TUCSON, AZ, January 25. THE No. 3-ranked Cal Golden Bears men's swimming team (4-0, 2-0) — looking to move into the second-spot in the polls next week behind No. 1 Stanford — completed a sweep of its Arizona Pac-10 foes here this afternoon with a 127-115 win over Arizona. <\/p>\n
The dual meet at the Wildcats' Hillenbrand Aquatic Center left Coach Frank Busch's team 0-3 overall, 0-1 in the conference after having lost to Stanford here yesterday. <\/p>\n
Cal won just three individual races but swept the relays and its superior depth put paid to any 'Cat aspirations of an upset. The Bears went 2-3 in the 1000 free, 2-4 in the 200 free, 2-4 in the 100 free, and 1,3-4 in the 200 breast plus 2-3 in the 200 back. <\/p>\n
Seniors Joe Bruckart and Anthony Ervin and sophomore Caleb Rowe garnered wins for the Golden Bears. Bruckart won the 200 IM (1:49.68) and swam the first- and second legs, respectively, on Cal's victorious 400 medley and 400 free relays. <\/p>\n
Ervin won the 100 free (45.18), took second in the 50 free (20.73) and anchored Cal's 400 medley relay win. Rowe won the 200 breast (2:01.42) and swam the second leg of the 400 medley relay. <\/p>\n
Sophomore John Dorr also swam well, touching the wall in second in both the 500 (4:34.62) and 1000 free (9:31.54). The latter was won by Arizona's Chad Ainsworth (9:08.47). Cal junior Alex Lim placed second in the 200 fly (1:47.77) while freshmen Michael Cavic and Chris Gibson posted runner-up finishes in the 200 free (1:40.30) and 200 back (1:49.42), respectively. <\/p>\n
In the 50 free, Arizona freshman Lyndon Ferns, a recent addition to the Cats' squad, did something few have been able to accomplish over the last four seasons — beat Ervin. <\/p>\n
He won in 20.62 to AE's 20.73 and can now tell his grandchildren that for "one great shining moment" he was "king of the pool." At the Pac-10 Championships in six weeks at Belmont Plaza, expect a somewhat different outcome. <\/p>\n
Ferns is now 3-4 in his collegiate career after having swept the sprints against Stanford a day earlier. <\/p>\n
* * * * * <\/p>\n
Arizona got a pair of double wins from junior Juan Veloz, a Mexican Olympian, whose 1:42.72 200 fly from the Longhorn Invitational in Austin last month leads the country and is sixth on the all-time performances list. <\/p>\n
Veloz won the 200 fly in a modest 1:46.58, then came back to win the 500 free (4:34.55). He'll be after former Stanford star (and current Nebraska women's coach) Pablo Morales' Pac-10-record of 1:42.60 at the conference championships; and will be out to try and dethrone defending NCAA champ Ioan Gherghel of Alabama at the national collegiate meet come the final week of March in Austin. <\/p>\n
Gherghel has been quiet so far this season, but then again he was "quiet" until NCAAs last year, when his 1:42.68 won him the title as an unheralded freshman <\/p>\n
Morales' 1:42.60 was the American\/NCAA-record when he swam it at the championship meet in Austin 15 years ago, and lasted until broken by Tennessee's Melvin Stewart (1:41.78) at NCAAs four years later — also in Austin. Stewart went on to win the Olympic 200 fly title a year later at Barcelona. Similarly, Morales defeated defending Big O's champ Anthony Nesty for the 100 fly title there. (Nesty is currently an assistant at his alma mater, Florida.) <\/p>\n
Burnett won the 200 free (1:39.00) and then touched first in the 200 back (1:47.72), both seasonal bests. <\/p>\n
On the diving side, Arizona won both boards, with John Anderson (200.30) taking the 21-meter and teammate Alex Vollehanga the 3-meter (204.20). Cal's Nic Bartolotta placed second in both the one-meter (202.30) and three-meter (196.45) competitions. <\/p>\n
The Bears do not compete next weekend, and return to action at Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley on Feb. 7 against USC. The meet versus the Trojans begins at 1 p.m. Then its "The Big Splash" against the Cardinal two weeks later, also in Berkeley.<\/p>\n
— Bill Bell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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