Dave Durden

Having suffered a sizable defeat against No. 1 ranked Arizona State last week, the blue and gold look to get back on track in the win column against the Trojans.

No. 1 Cal men’s swimming showed its prowess Friday when it faced No. 6 Stanford in the Triple Distance Meet, winning three out of six events and both relays.

With the exception of the two events that the Bears raced as exhibitions, the blue and gold took home first and second in each swimming race.

USA Swimming Olympic Trials came to an end Sunday, and three more Cal swimmers qualified to swim in the Olympics later this summer.

It’s easy to always say that the swimmers’ experiences have been vital, but it’s also clear that Durden’s experience in coaching world-class athletes has played a huge part in the team’s success this season and in all the years past.

Along with Cal defending its Pac-12 Championship title, Seliskar also won Pac-12 Swimmer of the Meet for the second year in a row.

While the conference may be strong, the Bears haven’t had much trouble with any of their opponents so far this season. Most recently, they handily defeated the Cardinal and before that, the Trojans — the two highest ranked teams behind them.

All team members seemed to play their parts in Cal’s win over Stanford. Performing well as a team, with everyone stepping up and contributing, is more important than having a few individual talents when it comes to winning NCAAs.

Durden, an assistant for the United States at the 2016 Olympics, helped lead a group that featured six Cal swimmers who combined for eight gold and 11 total medals in Rio de Janeiro.

For the fourth straight year, the No. 2 Cal men’s swim and dive team finished as the runner-up at the NCAA Championships, just behind Texas, which claimed its fourth consecutive national title Saturday.