Oct. 8, 2012

BERKELEY - Teri McKeever leads the Golden Bears to her old stomping grounds at Fresno State for the Early Bird Invitational that runs from Friday, Oct. 12, to Saturday, Oct. 13. McKeever was the head coach at Fresno State prior to starting her 21-year tenure at California.

The Cal divers will not take part in the Fresno State meet.

McKeever at Cal, Fresno State and Beyond
After completing her All-America swimming career at USC, Teri McKeever - the future U.S. Olympic and Cal head coach - worked as an assistant coach at her alma mater from 1984-87. She then coached the Fresno State women's team from 1988-1992 and coached the FSU men from 199-92. She compiled a 54-22 dual-meet record with the Bulldog women and a 19-18 record with the men. McKeever joined Cal as its head coach starting with the 1992-93 season.

Last summer, McKeever became the first woman to claim the role of U.S. Olympic swimming head coach, leading a U.S. team that included current Bears Caitlin Leverenz and Rachel Bootsma along with former Cal stars Natalie Coughlin, Dana Vollmer and Jessica Hardy. Her other protégés in London included current Bear Stephanie Au (Hong Kong) and alumnae Sara Isakovic (Slovenia), Hannah Wilson (Hong Kong) and Lauren Boyle (New Zealand).

McKeever became the first woman to coach in any capacity on a U.S. Olympic swimming team when she worked as a U.S. assistant in the 2004, a role she duplicated in the 2008 Olympics. She was also the first woman to serve as a U.S. head coach at a major international meet when she led the women's national team in the 2006 Pan Pacific Championships.

Last March, her Bears won their second consecutive NCAA team title - and third in four years - one month after they won the inaugural Pac-12 team championship. McKeever, who also led Cal to NCAA titles in 2009 and 2011, claimed the Coach of the Meet award for the third time after emerging triumphant at this year's national meet. In April, the conference named her its Pac-12 Coach of the Year, which marked McKeever's fifth conference award (including awards in 1999, 2002, 2009 and 2011).

In 2002, McKeever garnered the American Swimming Coaches Association Coach of the Year award.

Last Time: Bootsma Crowned Queen of the Pool
Rachel Bootsma won her first competition as a Golden Bear, dethroning California and U.S. Olympic teammate Caitlin Leverenz as the Queen of the Pool in the annual Cal Poly season opener on Sept. 21 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. After swimming in five 100-yard events, Bootsma accumulated the lowest combined time (4:42.68), with Leverenz - who had won the previous three events at Cal Poly - finishing in second place (4:43.40).

Elizabeth Pelton, another Cal freshman, took third place with a combined time of 4:45.01; freshman teammate Kelly Naze was fourth (4:48.73); junior Bear Cindy Tran was fifth (4:57.36). In fact, Bears filled the first 14 out of 39 places, with Cal Poly's Chrissy Thomas taking 15th (5:07.07) and the Mustangs' Angie Haven placing 16th (5:07.40).

Bootsma - who earned gold in the 400-meter medley relay in the London Olympics - won three of the five individual events - the 100 butterfly (54.48), 100 backstroke (54.49) and 100 freestyle (50.74). Leverenz - who took bronze in the 200-meter individual medley in the London Olympics and the 200-yard IM and 200 breaststroke at last year's NCAA Championships - captured the 100-yard IM (55.52) and the 100 breaststroke (1:02.36) at Cal Poly.

Next Time: BYU
Cal opens its dual-meet season when it competes at BYU on Oct. 26.

Cal Repeats as NCAA Champion, Winning Third Title in Four Years
Contributions from every Golden Bear at the 2012 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.

Olympic Summer for Cal Swimming
Forty six athletes, coaches and administrators represented Cal at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, and together, they brought home a school-record-tying 17 medals (11 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze). The Bears have won 50 medals over the past three Olympics (16 in 2004, 17 in 2008, 17 in 2012), and they have captured 178 medals all-time (99 gold).

The Cal swimming contingent produced perhaps the most prominent Golden Bears in London. Among the current 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 No. 1 Public University in the Country
The University of California is the No. 1-ranked public university in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report. The faculty has won 22 Nobel Prizes, including nine current members, while 28 alumni have received a Nobel Prize. A National Research Council analysis of U.S. universities concluded that the campus has the largest number of highly ranked graduate programs in the country (48 of 52). Cal also has a long commitment to public service, with more than 4,000 students annually doing volunteer work and more than 3,000 Peace Corps participants all-time.