Isabelle Stadden Swims 1:52 200 Back, Rajic Nails 2:07 200 Breast in Cal’s Season Opener With USC

isabelle-stadden-
Isabelle Stadden. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Isabelle Stadden Swims 1:52 200 Back, Rajic Nails 2:07 200 Breast in Cal’s Season Opener With USC

The Cal Golden Bears, the national runner-ups in 2019, finished their dual meet with the USC Trojans on Saturday afternoon with a 207-119 victory in their first meet of the season against a team that wasn’t Bay area rival Stanford.

Results

The Golden Bears showed why they are still a national top five program, winning all but one event on Saturday afternoon in Berkeley. The top swim of the day came from freshman Isabelle Stadden with a 1:52.46 in the 200 backstroke, which put her seventh in Division I this season had she not already swum a 1:49 last semester.

Stadden has been known to be a strong long course swimmer and is one of the favorites to make the Olympic team in the 200 backstroke this coming summer. Cal head coach Teri McKeever has a successful track record in producing national champion backstrokers – including Natalie CoughlinHelen SilverElizabeth Pelton and Missy Franklin.

Cal junior Ema Rajic won the 200 breast at 2:07.72, which put her 11th in Division I thus far this weird season. The time is faster than what Rajic registered last year, sitting at 2:08.2 on the NCAA psych sheet that never came to fruition in Athens, Georgia last March. She won ahead of USC’s Isabelle Odgers (2:08.94).

Junior Isabel Ivey also had a strong swim on Saturday with a 51.54 in the 100 butterfly, which moved up her up to sixth in the national rankings this season, improving on her 51.7 from last semester. Ivey won ahead of USC’s Jemma Schlicht (52.88). Ivey also had a dominant win in the 200 free at 1:44.93, ahead of freshman Emily Gantriis (1:47.54).

Gantriis anchored Cal’s medley relay with an impressive 21.40, following the lead from Stadden (24.82), Rajic (26.70) and Ivey (22.91) to put themselves fourth nationally at 1:35.83.

Junior Robin Neumann also put herself in the national top eight with a 4:40.02 in the 500 free, which put her eighth nationally in Division I.

Isabelle Odgers picked up the lone win for the Trojans in the 400 IM with a 4:11.16 over Cal’s Sarah Dimeco (4:14.98).

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