The No. 7 Cal women's swimming team hopes its depth will bring success at the Pac-10 championships.

Since their dual-meet loss to Stanford on Feb. 14, the Bears have made a few positive adjustments and look poised to compete against the rest of the conference at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash., commencing today and ending on Feb. 28.

In its recent loss, Cal performed well enough to move up from its previous No. 9 national ranking to No. 7.

The Bears, who didn't win back-to-back dual meets this year, trust that their depth will help propel them past their opponents this week. Since Cal will be competing in 18 championship events in four days, some of the younger and less experienced Bears swimmers are going to have to make an impact.

"Depth is incredibly important to a team trying to place high in a championship meet," assistant coach Kristen Lewis-Cunnane said. "Having depth is extremely important for relays and it means a lot more in a championship meet as opposed to a dual-meet."

This season, freshman Liv Jensen swam faster every time she stepped in the pool. She showed her vast improvement by finishing the year with a Spieker Aquatics Complex record in the 50-yard freestyle event with a time of 22.18 seconds. With so many events this week, Cal's depth will be key as the Bears look to claim the Pac-10 title.

Yet when discussing outstanding ability and relentless hard work, there is no need to look further than senior Dana Vollmer. Vollmer, who specializes in short distance freestyle and fly events, swept Stanford in the four races she entered.

She is a two-time Pac-10 champion in the 100 fly and also aided Cal to victories in the 400- and 800-yard free relays last year. At the top of her game, Vollmer looks eager to make her mark as one of the most dominant swimmers in Cal history.

"Dana is going to be extremely important," Lewis-Cunnane said. "We're looking for her to have another impressive meet. This is her last chance to fine-tune anything and everything before the NCAA championships."

Although the Bears (4-4, 3-3 in the Pac-10) look to Vollmer for inspiration, she is not the only senior to play a leadership role. In last year's Pac-10 championships, Lauren Boyle set a school record in the 1,650-yard free before breaking her own record four weeks later at the NCAA championships.

"Senior leadership is really crucial in a championship meet," Lewis-Cunnane said. "They help others understand the emotional and physical challenges faced in an extended meet like the Pac-10's."

While Cal looks to get a good start today in the 800-yard free relay-an event it has won five years in a row- it will face tough competition, including defending national champion Arizona.

Tags: CAL WOMEN'S SWIMMING, DANA VOLLMER, PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS