03 set in 1987. He also helped the Bears to a seventh-place finish in the 800-free relay at the NCAA meet, along with fellow senior Vayo. Meichtry was the 2007 Pac-10 champion in the 200 free with a time of 1:33.82. He has the school's second-fastest time in the 500 free (4:15.89), set in 2006, and is a member of the school-record 800 free relay team. The Bears' 200-yard freestyle relay placed sixth in the 2007 NCAA meet and returns three of its members - Copeland, Godec and Whittington. Godec was second in the Pac-10 meet in the 50 free and has the school's third-best all-time mark in the 100 fly (46.32). Russell placed ninth at the NCAA Championships with his time of 1:41.81 in 200-yard backstroke, and was a member of Cal's 200 and 400 medley relays. He was the 2007 Pac-10 champion in the 100 back and has the school's second-best all-time mark in the 200 back (1:41.81) and third-best time in the 100 back (46.70). Eckert was second in the 200 back, third in the 400 IM and fourth in the 200 IM at the Pac-10 meet, and has the school's third-best all-time mark in the 400 IM (3:46.63). Hunter was seventh in the Pac-10 meet in the 100 breast. Copeland, besides being a member of Cal's 200 free and 200 medley relays, is on the school's all-time top-10 list in the 50 (19.59, 10th) and 100 free (42.97, 7th). Vayo was a member of the Bears' 800 free relay that placed seventh in the NCAAs. He joins Meichtry as a member of the school record-setting 800-free relay. Vayo has the school's fifth-best all-time mark in both the 200 (1:45.82) and 400 IM (3:48.54). Whittington, besides being a member of Cal's sixth-place 200 free relay, was on the Bears' 200 free relay that placed second at the Pac-10 Championships. Introducing David Durden Durden, 31, was hired to direct Cal's men's swimming program on Aug. 27. He spent five seasons at Auburn, including 2005 when he was the assistant head men's coach for the 2005 NCAA champion Tigers. Prior to being the No. 1 assistant and chief recruiting coordinator for the powerhouse Auburn men's team, Durden was an assistant coach for both the Tigers' men's and women's swim programs. During his tenure, the Tiger men's and women's teams won a total of six NCAA team championships - the men winning in 2003, 2004 and 2005, and the women winning in 2002, 2003 and 2004. At Auburn, Durden was the primary coach for a number of world-class/postgraduate swimmers who were preparing for the World Championships and the World University Games. He mentored multiple world and NCAA record holders. Durden also served as the head coach for the Panama team at the 2004 Olympic Games and the 2003 Pan American Games. A 1998 graduate of UC Irvine, Durden earned a degree in electrical engineering. He competed on the Anteaters' swim team from 1994-97 and was the 1997 Big West Conference champion in the 200 butterfly. 2006-07 Golden Bear Team Recap In 2006-07, the Bears compiled a 5-3 dual-meet record (2-2 in Pac-10). With Cal's eighth-place finish at the 2007 NCAA meet, it was the 28th time in head coach Nort Thornton's 33-year career the Bears were in the top 10 at the national meet. Of Pac-10 schools, only Stanford (second) and Arizona (third) placed higher. Cal collected its 35th individual national champion under Thornton when Patrick O'Neil captured the NCAA title in the 200-yard butterfly with a school-record 1:42.98. Honoring Nort Thornton - Head Coach Emeritus Former Cal head coach Nort Thornton retired after 33 years at the helm of the Bears men's swimming program on July 26. Thornton led Cal to a dual-meet record of 231-85 (.731), produced back-to-back NCAA team titles in 1979 and 1980, and had numerous individual national champions, including O'Neil, who won the 200 butterfly crown in 2007. Thornton's Bears won 48 individual and relay NCAA championships and 108 Pac-10 individual and relay titles. His 1979-80 and 1980-81 teams also captured Pac-10 team championships.The veteran coach was named National Coach of the Year twice and was the Pac-10 Coach of the Year four times, most recently in 1999. A product of San Jose State, Thornton has an even more impressive collection of Olympians, including world record holder Matt Biondi, Anthony Ervin, who won the gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and Duje Draganja, who took silver in the 50-meter free at the 2004 Athens Olympics. NCAA Quick Bios
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