Electric Weekend of Swimming Highlights Bay Area College Excellence
A whopping six NCAA collegiate swimming programs exist within a 100-mile radius of each other in California’s Bay Area. An additional 11 swimming programs at community colleges call the Bay Area home. So, on any given weekend, a local club swimmer could find himself/herself in a front row seat to some of the fastest swimming across the state or country, a fact that does not reasonably exist for much of the nation.
With the spring semester either here or fast approaching, NCAA schools are headed into senior meets and conference championships. Meanwhile, CCCAA schools are just beginning to see their seasons take shape.
Here’s an overview of what the Bay Area scene offered over the weekend.
Cal Bears
Both Cal Bears programs currently sit in the top-10 in the country, with the men ranked fifth and women rated 10th. In their third season under the combined efforts of Dave Durden and David Marsh, things are consistently looking good for the Bears.
Over the weekend, both programs picked up decisive wins over visiting Southern California. The women’s team extended its win streak in their lone home meets of the season against UCLA on Saturday. For a team that traditionally shows their cards only at championship meets, meet wins in January are a strong sign of future potential.
Photo via Big Friendly Swim Podcast
Beyond the electric swims in the pool, the atmosphere in the Spieker Aquatics Center was fantastic. The Cal parents consistently show up with enthusiasm for their swimmers, with a coordinated cheer before nearly every race. What stands out, however, is the rich legacy of alumni the Bears can draw on.
The Local AC Swim Club brought a massive contingent to the women’s meet on Saturday, led by co-owner and former Cal Bear Will Copeland. The team, led by Copeland and eight-time Olympic medalist Nathan Adrian, is an example of Bay Area coaches taking advantage of the rich level of talent available to help them teach their swimmers.
Also in attendance were members of the Berkeley Swim Club, a collegiate club program that is student run and trains out of the same pool as the Division I team. The AC Swim and Berkeley Swim clubs being in attendance is a valuable example of simple ways NCAA programs can drive up attendance while driving participation in the sport. By opening up meets to the public, inviting local club teams and school teams, it will have untold positive long term effects on the sport locally.
Stanford Cardinal
Dan Schemmel and the Stanford men’s team continued what has been a sparse season competition wise with a win against Southern California (202-97). The men’s team, led by Henry McFadden and Olympian Andrei Minakov, will look to build off of multiple years of top ten finishes by cracking the top five in March at NCAAs.
The Stanford women’s team, led by head coach Greg Meehan, continued a winning season with two decisive wins against UCLA (188-111) & Southern California (207-92).
The Cardinals have had steady success in the post-pandemic world, finishing ninth in 2021 before climbing to top five finishes in the three seasons after. 2024 saw many Stanford affiliated swimmers making NCAA finals and Olympic Trials finals, including an Olympic gold from Torri Huske.
Meehan has attributed the recent successes to the rich legacy the Stanford teams have cultivated. With decades worth of athletes having competed at the highest levels of the sport, they can provide invaluable inspiration to current Cardinal swimmers looking to reach the same heights.
Meehan is adamant about having an open pool policy, encouraging all coaches, swimmers, and fans to reach out and figure out the best day to come in and observe a practice or a swim meet.
Beyond the collegiate landscape, Meehan and Schemmel work closely with Alto Swim Club, whose senior team calls the Avery Aquatic Center home. The high school age athletes have ample opportunity to meet and learn from the fantastic depth of talent present at Stanford. That will provide them with opportunities to learn about the college swimming process.
University of the Pacific
The Pacific Tigers had a doubleheader weekend about an hour away in Stockton, swimming against the Cal Poly Mustangs on Friday and the UCSB Gauchos on Saturday.
Photo via Big Friendly Swim Podcast
Coming into Friday’s dual meet, both men’s programs for the Mustangs and home Tigers owned undefeated seasons. After a tight meet through the first 24 events, the Mustangs picked up crucial breaststroke sweeps, including a 1-2-3-4 finish in the 200, to ultimately break the Tigers’ streak with a 147-115 win.
Tigers senior Paige Sondgeroth was a huge highlight, winning the 200 individual medley, 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke. Rising Cal Poly Mustang Evan Yoo stormed to a 52.79 100 breaststroke for one of the biggest swims of the day, a time that comes in six tenths under the NCAA B-Cut.
Although not as much of a headline meet to casual fans as the Cal Bears, being at both meets showcased the ways in which each competition had significant value. The Tigers and Mustang family cheering squads brought significant energy to an albeit smaller crowd.
Tigers head coach Katelyne Herrington exudes confidence in her team and its effort. Herrington took on a new strategy for the current season. Traditionally, the Tigers take a training trip over winter break, but elected to stay at home this year. For a situation that could have been a limitation to the team’s motivation, the quality of the coaching staff and the season to date actually resulted in a massive buy-in by the team overall.
Despite losses for them men’s team over the weekend, a combination of women’s team victories and huge best times is pointing the Tigers in a potentially historic direction heading into championship season.
Where Can You Watch Swimming in the Bay Area?
Consecutive trips to the Pacific Tigers and the Cal Bears brings to the forefront the special nature of Bay Area swimming. Not many places in the United States can call this much fast swimming home.
Beyond the Tigers and the Bears, other collegiate programs in the Bay Area hosted meets this past weekend. The Stanford programs faced off against UCLA and Southern California on the opposite days that the Cal Bears did.
In the coming weeks, a half dozen meets offer tantalizing viewing opportunities for swim fans and club teams across the Bay Area. Below is a list of these meets with links to the team websites.
- Saturday, 1/25
- Sunday, 1/26
- Friday, 1/31
- Saturday, 2/1
CCCAA Swimming
In the upcoming months, as the NCAA season comes to an end, the CCCAA season will take shape. California is home to dozens of community college swimming programs. Within the Bay Area (and a bit further out), a whopping 11 junior college programs will commence competition.
- Las Positas
- De Anza College
- West Valley College
- Cabrillo College
- City College San Francisco
- Foothill College
- College of San Mateo
- Ohlone College
- Hartnell College
- Santa Rosa Junior College
- American River College
- Sierra College
In the upcoming weeks, look for all of these programs’ seasons to take shape. CCCAA competition is not going to be as fast as a Division I school like Stanford and Cal. However, the level of competition and excitement will be just as high.
