Of the 14 swimming events Friday afternoon, Cal participated in the 200-yard IM and 400-yard IM as exhibitions and captured 11 of the remaining 12 events. Friday’s meet also included a couple of diving events, with Cal junior Tommy Selby placing third in the one-meter board and second in the three-meter board. Selby also set a school record of 391.50 in the latter event, edging out Sam Helvie’s mark from 2007.

Just as in last week’s meet against Pacific, sophomore Tyler Messerschmidt and senior Jeremy Bagshaw led the Cal squad with two victories apiece. Freshman swimmer Ryan Murphy also won two events Friday, the 100 and 200 backstroke. Other wins for Cal came from freshman Long Gutierrez in the 200 fly, sophomore Trent Williams in the 200 free and senior Marcin Tarczynski in the 100 fly.

Some of the loudest cheers of the afternoon were in support of sophomore Josh Prenot, who won the 200 breaststroke, then seemed to find another gear for the exhibition 200 IM. After the meet, Cal coach David Durden highlighted some of the best performances of the afternoon.

“Jeremy’s just keeping up the good work he started from last summer,” Durden said. “It’s a nice continuation of what he’s been doing, so that’s exciting to see. Ryan had a great meet as well.”

Though he may not have won any individual events, Cal junior Seth Stubblefield was Friday’s standout on sheer workload alone. Stubblefield authored one of the most taxing schedules of the afternoon, swimming the 200 free, the 100 fly and the 100 free, in addition to the final exhibition relay.

“Seth raced hard today, and he didn’t have an easy schedule,” Durden said. “That was a pretty good load for that young man, and he did a good job with that.”

As experienced swimmers such as Stubblefield adjust to more difficult schedules, freshmen are still adjusting to the competitive dual-meet setting. Durden spoke extensively about his freshman swimmers, who have their second dual-meet competition under their belts. For some, it was the first time this season swimming in their primary races.

It is all part of the transition to swimming at Cal. Prior to the Indiana meet, senior Shayne Fleming had noted the importance of teammates helping one another, especially the freshmen — a sentiment Durden echoed Friday afternoon.

“I think our guys are doing a better job of helping each other,” Durden said. “As long as we continue to do that and improve upon that idea, we’re going to be in a better spot three weeks from now.”

Three weeks means the arrival of Wisconsin, against which the Bears will try to continue their streak of dual-meet prowess. Despite Cal’s dominant victory, the Hoosiers brought good performances and had a swimmer finish in the top three in every event except the 50- and 100-yard free. Cal will hope for even better showings come November, when the Badgers come to town.

Michelle Lee covers men’s swim. Contact her at mlee@dailycal.org.

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As the Cal men’s swim team prepares to host Indiana on Friday afternoon at Spieker Aquatic Complex, the squad hopes to build upon the momentum from last Thursday’s meet against Pacific. Although some may expect to chalk up Friday’s meet as an easy win for Cal, the Bears understand Indiana present stronger swimmers than Pacific did.

“If they’re coming all the way out here, they’re going to be great,” said senior Shayne Fleming. “We just have to be prepared for faster competition.”

The Bears are known for their overall dominance in the pool, but the flaws that appeared during the Pacific meet must be fixed if Cal hopes to beat Indiana. Cal coach David Durden expects the team to present a more polished effort Friday against the Hoosiers in the second of Cal’s three dual meets at Spieker this season.

“We’re going to have to be better if we want to beat Indiana,” Durden said. “They’re here to race.”

There are certain opponents and events that the Bears are used to facing year in and year out. Cal faces Stanford annually during November’s Triple Distance Meet and also competes against many West Coast teams, such as Pacific and USC. Indiana, however, will be a new addition to Cal’s list of competitors and will be an unknown entity for the Bears. Fleming has never faced the Hoosiers during his time at Cal.

“To be honest, they’re kind of a mystery,” Fleming said. “We have a couple swimmers who know some of their guys, but they’ll be bringing some pretty new competition on Friday.”

Friday’s meet will provide the Bears with a chance to improve their performance from last Thursday and help freshman swimmers become accustomed to dual-meet competition. The season’s opening meet against Pacific was the first dual-meet-style competition for many of the new swimmers, who must learn everything from the event order to formatting. Adjustments must be made, skills must be honed and seconds must be shaved as the Bears anticipate faster opponents during Friday’s meet.

As the inaugural stage of the season begins to wane, refining every aspect of performance becomes critical for the Cal squad. Durden has previously emphasized the significance of preparation outside of the pool, such as strength and conditioning training, to better swimmers’ execution in the pool. Despite the Bears’ commanding victory in last Thursday’s meet, the team will continue to stress the value of improvement and recognizing when and where it is necessary. Each dual meet during the fall is a stepping stone in preparation for championship season in the winter. Each competition is a chance for the team to be stronger, faster and better prepared.

“The goal coming into this week is simply to be better than we were last week,” Fleming said. “With a second chance, you get a second opportunity to be better.”

Come Friday, what is important will not be in the margin of victory or defeat but in the progress that has been made in and out of the pool.

Michelle Lee covers men’s swim. Contact her at mlee@dailycal.org.

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Alex Turney/Staff

Though its reputation may precede it, the Cal men’s swim team did not disappoint in opening its season.

The Bears began their 2013-14 dual-meet campaign by turning in a resounding 149-104 victory over Pacific on Thursday afternoon at Spieker Aquatics Complex.

For the second year in a row, the Bears welcomed the Tigers to open their season. Led by strong individual performances, the squad continued its dual-meet dominance from last season to begin the year 1-0.

Senior Jeremy Bagshaw won multiple events, the 200 free (1:40.01) and 500 free (4:29.89); sophomore Tyler Messerschmidt also captured two races, the 50 free (20.16) and 100 free (44.55). Metterschmidt also anchored the Bears’ victory in the 200-yard medley relay, swimming the freestyle leg.

Out of 14 events in today’s dual meet, Cal swam the final three races (100 butterfly, 200 individual medley and 400 free) as exhibitions. Of the remaining 11 events, the Tigers managed to capture only two of them, with junior Cameron Franke winning the 100 breaststroke and freshman Curtis Klein beating out Cal junior Jeremie DeZwirek in the 200 backstroke with times of 1:50.53 to 1:50.90.

Other Cal victors included freshman swimmer Janardan Burns for the 1000 free (9:38.27) and senior Marcin Tarczynski for the 100 backstroke (48.84). Freshman Long Gutierrez beat out fellow teammate sophomore Josh Prenot in the 200 yard butterfly with a time of 1:49.51 to Prenot’s 1:49.63. Prenot, however, did emerge victorious in the 200 breaststroke. Cal swimmers also placed first, second and third in six of the 10 individual events in Thursday’s meet.

Even after a successful meet, room for improvement is always there. Prior to the season opener, Cal coach David Durden emphasized certain aspects of the meet that he looked forward to — especially watching how his swimmers worked as a group and how new swimmers assimilated into the team.

“It was good to see our freshmen race and to see Dane Stassi and Henry Chung, who came in as transfers,” Durden said after the meet. “It was nice to see our new guys move around a little bit.”

As the season progresses, it will become critical for the team to understand how to train both in and out of the pool. For a long season of grueling meets, endurance becomes nearly as important to the outcomes as speed.

“We’re trying to do some things from a strength perspective outside the water and then train at a high level in the water,” Durden said. “We should start to see better performances.”

A dominant victory over a talented, albeit young, team helped the Bears start their 2013-14 season on the right foot, as they hope to repeat their recent successes of the past few years. Cal enters the year with high expectations and with hopes of taking home another NCAA title after finishing second in last year’s championships. Friday’s home dual meet against Indiana could prove to be much more of a challenge, however, as the Bears face a hungry team of Hoosiers, which Durden sees as a very gifted and hardworking squad.

“They’re not coming out to California for the sunshine and weather,” he said.

Michelle Lee covers men’s swim. Contact her at mlee@dailycal.org.

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The ultimate challenge for open-water swimmers, this 2,025-yard swim event brings together the best of the best. But, most importantly, the Tiburon Mile helps renew a sense of competition into a Bears squad with high expectations and lofty goals for the year after a season where they were so very close to winning it all.

For some, it may be the prize money. For others, the fulfillment of a personal goal. But the RCP Tiburon Mile heralds the start of a new season, one that begins in the frigid temperatures of the San Francisco Bay.

After many minutes of braving the early-morning chill, it was eventually Polish swimmer Mateusz Sawrymowicz who took home the $10,000 prize in the men’s elite division. Sawrymowicz, who won gold at the 2007 FINA World Championships, was also the only swimmer to break the 24-minute mark. Finishing second at 24:02 was Tunisian competitor Oussama Mellouli, who won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 1,500-meter freestyle. Three-time RCP Tiburon Mile champion Kane Radford placed third, crossing the line at 24:20.

The Bear who fared best was senior Jeremy Bagshaw, who placed 16th out of the 55 competitors in the men’s race with a time of 26:54. Finishing two places later was fellow senior Jamie Tyrrell who completed the race in 27:40, with sophomore Sam Shimomura rounding out the top three Bears with a time of 28:12.

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Michael Tao/File

Even before they stepped into the cold, each swimmer was aware of just how unwelcoming the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay’s Angel Island could be. This past Sunday, the Cal men’s swim team experienced this harsh weather firsthand as it participated in the 14 Annual Tiburon Mile, the most competitive open-water swim event in the world. The ultimate challenge for open-water swimmers, this 2,025-yard swim event brings together the best of the best. But, most importantly, the Tiburon Mile helps renew a sense of competition into a Bears squad with high expectations and lofty goals for the year after a season where they were so very close to winning it all.

For some, it may be the prize money. For others, the fulfillment of a personal goal. But the RCP Tiburon Mile heralds the start of a new season, one that begins in the frigid temperatures of the San Francisco Bay.

After many minutes of braving the early-morning chill, it was eventually Polish swimmer Mateusz Sawrymowicz who took home the $10,000 prize in the men’s elite division. Sawrymowicz, who won gold at the 2007 FINA World Championships, was also the only swimmer to break the 24-minute mark. Finishing second at 24:02 was Tunisian competitor Oussama Mellouli, who won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 1,500-meter freestyle. Three-time RCP Tiburon Mile champion Kane Radford placed third, crossing the line at 24:20.

The Bear who fared best was senior Jeremy Bagshaw, who placed 16th out of the 55 competitors in the men’s race with a time of 26:54. Finishing two places later was fellow senior Jamie Tyrrell who completed the race in 27:40, with sophomore Sam Shimomura rounding out the top three Bears with a time of 28:12.

Michelle Lee covers men’s swim. Contact her at mlee@dailycal.org.

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On Sunday, the Cal men’s swim team will have to do just that at the 14th annual RCP Tiburon Mile Swim.

Considered the most demanding and prestigious open-water swim competition in the world, the Tiburon Mile has become a way for swimmers to test their limits when they take on the brisk, unwelcoming waters of the bay and swim one nautical mile from Angel Island to the shores of Tiburon into the marina.

Founded in 1999 by Robert C. Placak, the Tiburon Mile has become an annual Bay Area staple, fostering open-water competition while raising money for local charities. This year’s event will feature some of the premier open-water swimmers, including Olympic gold medalist Ous Mellouli. Exhibition it may be, but this yearly event maintains its reputation as an extremely competitive contest with many participants being among the best of the best.

The Tiburon Mile will kick off the 2013-14 season, in which the Bears look to build on the success ofon recent years, just two years removed from a national championship. Sunday’s race will serve as an early test for the squad as they experience a highly competitive atmosphere in a punishing environment.

“In this format, you can’t see the bottom,” said Cal men’s swim coach David Durden. “You can’t see where you’re going or where you’re finishing.”

Speed will be as crucial as always, but in this particular race, it may take a backseat to strategy. The routes the swimmers choose to take after the first 200 yards most likely will determine the victors. Open water will present new challenges for the team, especially for those used to swimming in the confines of a regulation pool rather than in the face of hostile weather.

“I think the most important thing is strategy,” said Janardan Burns. “If you can sight better than other people, you could easily in, and it doesn’t even matter how fast you are.”

The most eyes will be squarely on the young Burns, a competitive open-water swimmer and a member of the U.S. National Junior Team in the 10K who embraces the grueling nature of open-water swimming.

“It’s over before you know it,” Burns said. “There’s a lot of good competition.”

Burns will be joining a Cal’s men’s swim team enjoying an era of success but hoping to improve from last season’s runner-up status — a task as daunting as swimming a mile through the icy-cold water of the bay.

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Kevin Hahn/File

It’s not the fault of the Cal men’s swim team that it comes in so low on this list. After winning NCAA championships in 2011 and 2012, the Bears finished second at the NCAAs in March, a finish that felt disappointing only because the team has done so much in recent years to raise the bar.

But in spite of last year’s slip from the pinnacle of college swimming, the men’s swim team has cemented its status as one of the few elite teams in the sport. It’s a label that few teams at Cal can boast.

It’s one thing to have a good season. It’s another thing altogether to make such a habit of winning that second place is utterly insufficient.

Cal’s most recent NCAA bling outshines even the back-to-back titles Cal nabbed in 1979 and 1980. The Bears have finished fourth or higher at NCAAs each of the past six years, and they’ve finished in the top two each of the last four. If the 2011 championship put the Bears back on the map, the 2012 championship ensured Cal would never sneak up on its opponents ever again.

The architect of this recent success has been coach David Durden, who came to Cal after a four-year stint as an Auburn assistant in which its men’s and women’s teams won three NCAA titles apiece. After Durden joined Cal in 2007, the Bears improved each year — from fourth to second to back-to-back firsts — until last year’s dip.

So with the Bears firmly embedded in the upper echelon of college swimming, the only question is how often they’ll reach the tippy top.

Last year’s squad can take solace in ending Stanford’s 31-year streak as conference champions, but Durden’s seasons are geared so much for NCAAs that every other result is effectively irrelevant. The only true measure of Cal’s success is its place on the leaderboard at NCAAs.

So which Cal swim team is better: the men’s or the women’s? Though the men lack a surefire superstar akin to Olympians Missy Franklin and Rachel Bootsma, they boast arguably the deepest squad in the country. The loss of Tom Shields next year will hurt, but there’s enough talent in the pipeline — including two of the country’s top 10 recruits — to ensure the Bears won’t fall much further than they already have. The men are just as poised for a title run in 2014 as they were a year ago.

Even further down the line, a proposed new aquatics center could be another boon to the program. Though construction is pending the UC Regents’ approval of the project, the multimillion dollar facility would be a massive upgrade over the cramped Spieker Aquatics Complex.

If Durden’s past is any indicator of his future, the Bears could be in a position to win NCAA titles for decades to come. But if last year’s second-place finish was a sign of things to come, the next few years could leave a lot to be desired.

Contact Chris Yoder at cyoder@dailycal.org. Follow him on Twitter @christiancyoder.

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Michael Tao/File

Despite a second-place finish in the NCAA Tournament, the Cal men’s swimming team can find solace in being kings of the Pac-12 and ending Stanford’s 31-year reign as conference champions.

The Bears started off the season red-hot, finishing the dual meet season undefeated. In the past years, Cal has been notoriously known as a slow starter.

The Bears also had a solid finish to the season with a runner-up against a top field in the NCAAs. However, the highlight of the season was winning the Pac-12s with a score of 825 to 800 over Stanford.

In the past four years, the No. 2 men’s swimming team has enjoyed an unprecedented run of success with two runner-up finishes and two national championships.

“We had many firsts this season, such as winning the Pac-12 championships,” Cal coach David Durden said. “It was an historic moment and we’ve had the best four-year stretch of swimming in our history.”

At the Pac-12 Championships, senior Tom Shields was again named the 2013 Pac-12 Swimmer of the Meet. As a multi-event threat, Shields demonstrated versatility by participating in a variety of races, winning the 100 fly, 100 back and 200 fly races and a pair of relay races. Shields finished his career with a staggering total of 16 Pac-12 titles.

The key to winning the Pac-12 championship was winning the relays. Cal’s relay teams pulled out important victories to give Cal momentum into the next day. The 200 medley relay team finished with another medley title — Cal’s sixth in row.

Freshman Jacob Pebley, senior Trevor Hoyt, Shields and sophomore Seth Stubblefield also combined to capture the 400 medley relay.

“The key to our success was our performance in the morning prelims that put us in position to score points,” coach Durden said. “We capped it off with a nice race in the 400 medley relay.

“It is amazing to think about snapping the 31-year streak of Stanford’s and all of the great teams that they have held off over the years.”

Riding their momentum into the NCAAs, the Bears finished second to No. 3 Michigan. The Wolverines wound up winning its first NCAA title since 1995.

Despite falling short from winning the NCAAs for the third consecutive year, the Bears broke two American records in the 200 medley relay and the 200 fly race by Shields.

The 200 medley relay reset the American record by four-tenths of a second, with a time of 1:23.17. Shields continued his dominance by securing a national title in the 200 fly, tying Michael Phelps’s American record time of 1:39.65.

The lack of another national trophy was a sore spot, but Durden believed the team exceeded expectations.

“Looking at the nuts and bolts, second place finish was an overachieving performance even for us,” said coach Durden.

The Bears will miss the leadership and scoring of Shields and the other seniors, who ushered in the golden era of Cal swimming. Throughout the season, Cal always relied on Shields to accumulate huge point totals, and senior Ben Hinshaw for his leadership outside the pool.

Hinshaw constantly pumped up the team with his pre-match speeches. He showed the freshmen the ropes during practice and screamed words of encouragement during meets.

They established and continued a tradition of winning. In this new era and this season of Cal swimming, the team is closer than ever and help propel each other to new heights.

“The award is the journey not the destination,” Prenot said.  “I can’t pick out a single moment; whether it’s Pac 12 championships or being runner-up at NCAAs, or our crazy weight training sessions, or spending time at the Olympic training center.

“But we really bonded and finished this season as a great team.”

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Michael Tao /File

Unable to battle back from Michigan’s hot start, the second-ranked Cal men’s swimming team saw its dreams for a third consecutive NCAA title evaporate.

The Wolverines led the meet from the very first race from last Thursday, and they never looked back in the three-day competition. Despite the star performances of Josh Prenot and Tom Shields, the Bears finished second with 406.5 points — 73.5 points shy of Michigan’s lead.

At the Indiana University Natatorium at Indianapolis, the meet started out as a tight team race, then Michigan emerged from the pack. Cal (7-0) was within striking distance to overtake Michigan’s spot after the first day, but their chances were crushed after a lackluster team performance on Friday.

At the end of Friday, No. 3 Michigan had a Cinderella-like run and exceeded pre-tournament expectations. With a distinct advantage heading into Saturday’s mid-distance and long-distance races, the Wolverines had a comfortable 34.5-point cushion with more swimmers left for the last day than the Bears. Michigan’s Connor Jaeger won the 1,650-yard freestyle Saturday night to wrap up the Wolverines’ magical run and their first NCAA men’s swimming and diving team title since 1995.

“We didn’t have a real confidence that we would win this,” Michigan coach Mike Bottom said. “By the second day I looked at our team, and I said, ‘All right we’ve gotten in the top three, now what do you want to do?’

“They looked at me like I was crazy. They looked at me and said, ‘We came here to win.’”

Even though the Bears fell short of the title, they still had spectacular individual performances throughout the meet.

The freshman Prenot became a collegiate All-American in his first NCAA Championship final, timing at 1:42.62 to place fifth in the 200 IM. Shields ended his remarkable career with another all-around performance. On the second day of the meet, Shields blew away the field to become the national champion in the 100 fly for the third time with a time of 44.59 seconds.

He improved his own school record set at last year’s NCAAs by almost two-tenths of a second. Shields’ victory in the 100 fly is the first national title for the Bears at this year’s national meet.

Shields followed up his 100 fly performance with a national runner-up finish in the 100 back, getting bested by only two-tenths of a second by Stanford’s David Nolan.

In third day, Shields continued his dominance by securing a national title in the 200 fly, tying Michael Phelps’ American record time of 1:39.65.

In his illustrious Cal career, he is an 11-time NCAA champion, winning six individual titles and part of five national championship relays.

“Perhaps one of the most versatile college swimmers in the sport today, Tom is the absolute backbone of our program,” coach David Durden said.

“His name will definitely be among the greatest swimmers who have ever competed for Cal.”

Hunter He covers men’s swim. Contact him at hhe@dailycal.org.

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By winning yet another Pac-12 Swimmer of the Meet accolade, senior standout Tom Shields added another milestone to his legacy while propelling the Bears to the top at the Pac-12s for the first time in 32 years.

After the four-day meet spanning from March 3-6, the Cal men’s swimming team dethroned rival Stanford as Pac-12 Champions with a 825-800 score.

At King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash., the Bears were able to end Stanford’s streak by drawing tremendous contributions from senior Tom Shields and the relay teams. Over the stretch of the four-day meet, Cal was able to maintain its lead throughout the whole meet even after a comeback attempt by Stanford.

Cal relied on the versatile Shields to continue his dominance. As a multi-event threat, Shields demonstrated durability by participating in a variety of races and relays. He won the 100 fly, 100 back and 200 fly races and a pair of relay races.

With five first-place finishes and a second-place finish during the championship, Shields was again named the 2013 Pac-12 Swimmer of the Meet. Shields finished his career with a total of 16 Pac-12 titles.

Younger Cal players also contributed to the title pursuit. Setting the Pac-12 meet record in 400 IM with a time of 3:41.82, freshman Josh Prenot continued his successful season and led the freshman group.

With the relays usually being the last event of each day. Cal’s relay teams pulled out important victories to give Cal more momentum for the next day. The relay team, consisting of Shields, junior Tony Cox, senior Trevor Hoyt and junior Shayne Fleming, finished with a 200 medley title — Cal’s sixth in row — and a runner-up finish in 800 free relay.

Pebley, Hoyt, Shields and sophomore Seth Stubblefield also combined to capture the 400 medley relay.

“The key to our success tonight was our performance in the morning prelims that put us in position to score points,” coach David Durden said. “We capped it off with a nice race in the 400 medley relay.”

Through most of the meet, Stanford was also within reach of taking Cal’s first-place throne. The Cardinal were led by sophomore Dave Nolan, who set a new Pac-12 record in the 200 back timing in 1:40.39.

On the last day of the meet, Stanford seniors Aaron Wayne and Andrew Saeta took second and fifth respectively in the 100 free to narrow Cal’s lead, 673-662.

But the Cardinal’s dream for its 32nd consecutive title fell short. Cal soon broke away from the Pac-12 pack by placing in three of the top six spots of the 200 breast on the last day.

Although Nolan won the race for Stanford, the 200 breast race solidified Cal’s first Pac-12 title since 1981.

“I am proud of the way our men competed over the last three and a half days,” Durden said. “It is amazing to think about a 31-year streak such as Stanford’s and all of the great teams that they have held off over the years.”

Hunter He covers men’s swim. Contact him at hhe@dailycal.org

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