The warm-up period for Cal’s women’s swim team has come to a close as the Bears look to face off against No. 4 Texas and No. 23 Wisconsin in the first home meet of the season.
No. 1 Bears will swim against the Longhorns on Friday and the Badgers on Saturday in Spieker Aquatics Complex.
“This meet is going to be a great opportunity to see where we are as a team, since the girls will have to bring the best racing that they can,” associate head coach Kristen Cunnane said.
Both currently undefeated, Cal (2-0) and Texas (2-0) will look to keep their streaks alive. The team’s superstars Rachel Bootsma and Caitlin Leverenz will meet Texas’ Laura Sogar and Gretchen Jacque.
Sogar currently holds the nation’s top time in the 200 breast and the third fastest time in the 100 breast. Jacque is ranked 10th in the 100 breast, and the two girls will challenge Leverenz and sophomore Yvette Kong for the fastest breaststroke times.
“This really does put pressure on us since these are such good teams and it is a home meet,” Cal junior Stephanie Au said. “But I think the team will be able to channel that pressure into performance. The team is capable for more.”
Being at home should give the back-to-back defending champions the edge they need to stay afloat. In addition, the Bears will have their ring ceremony for their 2012 title.
On Saturday, Cal will compete against the Badgers, who are currently 3-2 on the season. Although the Badgers have already dropped two meets against Michigan and Minnesota, their well-rounded cast will still present a challenge to the Bears.
“(Wisconsin) is a lot better than the teams we’ve faced already this year, so our team really has to have the mindset to step up,” Au said. “Not just the faster people, but even the second and third-place people. Every point counts in this meet.”
Wisconsin boasts Ivy Martin, who holds the fifth-fastest time in the nation for the 50 free, and Jennifer Holtzen, who has the ninth-fastest time in the 1650 free. Wisconsin and Cal are both ranked in the top ten for the 200 free and 400 free relays.
Cunnane mentioned that the key to winning this meet will be tuning the details.
“We definitely need to be sharper in our racing,” Cunnane said. “We need to be more focused on the details like our turns in order to win this meet.”
After swimming in an away meet in Utah just last week, the Bears have not had much time to rest coming into this crucial meet. However, for Cal’s group of freshmen, this will help acclimate them into the constant pressure of the NCAAs.
“It’s going to be tough since we raced last weekend and will need to be better and faster this weekend,” Cunnane said. “It’s not going to be easy for the girls, but it will help them a lot in the future.”
Johnny Zhang covers women’s swim. Contact him at [email protected]
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