If each and every Cal swimmer turns in the meet of his life this weekend, the Cal men’s swim team has a chance to leave Seattle with its second consecutive national championship. And if the squad wins another national title, the city of Berkeley needs to throw a ticker-tape parade Read More…
The regular season just didn’t mean that much to the Cal men’s swim team. Meets, with few exceptions, were nothing more than opportunities to practice in front of a crowd. Training trumped hard-fought competition; expectations for each meet were always tempered. The regular season had the feel of another sport’s Read More…
If the pundits have learned anything from David Durden’s four years at the helm of the Cal men’s swim team, it’s this: Come postseason time, don’t underestimate the Bears. No. 6 Cal finished second over the weekend at the Pac-12 Championships, but took down two of the nation’s top-five teams Read More…
The Stanford men’s swim team has a tradition of excellence at the Pac-12 Championships. Since 1982, Stanford has won each conference championship, usually by a wide margin. Cal also has a tradition. Since 2002, the Bears have finished second at each of those meets. Both Bay Area rivals continued their Read More…
It’s been a pedestrian season for the Cal men’s swim team this winter. At 4-2, the Bears have soundly defeated their weaker opponents and ceded defeat to the more talented sides. Despite the occasional inspiring events — such as Tom Shields’ comeback in the Big Meet — Cal’s regular season Read More…
STANFORD, Calif. — The Big Meet ended as it began: full-throated whistles punctuating the electric air, a spirited anchor leg from a charging challenger, a raucous crowd’s crescendo as two competing hands reached for final wall in sync. For three minutes each, two relays befit the Cal-Stanford rivalry at its Read More…
Since the Cal men’s swim team began its long season five months ago, coach David Durden has preached patience and pragmatism. Training has taken priority over placement in meets. With March’s NCAA Championships in mind, the Bears have kept their focus on gradual, individual improvement — not the other guys Read More…
In a matchup of teams ranked just a spot apart in the national rankings, No. 5 USC and No. 6 Cal were supposed to play it close. If either team was to blow the other out of the water, it would be the higher-ranked Trojans. But in Friday’s dual meet Read More…
The USC men’s swim team consistently ranks among the best in the nation. In the 11 dual meets against Cal since 2000, the Trojans have been nationally ranked all but twice, reaching the top 10 seven of those years. Yet in spite of USC’s perennial talent, the Cal men’s swim Read More…
Facing relentless rain, shivering cold and the top-ranked team in the country, the No. 6 Cal men’s swim team left its home pool looking drenched, exhausted and overmatched for the first time all year. It’s a good thing for the Bears that it’s only January. Cal (3-1) lost its first dual Read More…