Cal’s Weitzel Breaks Pool Record with 47.7 100 Free vs. Arizona

CAL vs. ARIZONA

• Jan. 24, 2020
• Hosted by Cal
• Short Course Yards
• Full Results 

TEAM SCORES

WOMEN

1. Cal 196
2. Arizona 101

MEN

1. Cal 166
2. Arizona 123

NCAA Champion Abbey Weitzeil took down a Pool Record and Cal Dual Meet Record as the Bears defeated Pac-12 rival Arizona at home. The Cal women came out on top with a 196-101 score, while the men handed Arizona their first loss of the season in a 166-123 decision.

Weitzeil took down that Pool Record in the 100 free, where she dominated by over 3 seconds in 47.79. That’s her fastest dual meet swim of her career, faster than her season dual meet best by well over half a second, and her first time breaking 48 in a dual meet. It also broke the Cal Dual Meet Record that she formerly shared with Olympic Champion Natalie Coughlin.

Weitzeil also won the 100 fly in 53.50. That was just 3 tenths shy of her lifetime best from 2016 and a dual meet best by over a second. On top of her individual wins, she anchored the 200 medley relay in 21.17 and the 200 free relay in 21.32.

WUGs Champion Alicia Wilson won a triple for Cal. She started with a close victory over teammate Robin Neumann, 1:48.20 to 1:48.40, in the 200 free. In the 200 back, Wilson overcame a near full second deficit on the final 50 to come from behind and win it in 1:56.85. She closed out her schedule with a 1:59.48 victory in the 200 IM.

The men’s team had several Bears pick up multiple wins. Sprint star Ryan Hoffer took a tenth off his season dual meet best to win the 50 free in 19.43. Zheng Quah dominated the 100 back in 46.55 before putting up a season-best 43.37 to win the 100 free. Hugo Gonzalez narrowly out-touched teammate Karl Arvidsson, 54.55 to 54.67, in the 100 breast. He then dominated the 200 back by nearly 3 seconds in 1:44.37.

Quah and Gonzalez faced off in the 200 IM, with Quah taking the lead up front and narrowly holding on to win in 1:45.34 to Gonzalez’s 1:45.54. That secured a winning triple for Quah.

Sprint star Ryan Hoffer took a tenth off his season dual meet best to win the 50 free for the Bears in 19.43. He followed that up with a 47.09 victory in the 100 fly. Teammate Trenton Julian registered a 1:44.59 in the 200 fly and a 1:59.94 in the 200 breast to earn his wins.

Brooks Fail and Hannah Cox were among the top performers for Arizona, sweeping the distance events. Cox was the only woman under 10:00 in the 1000 free (9:59.98) before winning the 500 free in 4:49.40. Fail came from behind in the 1000 to beat Cal’s Sean Grieshop, 9:02.28 to 9:04.53. He then took the 500 free by body lengths in 4:25.27, with Grieshop following in 4:29.92.

PRESS RELEASE – CAL MEN

BERKELEY – Four Bears won two individual events apiece to lead California men’s swimming and diving to a well-balanced 166-123 dual meet victory over Pac-12 Conference foe Arizona at Spieker Aquatics Complex on Friday afternoon.

Zheng Wen Quah (100 back, 100 free), Hugo Gonzalez (100 breast, 200 back), Trenton Julian (200 fly, 200 breast) and Ryan Hoffer (50 free, 100 fly) recorded eight of Cal’s nine wins in the individual events while Daniel Carr added the ninth in the 200 free (1:36.78).

No. 2 (CSCAA) Cal won 10 of the 14 total events over the 10th-ranked Wildcats as it captured its eighth straight dual meet victory dating back to Oct. 3, 2018. Having already clinched the meet victory, Cal raced the final two events of the day – 200 IM and 200 free relay – as exhibitions.

Quah finished the 100 back in 46.55 and the 100 free in 43.37. Gonzalez earned his wins in the 100 breast and 200 back in 54.55 and 1:44.37, respectively. Julian claimed the 200 fly in 1:44.59 and the 200 breast in 1:59.94. Hoffer’s 50 free victory came in 19:43 before he later won the 100 fly in 47:09.

Carr, Karl Arvidsson, Pawel Sendyk and Quah teamed up for a 1:25.57 victory in the 200 medley relay to open the meet. Other strong performers included Michael Jensen, who tallied two runner-up finishes in the 200 free (1:36.79) and the 50 free (19.97).

On the diving boards, Connor Callahan earned Cal eight total points with a pair of second-place dives in the 3-meter (318.90) and the 1-meter (295.50).

NEXT TIME
The Bears conclude their 2019-20 home schedule by hosting No. 13 Arizona State tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 25 at noon. All swimming events will be held at Spieker Aquatics Complex and all diving events will take place at Legends Aquatic Center.

Cal’s nine-man senior class will be recognized prior to the start of competition. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for the Senior Day ceremony, which is expected to start at 11:45 a.m. (PT).

STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal men’s swimming and diving, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalMenSwim), Instagram (@CalMenSwim) and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalMensSwimmingandDiving).

PRESS RELEASE – CAL WOMEN

BERKELEY – Sophomore Alicia Wilson won three events and Abbey Weitzeil broke the Cal dual-meet and pool record for the 100-yard freestyle, as the Golden Bears rolled past Arizona, 196-101, Friday at Spieker Aquatics Center.

Cal returns to action on Saturday for its final home appearance of the season when the Bears host Arizona State. The meet will serve as the last home competition for six Cal seniors – Keaton Blovad, Alexa Buckley, Aislinn Light, Maddie Murphy, Courtney Mykkanen and Weitzeil – with introductions beginning at 11:50 a.m. and racing getting underway at 12 noon.

On Friday, Wilson picked up Cal’s first individual event win of the afternoon, claiming first place in the 200 free in 1:48.20 to lead a 1-2-3 Bear finish. She later earned a victory in the 200 backstroke (1:56.85), coming back from a nearly one-second deficit over the final 50 yards to edge Arizona’s Axana Merckx by 0.20 seconds. Wilson then went wire-to-wire in her specialty, the 200 individual medley, touching the wall in 1:59.48.

“I feel like I’m swimming a lot better than I did last year,” said Wilson, who won a gold medal in the 200-meter IM at the World University Games over the summer. “I think coming back from our trip to Hawaii, we had so much fun and got in a lot of good work. It was probably the most fun I’ve had at a dual meet, and I think that was what carried me through.”

Weitzeil blazed to a time of 47.79 in the 100 free to break her own pool record of 48.06 from last season. That time also stood as the Cal dual-meet mark, a record she shared with Natalie Coughlin from a 2003 race. Several events after her 100 free, Weitzeil showed off her versatility by winning the 100 butterfly in 53.50.

Other individual victors for the Bears included Ema Rajic (100 breast, 1:02.72), Rachel Klinker (200 fly, 1:59.91), Eloise Riley (50 free, 23.32) and Ali Harrison (200 breast, 2:18.79), Junior Briana Thai prevailed on both springboards, taking the 1-meter with a score of 243.00 and the 3-meter with a 394.60 total.

In addition, the Bears opened and closed the meet with relay wins. Isabel Ivey, Harrison, Sarah Darcel and Weitzeil took the 200 medley relay in 1:39.88, while Robin Neumann, Ayla Spitz, Murphy and Weitzeil won the 200 free relay in 1:30.88.

PRESS RELEASE – ARIZONA

BERKELEY, Calif. – The Arizona Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving teams fell short against Cal Friday afternoon. The men suffered their first loss of the season by a score of 166-123 while the Wildcat women fell 196-101.

Hannah Cox and Brooks Fail led the way for the Wildcats, as both of them took home first place honors in the women and men’s 500 and 1000 Freestyle races. The Freshman Axana Merckx had a career day as she placed 2nd in the 200 Back and 200 IM while also claiming 3rd place in the 100 Back. Fellow Freshman Diver Bjorn Markentin continues to dominate has he took home gold in the men’s 1-meter and 3-meter dives this afternoon.

The Cats will be back in action tomorrow when they take on Stanford at 1 p.m. MST.

WILDCAT TOP-3 FINISHES

Women

200 Medley Relay
3. Arizona B (Axana Merckx, Jade Neser, Hannah Farrow, Jamie Stone)

1000 Free
1. Hannah Cox
3. Ayumi Macias

100 Back
1. Aria Bernal
3. Axana Merckx

100 Breast
2. Ellie Jew
3. Jade Neser

50 Free
2. Kayla Filipek

200 Back
2. Axana Merckx

200 Breast
2. Francesca Neubauer
3. Ellie Jew

500 Free
1. Hannah Cox
3. KIrsten Jacobsen

200 IM
2. Axana Merckx

200 Free Relay
3. Arizona A (Kayla Filipek, Alayna Connor, Taylor Nations, Madison Blakesley)

Men

200 Medley Relay
3. Arizona A (Thomas Anderson, Ryan Foote, Brendan Meyer, Marin Ercegovic)

1000 Free
1. Brooks Fail

200 Free
3. Jorge Iga

100 Back
3. Thomas Anderson

100 Breast
3. Ryan Foote

200 Fly
2. Brooks Fail
3. Brendan Meyer

100 Free
2. Noah Reid
3. Jorge Iga

500 Free
1. Brooks Fail
3. Isaac Stump

100 Fly
3. Noah Reid

200 Free Relay
2. Arizona A (Marin Ercegovic, Tai Combs, Thomas Anderson, Noah Reid)