By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
It’s that time of the year again. SwimSwam will be previewing the top 12 men’s and women’s teams (and then some) from the 2024 NCAA Championships. Follow along with the College Swimming Preview Channel. Want to read even more? Check out the latest edition of the SwimSwam magazine.
#11 CAL GOLDEN BEARS
Key Losses: Rachel Klinker (21 NCAA points, 1 NCAA relay), Mia Motekaitis (3 NCAA points, 1 NCAA relay), Eloise Riley(1 NCAA point, 3 NCAA relays), Jade Neser (1 NCAA relay), Hannah Brunzell (NCAA qualifier)
Key Additions: Mary-Ambre Moluh (France – back/free), Mia West (Canada – free/fly/IM), Lilou Ressencourt (grad student France- fly/free), BOTR Finley Anderson (CO – back), BOTR Adriana Smith (back), BOTR Arielle Brotman (breast), Rebecca Ciancaglini (Italy – diving) Maya Geringer (Ohio State 5th year transfer-distance free), Margaux McDonald (Princeton 5th year- IM/back/breast)
Returning Fifth Years: Isabelle Stadden (32 NCAA points, 3 NCAA relays)
GRADING CRITERIA
Over the years, we’ve gone back and forth on how to project points, ranging from largely subjective rankings to more data-based grading criteria based on ‘projected returning points.’ We like being as objective as possible, but we’re going to stick with the approach we’ve adopted post-Covid. The “stars” will rely heavily on what swimmers actually did last year, but we’ll also give credit to returning swimmers or freshmen who have posted times that would have scored last year.
Since we only profile the top 12 teams in this format, our grades are designed with that range in mind. In the grand scheme of college swimming and compared to all other college programs, top 12 NCAA programs would pretty much all grade well across the board. But in the interest of making these previews informative, our grading scale is tough – designed to show the tiers between the good stroke groups, the great ones, and the 2015 Texas fly group types.
- 5 star (★★★★★) – a rare, elite NCAA group projected to score 25+ points per event
- 4 star (★★★★) – a very, very good NCAA group projected to score 15-24 points per event
- 3 star (★★★) – a good NCAA group projected to score 5-14 points per event
- 2 star (★★) – a solid NCAA group projected to score 1-4 points per event
- 1 star (★) – an NCAA group that is projected to score no points per event, though that doesn’t mean it’s without potential scorers – they’ll just need to leapfrog some swimmers ahead of them to do it
We’ll grade each event discipline: sprint free (which we define to include all the relay-distance freestyle events, so 50, 100 and 200), distance free, IM, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and diving. Use these grades as a jumping-off point for discussion, rather than a reason to be angry.
Also, keep in mind that we are publishing many of these previews before teams have posted finalized rosters. We’re making our assessments based on the best information we have available at the time of publication, but we reserve the right to make changes after publication based on any new information that may emerge regarding rosters. If that does happen, we’ll make certain to note the change.
2023-24 LOOKBACK
Last season marked a step forward for the Cal women despite their NCAA finish leaving something to be desired.
After placing 11th at the 2023 NCAA Championships, the team’s worst finish since 1996, the Bears essentially stood pat last season, taking 11th once again with 153 points.
However, the story of the season was Cal securing the last women’s Pac-12 Championship title, putting up 1,397.5 points at the conference championships to handily beat USC and Stanford as the teams head elsewhere beginning this season.
Leading Cal in scoring at both Pac-12s and NCAAs was Isabelle Stadden, who reclaimed the conference title in the 200 back and won the 100 back crown for the first time in her career after three straight runner-up finishes. She followed up at NCAAs by earning a runner-up finish in the 100 back and placing 4th in the 200 back.
Lea Polonsky was 2nd in the 200 IM, 3rd in the 400 IM and 5th in the 200 fly at Pac-12s, scoring 80 points, but struggled at NCAAs (relatively), placing 15th in the 200 IM and 16th in the 400 IM.
Polonsky was one of several Golden Bears who performed better at Pac-12s than at NCAAs, and it’s possible the team opted to focus more on the conference meet last season given it was the last edition of the Pac-12 Championships.
Stadden scored 32 points at NCAAs, and the only other swimmers to hit double digits were Rachel Klinker (21) and Mia Kragh (11). Klinker placed 3rd in the 200 fly, setting a lifetime best in the final, and Kragh made the ‘A’ final in the 100 fly (8th).
All told, it was a successful campaign in part in Dave Durden‘s second at the helm given the Pac-12 victory, but the Bears will need to start climbing the ladder at the NCAA Championships to restore the prestige the program once held after finishing 2nd at NCAAs as recently as 2019.
SPRINT FREESTYLE: ★★½
The Bears lose their top performers from last season in each of the sprint free events, as their fastest 50/100 swimmer, Eloise Riley, and their top 200er, Mia Motekaitis, both exhausted their eligibility in 2023-24.
Cal only scored one point across the three sprint free events at the 2024 NCAAs, with Riley placing 16th in the 50 free.
There aren’t any returning swimmers who are currently in position to score at NCAAs in the sprints, but a few incoming recruits certainly could.
Joining the fold are French swimmers Mary-Ambre Moluh and Lilou Ressencourt, along with Canadian Mia West, who all promise to make an impact.
Moluh owns long course lifetime bests of 25.19 in the 50, 54.08 in the 100 and 2:01.76 in the 200 free, which convert to 21.97/47.27/1:46.81. Primarily known for her abilities in sprint backstroke, Moluh will certainly race the 100 back in NCAA competition, but the 50 and 100 free figure to also be apart of her program. Her 100 free conversion of 47.27 is inside what it took to make the ‘A’ final last season (47.33), and her 21.97 conversion in the 50 is only .04 off what it took to make the consols.
West owns 25.84/55.58/2:00.48 long course times, but for a better gauge of what she might be able to do in yards, has been 24.89/54.38/1:56.43 in short course meters. Her conversions come in at 22.42/48.63/1:44.89, suggesting the 100 and 200 could easily be in her individual program with scoring in the 200 within striking distance.
Ressencourt is more of a butterfly specialist, but still has 22.4/49.0/1:46.3 conversions to keep swimming freestyle an option both individually and in the relays.
They also bring in domestic freshman Arielle Brotman, a breaststroker who has been 49.7 in the 100 free.
Among the returners from last season, Stephanie Akakabota (22.02), McKenna Stone (22.10) and Morgan Brophy (22.17) are the fastest in the 50 free, while Brophy (48.28) and Femke Hoppenbrouwer (48.86) are quickest in the 100 free.
In the 200 free, Lea Polonsky is fastest at 1:44.06, a time she did in a dual meet, but the event doesn’t fit in her NCAA program.
Polonsky and rising sophomore Ava Chavez are the two returning members of last season’s 800 free relay, with Chavez having split 1:44.50 at NCAAs and gone 1:45.18 individually earlier in the season at the Minnesota Invite.
DISTANCE FREESTYLE: ★★
Cal had both Rachel Klinker and Motekaitis score in the 500 free last season, placing 12th and 14th, respectively, at NCAAs. Losing both this season, the Bears’ distance freestyle group figures to take a hit, but there’s still a chance they’ll land some points.
One returning scorer the team has is Maya Geringer, who heads to Berkeley to use her fifth year of eligibility after four years at Ohio State. Geringer was 12th in the 1650 last season, clocking 15:59.60 at NCAAs after setting a PB of 15:56.28 at the midseason OSU Invite.
Geringer is also Cal’s top 500 swimmer on paper this season, with her best time of 4:39.55, though that comes from the 2022 Big Tens. Last season, her fastest time was 4:40.99 from the OSU Invite, and she was 4:45.27 at NCAAs.
Cal also has returners Kathryn Hazle (4:42.97), Fanni Fabian (4:43.56) and Polonsky (4:44.78) with competitive times from last season. Hazle got some experience racing at NCAAs last season as a freshman but still has four seconds to drop to put points on the board.
Mia West (4:19 LCM/4:11 SCM) could also be a strong 500 freestyler given her 400 free pedigree (4:46.9 conversion).
BACKSTROKE: ★★★★
Isabelle Stadden singlehandedly scored Cal 32 points in backstroke last season, and with her returning for a fifth year coupled with the influx of new blood spearheaded by Mary-Ambre Moluh, that number promises to increase in 2025.
Stadden has never missed a backstroke ‘A’ final in her NCAA career, so we can pencil her in for 30+ points. She’s yet to claim that elusive individual title, but had her best finish ever last season when she was the runner-up in the 100 back. The 200 has typically been her better event, but with three women going sub-1:48.5 in last year’s final, Stadden settled for 4th.
Moluh joins the Bears with a long course 100 back best time of 59.29, which is competitive with the best swimmers competing in the NCAA this season outside of defending champion Katharine Berkoff. Backstroke conversions are never quite accurate due to the underwaters—59.29 in LCM only converts to 52.33 in SCY. Moluh should have what it takes to be a top-eight scorer, with the 2024 cut-off being 50.99 for the ‘A’ final.
In addition to those two, the Bears have plenty of backstroke depth with newcomers Adriana Smith (52.87) and Finley Anderson (53.32), along with returners Morgan Brophy, Daniela Cogswell and Annika McEnroe who all broke 54 last year. Canadian freshman Mia West also has a 1:00.3 PB in short course meters (54.3 conversion).
There’s not as much depth behind Stadden in the 200 back, though Anderson comes in as a potential scorer with a best time of 1:53.60, within a second of a top 16 finish in the 2024 NCAA prelims (1:52.62).
BREASTSTROKE: ★★
Cal had a deep breaststroke group last season with Alicia Henry, Jade Neser, Hannah Brunzell and Abby Herscu racing both events at NCAAs last season and Kathryn Hazle also taking on the 200.
Although none of those were scoring swims, Henry was five one-hundredths shy of tying for 16th in the 100 breast, placing 18th in a lifetime best of 59.28. She also split 58.61 on the 400 medley relay.
In the 200 breast, Henry set a PB of 2:07.89 en route to a 4th-place finish at Pac-12s, a time that would’ve been fast enough to score at NCAAs (she went 2:09.28 to finish 25th). Heading into her senior year, Henry is a prime candidate to score—potentially in both events—after she didn’t qualify for NCAAs during her freshman or sophomore campaigns.
Herscu, a rising junior, set personal best times en route to placing 39th in the 100 breast (1:00.27) and 27th in the 200 breast (2:09.33) at NCAAs, roughly one second shy of scoring in either. If she can improve, pushing for a second siwm in the 200 isn’t out of the question.
Neser and Brunzell won’t be back this season, but the Bears bring in Princeton transfer Margaux McDonald (1:00.20/2:11.38) and freshman