Courtesy: Cal Athletics
BERKELEY – The California women’s swimming & diving team competes in its first dual meet of the 2023-24 season Saturday when it hosts Pittsburgh at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
The Golden Bears opened the campaign last month at the Queen of the Pool at Cal Poly, where senior Isabelle Stadden repeated as champion for the second straight year. The meet features each swimmer participating in the 100-yard version of the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle and individual medley, with the athlete with the lowest aggregate time being declared the Queen of the Pool. Stadden came in first place with a combined mark of 4:38.61, while junior Leah Polonsky was second and junior McKenna Stone placed third.
Saturday’s meet will be a combined competition with Cal and Pittsburgh’s men’s programs. Pittsburgh’s head coach is former Cal assistant men’s coach Chase Kreitler.
Swimming begins at 11 a.m. PT with diving commencing at 10 a.m. PT down the street at Legends Aquatic Center. The meet will be streamed on pac-12.com.
SPEEDY STADDEN: Senior Isabelle Stadden is back for her senior season, looking to build on what has already been a highly accomplished college career. Stadden registered two top-six finishes at last season’s NCAA Championships after placing third in the 200-yard backstroke and sixth in the 100 back. She was also the Pac-12 runner-up in both of those events, as well as the 200 individual medley. She also went undefeated during the regular season in both the 100 and 200 back.
Stadden is a two-time Pac-12 champion in the 200 back and an eight-time finalist at the NCAA Championships.
Stadden also won the gold medal in the 100 and 200 back at the 2023 U23 European Championships and registered a pair of top-five finishes (50 back, 100 back) at last summer’s Phillips 66 National Championships.
POLONSKY POWER: Junior Leah Polonsky took center stage at last season’s Pac-12 Championships with victories in both the 200 and 400 individual medley. She qualified for the NCAA Championships in both events and earned Second-Team All-American honors. Polonsky was also part of Cal’s 800 freestyle relay team that placed fourth at NCAAs.
Polonsky qualified for the 200 individual medley for Israel at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships and took 21st. She also was a consolation finalist in both IMs at the 2022 NCAA Championships as a freshman.
MAKING THEIR POINT: The Bears have three other swimmers returning who scored points at last season’s NCAA Championships – Mia Motekaitis in the 200 and 500 freestyle, Rachel Klinker in the 200 butterfly and Mia Kragh in the 100 butterfly. Cal placed 11th as a team at nationals.
NEW-LOOK STAFF: The Bears have a new look on deck this season with the addition of associate head coach Josh Huger and assistant coaches Kim Williams and Noah Yanchulis. Huger spent the past four seasons at Tennessee, whose women’s program finished in the top 10 nationally every year he was there. Last year, he helped the Vols’ men’s program achieve a seventh-place finish – its best in seven years. Huger also helped coach Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks, the 2023 SEC Swimmer of the Year, to the 2023 NCAA championship in the 50 free. Williams was a three-time NCAA champion and six-time All-American as a swimmer at Stanford who spent last season as a volunteer assistant coach at Northwestern. Yanchulis spent the past five years on the coaching staff at Division II Oklahoma Christian and was a two-time Big East Most Outstanding Swimmer as a student-athlete at Seton Hall.
SCHOLARLY SWIMMERS: The Bears have been named a CSCAA Scholar All-America Team for 27 straight semesters. Last season, Cal had 14 student-athletes earn spots on the CSCAA Scholar All-America Team. Student-athletes who earned at least a 3.5 grade point average and participated at their national championship were named to the first team. Those who had a 3.5 GPA and achieved a “B” time standard for their national championship or participated at a diving zone qualification meet were named to the second team.
UP NEXT: The Bears return to Spieker Aquatics Complex on Oct. 27 for their Pac-12 opener against Washington State.
