By Dan D’Addona.
The Cal men’s swim team opened the season with the No. 2 ranking in the nation.
The Golden Bears have a lot of firepower returning, led by Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy.
But it was the freshmen Golden Bears that kicked off the season with a ton of potential, leading Cal past Pacific 172-52.
Freshman Michael Jensen won the 200 freestyle (1:36.27) and the 100 (43.22). Freshman Andy Song earned a victory in the 100 backstroke (49.95).
The Golden Bears got plenty of help from the upperclassmen, too, of course.
Junior Connor Hoppe, the defending Pac-12 champion in the 100 breaststroke, won the event in 53.87. Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year Andrew Seliskar pulled away for a convincing win in the 200 butterfly (1:45.65) and fellow Pac-12 champion of a year ago Justin Lynch claimed the 50 free (19.95).
Sophomore Mike Thomas picked up a win in the 200 backstroke (1:46.64). Senior Hunter Cobleigh outdueled Hoppe to win the 200 breaststroke (2:00.62). Nick Norman won the 1,000 freestyle (9:12.93) and 500 freestyle (4:26.99).
Lynch earned his second victory in the 100 butterfly (47.50) and Thomas closed the day’s scoring out with the top time in the 200 IM (1:56.15).
But if the Cal freshmen can perform at this level all season, the NCAA championship meet is going to get really interesting.
Utah 2nd at Florida Gulf Coast Classic
The Utah men’s swim team made a statement at this weekend’s Florida Gulf Coast Classic.
The Utes finished second as a team with 509 points. Now, there were only three teams in the men’s meet, but it was still a statement for Utah, which held off LSU by just four points and finished behind No. 24 Virginia Tech (553). The Utah women finished fifth.
It should give the Utes a confidence boost going into the rest of the season, knowing they can hang with ranked teams.
Jack Burton had a big meet for Utah, sweeping the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events. He won the 100 in 54.86 and the 200 in 2:00.6.
Meanwhile, Liam O’Haimhirgin won the 100 freestyle, touching in 45.25.
The Utes are going to rely heavily on Burton and O’Haimhirgin if they are going to be able to compete in the loaded Pac-12.
This was a good start and could be the beginning of bigger things in Utah.
Arizona cruises past Hawaii, Northern Arizona
Arizona men’s and women’s swimming and diving swept the first meet of the season in Flagstaff. The women were victorious against NAU, 222-77 and Hawaii, 232-68. The men defeated Hawaii, 192-105.
For the women, sophomore Annie Ochitwa stood out winning in each of her four events, two individual and two relay. She placed first in the 50 free with 23.24, two-tenths of a second ahead of teammate Morgan Ginnis. Ochitwa also won the 100 fly with 54.39.
The sophomore swam the third leg for the winning 200 medley relay team with Katrina Konopka, Mallory Korenwinder and Ginnis (1:41.46). Later, with Ginnis, Ashley Sutherland and Hannah Cox, Ochitwa also won the 400 free relay (3:24.24).
Freshman Cox had a strong performance in her first collegiate meet. She won two individual events and was runner-up in another. Cox outswam freshman Kirsten Jacobsen by one-tenth of a second to win the 500 free (4:59.60) and placed first in the 200 free (1:50.77). The freshman also took second in the 1,000 free with 10:20.53.
For the men, sophomore Parks Jones was victorious in each of his two events, both were close races. He also placed first in 400 free relay. Jones won the 200 free with 1:40.92, out-touching Hawai’i by five-hundredths of a second. The sophomore also took first in the 100 free (45.97), beating out teammate Nicholas Magana by eight-hundredths of a second.
