BERKELEY \u2013 Missy Franklin has had many memorable days in her storied swimming career, and today\u2019s dual meet against Stanford is likely to be forever remembered.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s competition marked Franklin\u2019s final dual meet, as the sophomore will become a professional swimmer at the conclusion of the NCAA championships next month. This had been the plan since she announced her intention to attend Cal-Berkeley, and is not likely to change. Her Golden Bear teammates also helped make it memorable by beating Stanford by 16 points as preparations for the Pac 12 championships begin.<\/p>\n
Franklin swam four times in her dual-meet swan song, winning the 200 backstroke in 1:54.36. It\u2019s her fastest swim of the season, and the first time she\u2019s beaten Elizabeth Pelton in dual meet action in the event. Pelton was a close second with a 1:55.50 after leading the race by four tenths at the 100-yard mark. Franklin\u2019s customary final closing burst came through today as she outsplit Pelton 28.44 to 29.23 in the final 50.<\/p>\n
One of the anticipated matchups of the day was the 200 free between Franklin and Stanford freshman Simone Manuel. The two are no strangers to racing each other, though they haven\u2019t gone head to head in the 200 free many times. In what could be a preview of the NCAA final, Manuel won with a 1:44.25 to Franklin\u2019s 1:45.05. In this race, Franklin\u2019s final surge was outmatched by Manuel, who let Franklin lead by eight tenths at the 100 and two tenths at the 150. Manuel posted a stellar 26.06 in the final 50 to get the win over Franklin, who could only muster a 27.06 in the last 50 yards.<\/p>\n
Franklin\u2019s other individual event was the 200 IM, and perhaps the toil of the day\u2019s swimming had caught up to her. After leading Pelton by six tenths after backstroke, Pelton took over on breaststroke and even posted a better freestyle split than Franklin, 27.85 to 28.06. Also in the thick of it was Cal teammate Celina Li, who helped Cal secure the meet victory in the second-to-last event with a third-place time of 2:00.37.<\/p>\n
Despite having Franklin on the anchor, Cal could not match Stanford in the 400 free relay. The Cardinal, who was missing Maddy Schaefer after the senior\u2019s sudden departure from the team, still won by two seconds with a 3:17.30 to Cal\u2019s 3:19.58. A 48.33 from Manuel on the third leg and a 48.62 from Lia Neal on the anchor sealed the deal for Stanford.<\/p>\n
The 200 medley relay to start the meet was much closer. Rachel Bootsma split a 25.12 for Cal on backstroke to give the Bears a five-tenth lead. But Sarah Haase exploded with a 27.32 on breaststroke followed by a 23.78 from Janet Hu to give Stanford a lead of nine tenths going into freestyle. Farida Osman put in a 21.89 on freestyle but it wasn\u2019t enough. Stanford took the relay, 1:39.04 to 1:39.44.<\/p>\n
The 200 fly featured two freshmen and a junior swimming stroke for stroke for the first 100 yards. Cal freshman Noemie Thomas tried to break from the pack with a 30.07 on the third 50, but Stanford freshman Janet Hu and Cal junior Rachel Bootsma responded on the final 50 yards. Their surges couldn\u2019t catch Thomas, who won with a 1:58.00. Hu\u2019s 30.85 in the final 50 got her into second with a 1:58.05, while Bootsma\u2019s strong 30.49 was only enough to give her third with a 1:58.10. Expect another close battle in two weeks at the Pac 12 championships.<\/p>\n
Manuel was the only three-event winner today, taking the 50, 100 and 200 freestyles. Osman nearly took down Manuel in the 50 freestyle, but settled for second with a 22.52 to Manuel\u2019s 22.46. Manuel got the sprint double with a 48.70 in the 100 free, ahead of the 49.70 by Neal.
\nOsman got a win over Hu in the 100 fly in another battle decided by hundredths. Osman and Hu turned even at the 50, 24.64 to 24.66, and Osman held on to win with a 52.94 to Hu\u2019s 53.16.<\/p>\n
Cal had another 1-2-3 finish today in the 1000 freestyle. Cierra Runge cruised to a 9:57.10 to beat teammate Catherine Breed by 10 seconds. Melanie Klaren gave Cal big points with a third-place time of 10:09.70. Stanford\u2019s Allison Brown was never in the hunt, placing a distant fourth with a 10:17.99. Runge followed that up with a 4:51.62 to win the 500 free ahead of the 4:53.73 by Breed.<\/p>\n
Pelton notched another win today in the 100 backstroke, posting a 53.63. She ran down Stanford\u2019s Ally Howe in the final strokes, demoting Howe to second with a 53.75.<\/p>\n
Haase and Katie Olsen traded places in the breaststroke events, with Haase winning the 100 in 1:00.17 to Olsen\u2019s 1:00.51. The two were even through the first 150 yards of the 200 breast, but Haase\u2019s 35.01 in the final 50 was no match for Olsen\u2019s 33.65. Olsen put up a 2:11.95 to Haase\u2019s 2:13.37. The two will be looking to give the Cardinal a sweep of the breaststrokes at the Pac 12 championships, though USC\u2019s Andrea Kropp could be the spoiler.<\/p>\n
Anne Kastler\u2019s win on the 3-meter springboard was another key victory for California as she posted a score of 333.08 over Stanford star Cassidy Cook and her 316.05. Cook was able to win the 1-meter with a score of 326.55 with teammate Alexandra Clay posting a 304.65 to give Stanford a 1-2 finish.<\/p>\n