In a premier matchup against No. 1 Arizona, the No. 4 Bears drew first blood in the 200 medley and sent a powerful messag that once again recognized them favorites for NCAAs.
Riding that momentum, they continued their domination throughout the meet. In the 200 medley, the Bears were down a full second after the first two legs. Then, senior Tom Shields closed the gap against junior Wildcat Giles Smith to set up the anchor leg. In the last leg, junior Shayne Fleming overtook senior Nicholas Popov and propelled Cal to victory with a time of 1:27.59 to 1:27.81.
“It was impressive for us to come to Arizona, which has a very strong team and performs well at home, and come out with a win,” said Cal coach David Durden. “A key was coming from behind to win the first event (200 medley relay).”
The highly anticipated meet against the Wildcats showed that Cal will continue to be national powerhouse in the swimming world. Last Friday, they captured the win with a score of 159-134 in Tucson, Ariz.
The Bears left no room for the Wildcats to make a comeback. They kicked off the meet by placing first in the 200 medley, 1000 freestyle and 200 freestyle. Tom Shields and junior Jeremy Bagshaw leds the Cal in the pool and finished with two victories apiece.
Coming back from the World Championships after skipping his fall season, Shields captured the 100, timing in at 46.54, and 200 fly, timing in at 1:46.02. Bagshaw led the distance crew by finishing first in 1000 free with a time of 9:17.06.
Toward the end, Arizona closed the gap but could not overcome the lead. They placed first in the last event, 400 free relay, with a time of 2:58.76. Star sophomore Kevin Cordes continued to dominate in breaststroke and won the 100 breast with a time of 54.55.
The Wildcats also had a promising showing from their midyear transfer, freshman Michael Meyer. In his first race as a Wildcat, he won the 400 IM with a time of 3:57.51. Ultimately, they did not have enough to make up for Cal’s early victories.
Coming off an exciting win against No. 1 Arizona the day before, the Bears showed no signs of slowing down at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Complex in Tempe, Ariz. Last Saturday, Cal (4-0) continued its undefeated season against the Sun Devils.
“We’re racing with our heart even though we might not be physically prepared,” junior Shayne Fleming said. “We haven’t had much rest, and we’re just trying to work hard and sharpen up from here.”
The Bears are preparing themselves for their main focuses in the Pac-12 and the NCAAs. After defeating No. 1 Arizona, they will continue their tough schedule by facing two top-tier teams in USC and Stanford next month.
“We’re shaking off a lot of our racing rust from break,” Durden said. “We have a lot of good competitions right off the gate, and our guys are itching to finally to be able to race. That’s the fun part.
Hunter He covers men’s swim. Contact him at [email protected].