Jan. 24, 2012
Friday, Jan. 27
2 p.m. - No. 2 Cal (5-0, 5-0 Pac-12) at No. 3 USC (5-0, 4-0 Pac-12)
McDonald's Swim Stadium - Los Angeles
Series Record vs. USC: 19-13
Last Meeting with USC: W, 182-118, 1/28/11 in Berkeley
Saturday, Jan. 28
Noon - No. 2 Cal (5-0, 5-0 Pac-12) at UCLA (4-2, 2-2 Pac-12)
Spieker Aquatics Center - Los Angeles
Series Record vs. UCLA: 20-10
Last Meeting with UCLA: W, 168.-131.5, 1/29/11 in Berkeley
Cal Women's Swimming & Diving Weekly Release 
BERKELEY -
With its home schedule complete, the second-ranked California women's swimming and diving team hits the road for its remaining regular-season meets, including this week's two duals in Los Angeles. The Golden Bears (5-0, 5-0 in the Pac-12) battle the third-ranked USC Trojans (5-0, 4-0 Pac-12) at 2 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27, and UCLA (4-2, 2-2 Pac-12) at noon on Saturday, Jan. 28.
Scouting the Golden Bears
• Cal closed its home schedule with a 169-114 dual-meet win over No. 24 Arizona State on Jan. 21 at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Cal won 11 of 16 events, with seniors accounting for five of the individual victories on Senior Day. Liv Jensen won the 50- (22.56, NCAA B) and 100-yard freestyles (49.68, NCAA B), Sara Isakovic claimed the 200-yard butterfly (1:59.72, NCAA B), Molly Hayes captured the one-meter springboard (280.50, NCAA regional-qualifying score) and Shelley Harper won the 100-yard butterfly (54.95).
• The Bears ended the ASU meet by winning the 200-yard freestyle relay, with its all-senior squad of Sara Isakovic, Colleen Fotsch, Katherine Raatz and Liv Jensen clocking an NCAA B qualifying time of 1:32.16.
• On Jan. 20 in Berkeley, Cal won 10 of 16 events to top No. 5 Arizona, 174-126. Junior Caitlin Leverenz swam on the victorious 200-yard medley relay (NCAA B time of 1:39.19) and won three individual races - the 400-yard individual medley (4:09.51, NCAA B), 200 butterfly (1:57.18, NCAA B) and 200 breaststroke (2:11.25, NCAA B). The Tucson, Ariz., product set Spieker Aquatics Complex and Cal dual-meet records with her 400 IM time against the Wildcats.
• Leverenz earned the Counsilman Hunsaker Swimmer of the Week award and status as one of the CollegeSports360.com Primetime Performers of the Week for her performances against the Arizona Schools.
• The Bears' first action of 2012 came in diving, with Hayes posting three top-five finishes in the Stanford Diving Invitational that ended on Jan. 15 on the Farm. Hayes posted a pair of NCAA regional-qualifying scores to take second in the one-meter springboard (268.90) and three-meter springboard (307.85) and also placed fifth in the platform (211.00).
• Sophomore Kahley Rowell had Cal's best finish in the platform at Stanford, finishing second with an NCAA regional-qualifying score of 250.45.
• Cal came away with some strong performances from a pair of meets in the state of Georgia, including a second-place finish (745.5 points) in the Georgia Fall Invitational that ended Dec. 4 in Athens.
• In Athens, the following Bears won events: Leverenz (400-yard individual medley, school-record and NCAA A time of 4:00.59; 100 breaststroke, school record and NCAA A time of 59.20; 200 breaststroke, 2:07.06, NCAA A; 200 butterfly, 1:53.78, NCAA A), Jensen (50-yard freestyle, 21.84, NCAA A), freshman Kaylin Bing, sophomore Cindy Tran, Jensen and Raatz in the 200-freestyle relay (1:29.13, NCAA B) and Tran, sophomore Melissa Bates, Fotsch and Jensen in the 200-medley relay (1:36.74, NCAA B).
• In the AT&T Winter National Championships in Atlanta, Leverenz won the 200- (2:09.39) and 400-meter (4:36.68) individual medleys.
• The Bears won the Arena Invitational that ended on Nov. 19 with a total of 989 points in Long Beach, Calif.
• Cal captured all 14 events en route to a swimming-only, 160-89 victory over Washington State in a Pac-12 dual meet Nov. 4 at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
• Fresh off a pair of gold medals in the Pan American Games in Mexico, freshman Catherine Breed made her collegiate debut against WSU. Impressively, Breed won back-to-back events freestyle, taking first place in the 1000 with a time of 9:56.91 and then in the 200 with a mark of 1:50.25.
• The Cal divers competed in the Trojan Diving Invitational from Nov. 4-5 at USC. On Nov. 4, Rowell captured second place in the platform with a score of 224.40 and Hayes collected the Bears' best finish on the one-meter springboard, posting a score of 256.35 to place third.
• On Nov. 5 in Los Angeles, junior Kelsey Heiken finished eighth (234.70) and Kahley Rowell placed 10th (223.20) in the three-meter springboard final.
• On Oct. 21, the Bears won all 14 swimming events and one of two diving events to cruise past Utah, 174-105, on Oct. 21 in their home dual-meet opener at Spieker.
• In the divers' season debut against Utah, Hayes posted Cal's best finishes in winning the one-meter springboard (287.70) and taking second on the three-meter board (295.05). Both scores met NCAA regional-qualifying standards.
• Also against the Utes, Rowell posted an NCAA regional-qualifying mark of 285.00 with her third-place finish at three meters.
• Cal won all 14 swimming events to beat Oregon State, 168-85, on Oct. 7 in its Pac-12 Conference and dual-meet opener in Corvallis, Ore.
• On Sept. 23 in the season-opening event (though not a dual meet) at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., Leverenz claimed her third straight Queen of the Pool title.
L.A. Connections
While Teri McKeever, in her 20th season as Cal's head coach, and associate head coach Kristen Cunnane, in her fifth year on McKeever's staff, have become synonymous with the Cal women's swimming program, both began their collegiate swimming careers in Los Angeles. McKeever is a 1983 graduate of USC. For more on her college swimming days, please see below.
A 2005 UCLA graduate, Cunnane, under her maiden name of Kristen Lewis, was a Bruins letterwinner from 2000-04 and was an All-American from 2002-04. Also an Academic All-American, Cunnane majored in history and was an NCAA postgraduate scholar. She worked as an undergraduate assistant coach for her alma mater in the 2004-05 season.
The Spieker family also provides a Cal-UCLA connection. Cal's Spieker Aquatics Complex was named after former Cal water polo letterman Ned Spieker, who provided the major portion of the funds to build the home of Cal's aquatic teams. UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center takes its name from Tod Spieker - Ned's brother - a former UCLA swimmer who provided the lead gift for the creation of the facility.
Scouting the Trojans
• Senior swimmer Katinka Hosszu, a 2008 Olympian for Hungary, won the 200 and 400 IMs along with the 200 fly at the NCAA Championships and at the Pac-10 Championships in 2011.
• Senior diver Tori Ishimatsu, likewise, won the one-meter and three-meter springboard titles at both the NCAA and Pac-10 Championships last years.
• Also last season, current junior Haley Anderson captured the 500 and 1650 free titles at Pac-10s.
• USC placed third at NCAAs and third at Pac-10s in 2011.
• Trojan alumna Rebecca Soni, who won a gold medal and two silvers for the U.S. in the 2008 Olympics, is a volunteer assistant coach for USC.
• Dave Salo is in his sixth season as USC's head coach.
Scouting the Bruins
• UCLA hosts Stanford on Friday at 1 p.m. before entertaining the Bears on Saturday.
• The Bruins were previously ranked No. 25 in the Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) poll, but they fell out of the most recent ranking on Dec. 7.
• The Bruins placed fourth in the 2011 conference championships and 20th in the national championships.
• Senior Yasi Jahanshahi (200 fly) and sophomore Cynthia Fascella (800-free relay) earned Honorable Mention All-America honors at last year's NCAAs.
• Cyndi Gallagher is in her 24th year as head coach of the Bruins.
Next Time
Cal competes in its last dual meet of the season on Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. at Stanford. Following their rivalry meet, the Bears will move on to compete in the Pac-12 Championships from Feb. 22-25 in Federal Way, Wash., and then in the NCAA Championships from March 15-17 in Auburn, Ala.
Teri McKeever - Cal and 2012 U.S. Olympic Head Coach
Regarded as one of the best swimming mentors in the United States, Teri McKeever is in her 20th season as head coach of California's women's swimming and diving program. She closed her 19th season in 2011 by leading the Golden Bears to the ultimate triumph - an NCAA team championship, the second in three years for the Cal program.
Accomplished on the collegiate, national and international stages, McKeever was named the U.S. women's swimming head coach for the 2012 Olympics in December of 2010. McKeever, who coached prized pupil Natalie Coughlin to an astounding 11 Olympic medals, was a U.S. assistant on the 2004 and 2008 Olympic squads and was the first woman to serve as a U.S. head coach at a major meet - the 2006 Pan Pacific Championships. In 2010, she also led the U.S. squads as head coach at the Short-Course World Championships and Pan Pacific Championships.
Collegiately, McKeever has taken Cal to new heights and is often regarded in the coaching circle as the sport's influential innovator because of her unique training methods. Under McKeever's tutelage, the Bears have produced five Pac-10 Swimmers of the Year, including three-time winner Coughlin, and 15 straight top-10 NCAA finishes.
She led Cal to its first NCAA and Pac-10 team titles in 2009, becoming the first woman coach to capture an NCAA swimming and diving team title and earning NCAA and Pac-10 Coach of the Year awards as well.
An All-American swimmer at USC (1980-83), McKeever got her start coaching as an assistant at her alma mater from 1984-87. She later coached the men's (1990-92) and women's (1988-92) teams at Fresno State before starting at Cal with the 1992-93 season.
Blogging Bears
Find out more about the Bears through the team's two blogs on CalBears.com that chronicle what it's like to swim and dive for the defending national champions. Senior swimmer Katherine Raatz pens "Between the Lanes," while senior divers Molly Hayes and Alissa Barker write "Falling Gracefully."
Like Cal Women's Swimming & Diving on Facebook!
Looking for even more Cal women's swimming & diving news? Join the Bears in their new social media territory - on Facebook. By liking Cal Women's Swimming & Diving on Facebook, you can view photos, discuss the latest happenings with fellow fans and much more on the social networking site.
The Paparazzi
Like any of the pictures on CalBears.com? They are available for purchase at GoldenBearSports.com, Cal Athletics' official photographer. This season GoldenBearSports.com took photos of three dual meets at Spieker Aquatics Complex: the Oct. 21 Utah meet, Jan. 20 Arizona meet and Jan. 21 Arizona meet. You can also follow GoldenBearSports.com, on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gbsports and like GBS on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GoldenBearSports.
