Feb. 26, 2013

Wednesday-Saturday, Feb. 27-March 2
2013 Pac-12 Women's Swimming & Diving Championships
Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center - Federal Way, Wash.
Coverage: Pac-12 Networks (delayed on March 5 at 7:30 p.m. PT), Live Swimming Results, Live Diving Results
Cal at the 2012 Pac-12 Championships: First place, 1389.5 points

Cal Pac-12 Championships Release

BERKELEY - Defending conference champion and second-ranked California heads north for the Pac-12 Women's Swimming & Diving Championships that will take place from Wednesday, Feb. 27, through Saturday, March 2, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash.

The Golden Bears claimed the Pac-12 title in 2012 - the conference's first year under its new name - with Pac-12 Swimmer of the Meet Caitlin Leverenz leading the way. Leverenz and the Bears went on to win their second straight NCAA title. The Bears have won a total of two Pac-10/12 Conference championships. The team's 2009 Pac-10 Conference crown preceded its first NCAA championship, with NCAA Swimmer of the Year Dana Vollmer heading the charge.

Six of the nine teams in the Pac-12 - arguably the most talented conference in the nation - earned national rankings in the latest CSCAA poll: No. 1 USC (finished with a 10-1 dual-meet record, 6-1 in the Pac-12), No. 2 Cal (7-2, 4-2 Pac-12), No. 4 Stanford (7-2, 4-1 Pac-12), No. 6 Arizona (10-4, 4-3 Pac-12), No. 14 UCLA (11-3, 5-3 Pac-12), No. 23 Arizona State (5-5, 2-5 Pac-12)

2013 Pac-12 Women's Swimming & Diving Championships
Here is the schedule for this week's conference meet, which will include men's diving as well:

Wednesday, Feb. 27
6 p.m.
Finals/Time Standard Trials
200 Medley Relay
800 Freestyle Relay

Thursday, Feb. 28
11 a.m.
Preliminaries/Time Standard Trials
500 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
Women's 3 Meter Prelim (after completion of swimming)
3 p.m.
Men's 1 Meter Prelim
Men's 1 Meter Final (15 minutes following prelim)
6 p.m.
Finals/Time Standard Trials
500 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
Women's 3 Meter Final
200 Freestyle Relay

Friday, March 1
11 a.m.
Preliminaries/Time Standard Trials
400 Individual Medley
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
Men's 3 Meter Prelim (after completion of swimming)
3:30 p.m.
Women's 1 Meter Prelim
Women's 1 Meter Final (15 minutes following prelim)
6 p.m.
Finals/Time Standard Trials
400 Individual Medley
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
Men's 3 Meter Final
400 Medley Relay

Saturday, March 2
10 a.m.
Women's Platform Prelim
11 a.m.
Preliminaries/Time Standard Trials
200 back
100 free
200 breast
200 fly
1:15 p.m.
Men's Platform Prelim
Men's Platform Final (15 minutes following prelim)
4 p.m.
1650 Freestyle
6 p.m.
Finals/Time Standard Trials
1650 Freestyle (fastest heat)
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
Women's Platform Final
400 Freestyle Relay

Scouting the Bears
• Cal has two returning individual Pac-12 champs from 2012 in senior Caitlin Leverenz (400-yard individual medley and 200-yard breaststroke) and junior Cindy Tran (100 backstroke)
• The Bears won 2012 Pac-12 titles in the 200-yard medley relay, 400-yard medley relay and 800-yard freestyle relay
• Leverenz is also the 2012 Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year, the 2012 NCAA Swimmer of the Meet and the defending NCAA champ in the 200 IM and 200 breaststroke
• The 2012 Honda Sports Award winner for swimming and the winner of the bronze medal in the 200-meter IM at the 2012 Olympics, Leverenz has collected the following top-10 national times heading into Pac-12s: 1:54.30 in the 200 IM (NCAA A, 2nd fastest in that event behind freshman teammate Elizabeth Pelton), 4:03.07 in the 400 IM (NCAA A, 4th), 2:06.46 in the 200 breaststroke (NCAA A, 5th), 1:55.69 in the 200 butterfly (NCAA B, tied for 9th with freshman teammate Rachel Bootsma)
• Cal boasts the fastest three swimmers in the 100 backstroke in Cindy Tran (50.42, NCAA A, 1st), Rachel Bootsma (50.54, NCAA A, 2nd) and Elizabeth Pelton (51.26, NCAA A, 3rd)
• Pelton also has the following top-10 times: 1:53.39 in the 200 IM (NCAA A, 1st), 1:48.90 in the 200 back (NCAA A, 1st), 1:44.04 in the 200 free (NCAA B, 6th)
• Cal currently ranks in the top 10 in the nation in each of the five relays: 1:28.78 in the 200-yard freestyle relay (sophomore Kaylin Bing, Bootsma, freshman Rachael Acker and Tran; 6th fastest), 3:13.66 in the 400-free relay (Acker, Bootsma, Pelton and Tran; 3rd), 7:02.78 in the 800-free relay (sophomore Caroline Piehl, Bootsma, Pelton and sophomore Melanie Klaren; 8th), 1:36.29 in the 200-medley relay (Bootsma, Leverenz, Tran and Acker; 6th) and 3:29.86 in the 400-medley relay (Tran, Leverenz, Bootsma and Pelton; 2nd)
• Junior Kahley Rowell posted the following finishes at 2012 Pac-12s: fifth on the platform, 10th on the three-meter springboard and tied for 13th on the one-meter springboard
• Rowell became only the second Cal women's diver to reach the NCAA Championships when she placed fifth on the platform in 2012; Rowell qualified for the USA Diving World Championship Trials in May with that effort at NCAAs
• The following Cal swimmers - along with Cal grad Liv Jensen - earned spots on the United States' 2013 World University Games Team: Acker, Tran and sophomore Catherine Breed; the competition is slated for July 6-17 in Kazan, Russia
• Teri McKeever - the 2012 U.S. Olympic women's head coach - is in her 21st season as head coach at Cal; associate head coach Kristen Cunnane is in her sixth year at Cal; and diving coach Todd Mulzet is in his third year with the Bears

Last Time
Swimming in the last home meet of her amazing collegiate career, Caitlin Leverenz won four events to lead seventh-ranked California past No. 2 Stanford, 154.5-145.5, on a sunny Feb. 16 afternoon at the Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Golden Bears' lone senior won both breaststroke events, captured the 200-yard individual medley and swam the breaststroke leg of the winning 200-yard medley relay.

Prior to the dual meet, Cal honored Leverenz as part of Senior Day.

The meet was the Bears' third to air on the Pac-12 Networks; former Cal star Natalie Coughlin was the color commentator. The Big Meet also drew a season-high crowd of 1,160 to Spieker.

Next Time
Cal could have a few Bears competing in the Pac-12 Invitational - a last-chance meet to qualify for the NCAA Championships - on March 3 in Federal Way. The following competition for the Bears is the NCAA Zone E Diving Qualifying Meet slated for March 14-16 in Colorado Springs, Colo., through which divers qualify for the NCAA Championships. The two-time defending NCAA champion - and winner of three of the last four national titles - then competes in the NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships from March 21-23 in Indianapolis.