Nov. 20, 2010

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Fifth-ranked California placed second in the Arena Invitational on Saturday night at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool, where they posted seven NCAA B qualifying times in championship finals on the last day of the meet. The Golden Bears scored 792 points to finish behind top-ranked Stanford (1641). Pac-10 schools swept the top three spots, as Arizona State placed third (693.5).

"The weekend was very beneficial to see where we are," Cal head coach Teri McKeever said. "It gave me a perspective of the team as well as a number of new athletes. I learned a lot and definitely saw areas that need improving. We're anxious to rest and continue to move forward."

Cal senior Sara Sun started the night with an eighth-place finish in a time of 16:48.23 in the 1650-yard freestyle. Freshman Deborah Roth placed fifth in the 200-yard backstroke with an NCAA B time of 1:58.22.

A pair of Bears posted NCAA B times in the A final of the 100 free, as junior Liv Jensen finished fifth in 48.62 and freshman Nathalie Lindborg was eighth in 50.19.

Sophomore Caitlin Leverenz, the 2010 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, had Cal's best individual finish of the night. She took second in the 200 breaststroke in an NCAA B time of 2:10.95.

In the 200 butterfly, senior Amanda Sims placed fifth in an NCAA B time of 1:58.75, while senior Katie Kastes was 11th in an NCAA B time of 2:00.66.

The 400-free relay capped the night, with the Cal A quartet of Roth, Lindborg, junior Katherine Raatz and Jensen posting an NCAA B time of 3:20.69 to take second place.

The Cal swimmers next compete in the Dec. 2-4 U.S. Short-Course National Championships, while the Cal divers, who did not compete in Long Beach, hit the pool in the Dec. 2-4 Texas Invitational.

Arena Invitational

Nov. 20 in Long Beach, Calif.

Final Team Standings (top 10)

Team	             Points
1.  Stanford	     1641
2.  California	     792
3.  Arizona State	     693.5
4.  San Diego State    691
5.  UCLA	              531
6.  UNLV	              481.5
7.  Oregon State	     435
8.  San Jose State	     410
9.  BYU	              323
10. UC Santa Barbara   291

Cal Results

Championship Finals

1650-Yard Freestyle
8. Sara Sun 16:48.23. 16. Samantha Shellem 17:12.56.

200-Yard Backstroke
5. Deborah Roth 1:58.22*. 16. Erica Dagg 2:04.03. 17. Cindy Tran 2:00.54. 28. Kelsey Hoff 2:02.74. 32. Samantha Shellem 2:06.60. 44. Mikkel-Ane Stipe 2:06.92. 49. Ursula Dailey 2:07.81. 60. Nicole Parmenter 2:09.66. 64. K.T. Livingstone 2:10.32.

100-Yard Freestyle
5. Liv Jensen 49.62*. 8. Nathalie Lindborg 50.19*. 13. Deborah Roth 50.89. 21. Katherine Raatz 51.28. 37. Emily Bibb 51.96. 45. Erica Dagg 52.35. 51. Sara Sun 52.54. 53t. Samantha Shellem 52.63. 65. Mikkel-Ane Stipe 52.92. 88. Nicole Parmenter 53.69.

200-Yard Breaststroke
2. Caitlin Leverenz 2:10.95*. 27. Melissa Bates 2:19.72. 45. Ellie Monobe 2:25.78.

200-Yard Butterfly
5. Amanda Sims 1:58.75*. 11. Katie Kastes 2:00.66*. 21. Shelley Harper 2:04.01. 27. Katherine Raatz 2:05.30. 52. K.T. Livingstone 2:07.74. 57. Ursula Dailey 2:08.50.

400-Yard Freestyle Relay
2. Cal A (Deborah Roth, Nathalie Lindborg, Katherine Raatz, Liv Jensen) 3:20.69*.

*NCAA B qualifying standard