Courtesy: Cal Athletics
- FRIDAY, NOV. 3
- NO. 11 CAL AT UC SAN DIEGO | 1 P.M. PT | CANYONVIEW AQUATIC CENTER | LA JOLLA, CALIF.
- LIVE RESULTS: MEET MOBILE
BERKELEY – The No. 11 California women’s swimming & diving team closes out the fall dual meet season with a trip southward to compete against UC San Diego on Friday.
The Golden Bears are 2-0 in dual meet action so far, beating both Pittsburgh and Washington State soundly at Spieker Aquatics Complex. This will be Cal’s first road dual meet of the season.
Junior Leah Polonsky has dominated the early season, winning all six races she has competed in so far. She won three individual races apiece against Pitt and WSU.
POLONSKY POWER: Leah Polonsky made a statement at the end of her sophomore year and has continued that momentum into this season. After winning individual Pac-12 championships in both the 200-yard and 400-yard individual medleys last spring, Polonsky has yet to lose a dual meet race this fall – winning three times against Pittsburgh before registering another trio of victories against Washington State. Polonsky has won the 200 IM twice while also throwing in triumphs in the 200 butterfly, 200 backstroke, 200 breaststroke and 200 freestyle. Polonsky also finished in second place at the season-opening Queen of the Pool at Cal Poly behind teammate Isabelle Stadden.
Polonsky qualified for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in the 200 IM and took 21st. She has scored points in both IMs at the NCAA Championships in each of her first two seasons at Cal.
SPEEDY STADDEN: Senior Isabelle Stadden is back for her senior season, looking to build on what has already been a highly accomplished college career. Stadden began the year by being named Queen of the Pool for the second straight year in the annual showdown against Cal Poly that features the 200-yard event in the freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and individual medley. Stadden has also notched wins in the 100 back and 200 back in dual meet action.
Stadden registered two top-six finishes at last season’s NCAA Championships after placing third in the 200-yard backstroke and sixth in the 100 back. She was also the Pac-12 runner-up in both of those events, as well as the 200 individual medley. She also went undefeated during the regular season in both the 100 and 200 backs.
Stadden is a two-time Pac-12 champion in the 200 back and an eight-time finalist at the NCAA Championships.
Stadden also won the gold medal in the 100 and 200 backs at the 2023 U23 European Championships and registered a pair of top-five finishes (50 back, 100 back) at last summer’s Phillips 66 National Championships.
MAKING THEIR POINT: The Bears have three other swimmers returning who scored points at last season’s NCAA Championships – Mia Motekaitis in the 200 and 500 freestyles, Rachel Klinker in the 200 butterfly and Mia Kragh in the 100 butterfly. Cal placed 11th as a team at nationals.
NEW-LOOK STAFF: The Bears have a new look on deck this season with the addition of associate head coach Josh Huger and assistant coaches Kim Williams and Noah Yanchulis. Huger spent the past four seasons at Tennessee, whose women’s program finished in the top 10 nationally every year he was there. Last year, he helped the Vols’ men’s program achieve a seventh-place finish – its best in seven years. Huger also helped coach Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks, the 2023 SEC Swimmer of the Year, to the 2023 NCAA championship in the 50 free. Williams was a three-time NCAA champion and six-time All-American as a swimmer at Stanford who spent last season as a volunteer assistant coach at Northwestern. Yanchulis spent the past five years on the coaching staff at Division II Oklahoma Christian and was a two-time Big East Most Outstanding Swimmer as a student-athlete at Seton Hall.
ON THE MARK: The Bears recently won the Newmark Award for large women’s teams at Cal, given annually to the program with the best cumulative GPA on campus. The awards are broken up by gender and size, and the Bears had the top cumulative GPA of any women’s team at Cal that features a roster of at least 25 student-athletes. The Newmark Awards were established in 2007 by Pat and Kent Newmark in an effort to recognize team academic success at Cal.
SCHOLARLY SWIMMERS: The Bears have been named a CSCAA Scholar All-America Team for 27 straight semesters. Last season, Cal had 14 student-athletes earn spots on the CSCAA Scholar All-America Team. Student-athletes who earned at least a 3.5 grade point average and participated at their national championship were named to the first team. Those who had a 3.5 GPA and achieved a “B” time standard for their national championship or participated at a diving zone qualification meet were named to the second team.