The stage was set and the pressure was on as the No. 9 Cal women's swimming team entered the final event of the NCAA championship meet in College Station, Texas, last Saturday with a chance to capture its first national title in team history.

"I told the girls (right before the 400-yard free relay) to just go out there and have fun," Bears coach Teri McKeever said.

As Cal clung to a one-point lead after 20 events, Hannah Wilson, Liv Jensen, Erica Dagg and Dana Vollmer helped nail down the NCAA championship for the Bears. They sprinted to a time of 3:09.88 in the 400-yard free relay, setting a new school, NCAA, American and U.S. Open record.

With a team that prides itself on its depth, it was only fitting that the final event be a team relay for the Bears.

"It's amazing to think about how we couldn't have won the title without every single swimmer performing at their best," freshman Sara Isakovic said. "The total team effort led to our success."

Perhaps McKeever deserves the most credit.

The 17-year coaching veteran made two late substitutions to her relay team, switching in Wilson and Jensen for Tara Thomas and Madison Kennedy. Thomas and Kennedy helped Cal get to the championship final, swimming in the preliminaries earlier that morning.

"When you have everyone contributing to one goal, it makes the journey that much easier," assistant coach Kristen Lewis-Cunnane said. "We were able to use different people in the morning, knowing that we could use fresher swimmers in the final. We knew all along that our depth would be key and it proved to be in that final event."

The Bears had claimed an NCAA title in the 400-yard free relay in 2007 and in the Pac-10 championships just three weeks ago, with the quartet of Vollmer, Dagg, Kennedy and Wilson setting a then-NCAA time of 3:11.05.

With a national team title on the line, Cal had reason to be confident in the event.

"At that point, we were confident that we had a great chance of winning the title," Isakovic said. "Everyone did a great job of controlling their emotions. While that was hard to do, we truly believed in our teammates and knew they were ready for this race."

Following the completion of the championship meet, senior swimmer Vollmer was named the 2009 NCAA Swimmer of the Year and McKeever was named the 2009 NCAA Coach of the Year. McKeever is the first female coach to be credited with the NCAA swimming team title.

"The two women that were most deserving of these awards received them," Isakovic said. "Dana was such a great leader and such an inspiration all year. I'm so happy that I got to enjoy these moments with her. She's a team player, a supporter, and an amazing friend.

"Teri is really the best coach in the world. I feel so much pride just being a part of her team. She really deserves all of the recognition."

After winning their first Pac-10 title, the Bears rode the momentum train into the Student Rec Center Natatorium. Cal finished with 411.5 points -- the most in school history, ahead of second-place finisher Georgia with 400.5 points.

Before this season, the Bears had not finished higher than third place at any NCAA championship meet.

Cal claimed two NCAA relay titles (800 free and 400 free) and three individual titles (200 free, 100 free and 100 fly) to help propel it to the victory.

Tags: TERI MCKEEVER, CAL WOMEN'S SWIMMING, DANA VOLLMER, 2009 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS