Sept. 19, 2012

BERKELEY - Defending NCAA champion California - led by U.S. Olympic head coach Teri McKeever - will open the 2012-13 season at the Cal Poly King and Queen of the Pool meet from Friday, Sept. 21, to Saturday, Sept. 22, in San Luis Obispo, Calif. There, Olympic bronze medalist and senior Caitlin Leverenz will look to retain her crown as the winner of the past three Mustang competitions, which include athletes swimming in five 100-yard events each on Friday and in nontraditional relays on Saturday.

There will be no diving at Cal Poly this weekend.

The Golden Bears will unveil a revamped roster with eight freshmen, including Olympic gold medalist Rachel Bootsma, fellow U.S. national team star Elizabeth Pelton and a host of talented veterans. Junior Cindy Tran - who won the last two 100-yard backstroke titles at the NCAA Championships - Hong Kong Olympian Stephanie Au and All-Americans Kaylin Bing, Catherine Breed and Caroline Piehl are among the returning Bears who contributed to Cal's NCAA championship last season.

Olympic Summer for Cal Swimming
Forty six athletes, coaches and administrators represented Cal at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, with the contingent from Cal swimming perhaps the most prominent. Among the current Golden Bears, U.S. and Cal head coach Teri McKeever, Caitlin Leverenz (USA), Rachel Bootsma (USA) and Hong Kong's Stephanie Au took part in the Games.
• McKeever was the U.S. Olympic head coach for the first time, after working as a U.S. assistant coach in the 2004 and 2008 Games
• Leverenz won her first Olympic medal by capturing a bronze medal in the 200-meter individual medley
• Bootsma won gold after swimming the preliminary heats of the eventually victorious U.S. 400-meter medley relay
• Au - competing in her second consecutive Olympics for Hong Kong - swam in the 100 and 200 backstroke heats

Cal Repeats as NCAA Champion, Winning Third Title in Four Years
Contributions from every Golden Bear at the NCAA Championships - including 200-yard breaststroke champ Caitlin Leverenz and Kahley Rowell, only the second California diver to qualify for the national meet - gave Cal a repeat championship and its third national title in four years on March 17 at Auburn's James E. Martin Aquatic Center. Rowell's fifth-place finish on the platform clinched the title for the Bears before the last event of the meet - the 400-yard freestyle relay. Leverenz won the 200 breaststroke earlier in the night and later earned the NCAA Swimmer of the Meet award. Cal head coach Teri McKeever claimed the NCAA Coach of the Meet award.

The Bears scored 412.5 points, while second-place Georgia had 366, third-place USC tallied 325.5, fourth-place Stanford scored 318 and fifth-place Arizona collected 299.

Leverenz's 200-breaststroke win gave Cal a total of seven individual/relay titles at NCAAs, including her victory in the 200-yard individual medley, senior Liv Jensen's win in the 50 free, sophomore Cindy Tran's repeat title in the 100 backstroke and senior Sara Isakovic's championship in the 100 butterfly as well as Cal's 200- and 400-yard medley relay wins.

Last Time at Cal Poly
Caitlin Leverenz successfully defended her crown at Cal Poly's Queen of the Pool meet on Sept. 23, 2011, at Anderson Aquatic Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The reigning queen for three consecutive seasons, Leverenz posted the lowest combined time of 4:45.12 - almost three seconds faster than last year's 4:48.03 - among the assembled Golden Bears and Mustangs after swimming in five 100-yard events.

Leverenz recorded the fastest times in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.65) and 100-yard individual medley (56.79).

Next Time
Cal next competes in Teri McKeever's old stomping grounds at the Fresno State Invitational, slated for Oct. 12-13 in Fresno, Calif. McKeever was the head coach of the Bulldogs for five years prior to joining Cal.