The photo op was interrupted by a spontaneously synchronized “roll on you Bears” chant between the team and alumni in the crowd. Bolstered by the never ending cheers of their supporters, some in full-length bear costumes, the Cal men’s swim team won its third national title in four years Saturday night. The Bears entered the NCAA Men’s Division I Swimming and Diving Championship following a perfect dual-meet season and a conference title, and headed to Austin, Tex. hoping to oust last year’s victor Michigan.
Cal sat one point behind Texas after Day 1, capturing titles in the 200 free and 400 medley relays. The Bears clocked a 1:15.27 in the 200 free, overcoming the Longhorns for their first victory of the meet. Freshman Ryan Murphy led off the 400 medley with a dazzling 44.91, establishing himself as a favorite for the 100 back. With their time of 3:02.66, the Bears broke the pool record set by the all-Olympian team of Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Ian Crocker, and Neil Walker.
Cal and Texas remained neck-in-neck after the second round of prelims, both staving off defending champion Michigan. The Wolverines finished fourth overall and failed to meet expectations throughout the weekend, save sophomore Dylan Bosch, who broke NCAA, U.S. Open, and pool records to win the 200 fly at 1:39.33. The owner of one of the best swims of the meet, Bosch shattered Cal alum Tom Shields’ and Olympian Michael Phelps’ U.S. Open record of 1:39.65.
The Bears continued their strong relay performance with a victory in the 200 medley the second night, defeating Texas by less than a second and setting a new American record at 1:22.83 behind the swims of Murphy, junior Chuck Katis, senior Tony Cox, and sophomore Tyler Messerschmidt. After contributing to three team victories, Murphy won his first individual title of the NCAAs, recording a 44.63 in the 100 back.
Though Cal trailed the home team Texas after the first two days, the Bears had seven A finalists and two B final swims in the last day of racing, and then surged past the Longhorns with senior Jeremy Bagshaw’s performance in the 1650 free prelims. Bashaw powered through the fourth heat with a 14:39.00, finishing second-place overall.
This event contributed an 18 point swing, with Bagshaw — the only miler from either Cal or Texas to score — gaining 16 points for the Bears and Texas losing two seeded points. Cal coach David Durden, hoarse, tired, but with a permanent grin, acknowledged the impact of Bagshaw’s performance on the standings.
“It’s kind of interesting that Cal won this meet from a miler. And that’s what happened today,” Durden said to ESPN. “Jeremy got the ball rolling and we just followed his lead.”
The Bears continued to power through the final day. Murphy entered the 200 back as the heavy favorite and resumed putting on a show in his first NCAA meet, setting a new pool and NCAA record at 1:37.35. Cal sophomore Jacob Pebley also finished fourth in the event, while Texas began to fade, with junior Longhorn Kip Darmody dropping to sixth.
The Bears led by 15 after Murphy’s victory and rolled through the rest of the night, ultimately scoring a 468.5, besting Texas by more than 50 points. Durden commended his squad for working its way back to the highest podium this season, after finishing as runner-ups to Michigan last year.
“This one is special,” Durden said to ESPN. “From where we were last year and now 365 days later, it was a lot of hard work.”
Michelle Lee covers men’s swim. Contact her at michellelee@dailycal.org.