Several women Bears haul in medals at Worlds
Future Cal women’s swimmer Missy Franklin and Cal alumna Natalie Coughlin both led Team USA to the top on Sunday at the 2013 FINA World Swimming Championships, held at the Palau Saint Jordi in Barcelona, Spain. On the first day of Worlds, Franklin led off the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, after which Coughlin swam the second leg to help the U.S. team break a previous American record time with 3:32.31 in the final.
Although No. 2 Australia led the relay for a majority of the race, Franklin, Coughlin and the rest of Team USA narrowly edged the second-place Australian team by only 0.12 seconds to take home the gold.
Three other Cal women’s alumnae posted impressive performances on the first day of the championships, with 25-year old Lauren Boyle garnering bronze in the 400-meter freestyle.
A native of Auckland, New Zealand, Boyle captured New Zealand’s first medal at Worlds since 1994 with the fourth-fastest time in qualifying and third-best in the final.
Meanwhile, Dana Vollmer, the current world record-holder and 2012 Olympic gold medalist in the 100-meter butterfly, qualified for Monday’s 100-fly final by posting the fourth-fastest time in the Sunday semifinal. Other Cal alumna and 2012 Olympian Caitlin Leverenz qualified for the 200-meter individual medley final with seventh-best time in her event.
Future Cal Bear conquers field at 2013 Manhattan Beach Open
Maegan Manasse, one of the Cal women’s tennis recruits for the upcoming season, didn’t just win the Women’s Open Final at the 46th annual Manhattan Beach Open.
She dominated it.
A native of Southern California, Manasse didn’t lose even one set and only fell in two games throughout the entire four-day tournament, held at Live Oak Park last weekend.
After scoring a 6-2, 6-0 win over Beatrice Rosen as one of the top tournament seeds in the Women’s Open division semifinals, Manasse took down former UCLA alum Helen Tu with a double bagel win in the Women’s Open final.
The incoming Cal freshman aggressively took down Tu after a 45-minute final match in two sets, 6-0, 6-0, to capture the Women’s Open title.
“I have been watching her game grow the past couple of years, and she is amazing to watch,” Tu said after the final match. “She reminds me of myself 20 years ago, except she’s going to be a lot better.”
Manasse will only add more depth to Cal’s already formidable roster in the fall, as her strength in an offensive style of play currently places the new Cal recruit at No. 12 nationally in the women’s 18-and-under category.