Oct. 30, 2012

Friday, Nov. 2
1 p.m. - Cal (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12) vs. Texas (2-0, 0-0 Big-12)
Spieker Aquatics Complex - Berkeley
Series Record vs. Texas: 2-8
Last Time vs. Texas: L, 156-144, 10/16/10 in Berkeley

BERKLEY - Third-ranked California welcomes No. 7 Texas and No. 23 Wisconsin to Spieker Aquatics Complex in the Golden Bears' first home dual meets of the season. Cal and U.S. Olympic head coach Teri McKeever leads the two-time defending NCAA champions (2-0, 1-0 in the Pac-12) into non-conference action against the Longhorns (2-0, 0-0 Big 12) at 1 p.m. on Friday and against the Badgers (3-2, 1-2 Big Ten) at noon on Saturday.

Two familiar faces return to Spieker with Texas and Wisconsin. Former Cal All-American Carol Capitani is in her first full season as head coach at Texas. As Carol Felton, she swam at Cal from 1998-91. Former Cal assistant coach Whitney Hite is in his second year as head coach of the Wisconsin men's and women's programs. The former head coach at Washington (2006-09), Hite worked under McKeever at Cal from 2004-06.

Scouting the Bears
• In the 200-yard individual medley, freshman Elizabeth Pelton currently holds the top time (1:58.91) and senior Olympian Caitlin Leverenz - the defending NCAA champion in the 200 IM - ranks 14th (2:03.00) in the nation
• Pelton (9th, 54.06) and freshman Olympian Rachel Bootsma (13th, 54.49) rank among the fastest swimmers in the nation in the 100-yard backstroke
• Pelton has also posted the third-fastest 200-back time (1:56.89) and the seventh-best time in the 400 IM (4:14.28)
• Bootsma holds the eighth-fastest time in the 100 butterfly (54.48)
• Cal ranks in the top 10 in the following relays: 200 free (10th, 1:34.81) and 800 free (7th ,7:29.89)
• Last season at the NCAA Championships, current junior Kahley Rowell - the first Cal women's diver to reach NCAAs in 20 years - took fifth place on the platform to claim All-America honors
• Teri McKeever - the 2012 U.S. Olympic head coach and 2012 NCAA Coach of the Meet - is in her 21st season as Cal's head coach; her Bears have captured three of the last four NCAA championships

Scouting the Longhorns
• Senior All-American Laura Sogar holds the nation's top time in the 200 breaststroke (2:10.60) and the third-fastest time in the 100 breast (1:00.60)
• Kaitlin Pawlowicz is currently the third-fastest swimmer in the nation in the 1650 freestyle (16:33.49), the fifth fastest in the 1000 freestyle (9:45.76), the fifth fastest in the 200 fly (1:58.72) and the 12th fastest in the 400 IM (4:16.35)
• Senior Kelsey Admundsen holds the eighth-fastest time in the country in the 50 free (23.00)
• Sophomore Gretchen Jacque ranks 10th (1:01.98) in the 100 breast
• Texas ranks among the top 10 in the following relays: 400 free (2nd, 3:21.11), 800 free (4th, 7:24.47), 200 medley (7th, 1:41.57) and 400 medley (5th, 3:42.36)
• Carol Capitani is in her first season as head coach of Texas, which finished ninth at NCAAs last spring

Scouting the Badgers
• Junior Rebecka Palm earned All-America honors with Wisconsin's seventh-place 200-yard medley relay and honorable mention All-America honors with UW's 200-free relay, 400-free relay, 800-free relay and 400-medley relay at 2012 NCAAs
• Ivy Martin currently holds the fifth-fastest time in the nation in the 50 free (22.90)
• Jennifer Holtzen's top time in the 1650 free (16:51.62) ranks ninth fastest in the country
• Wisconsin ranks in the top 10 in the following relays: 200 free (12th, 1:34.84) and 400 free (11th, 3:23.79)
• Whitney Hite is in his second season as head coach at Wisconsin, which placed 15th at 2012 NCAAs

Last Time
Powered by strong performances by all the Golden Bears, including Caitlin Leverenz and the talented freshman class, California routed Utah, 185-114, on Oct. 22 in Salt Lake City. After winning 11 of 16 events, Cal improved its dual-meet record to 2-0 on the young season and opened Pac-12 Conference action with a 1-0 mark. Utah fell to 2-3 (1-3 in the Pac-12).

Leverenz - the 2012 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist and Honda Sports Award winner for Swimming - captured the 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke and 400-yard individual medley against the Utes. Elizabeth Pelton won the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle and swam the third leg of Cal's victorious 200-freestyle relay.

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.

McKeever at Cal 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.

Olympic Summer for Cal Women's 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.