There aren’t too many things more closely associated with summertime than the swimming pool.
As the sun starts baking down on us from June through August, many find relief in the cool, chlorinated waters of the local outdoor pool – particuarly on when the temperature inches into the 90s.
For members of the Cal aquatics program, however, the pool has been a place for practice and competition. Whether they’ve stayed in California or travelled as far as Paris and Spain, summer has simply provided more time to get better, faster, and stronger.
From Nathan Adrian’s signature dominance in the 50 and 100 freestyle to Emily Csikos’ torrents of goals for the Canadian national water polo team, the Bears have been busy.
M. Swim
“‘Everyone says, ‘Dude, summer school is so much easier,'” sophomore Tom Shields said. “And it’s not.”
The same could be said for the summer swimming season.
The season is much shorter, which requires longer and more intense practices to get to peak form faster.
Instead of returning home, some members of the Cal men’s swimming team have remained in Berkeley to train with coach David Durden. Though NCAAs is always in the back of its mind, the team is not focused on getting a head start on next season.
“We’re trying to get on some (national) teams,” Shields said. “But right now, we’re just trying to get bigger, stronger, faster. And work out more than 20 hours a week because now we’re allowed to.”
The Bears are looking for strong showings at the U.S. Nationals, to be held in Irvine, Calif., on Aug. 3-7. They hope to also be in Irvine Aug. 18-23 to compete in the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships as members of the U.S. National Team.
Shields expects Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian and recent graduate Sean Mahoney to make the Pan Pac team, and hopes some of the remaining 12 swimmers representing Cal Aquatics will be able to secure spots.
These won’t be the first events of the summer – some swimmers competed in the Santa Clara Grand Prix in June and the Los Angeles Grand Prix in July.
In both meets, Adrian dominated the field in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle, while the Cal Aquatics team boasted 12 other top-five finishes in various events.
Cal made a splash in international waters as well, sending swimmers to France to compete in June’s Paris Open.
For Shields, it was an opportunity to see swimming on a grander scale with bigger crowds and added limelight than in the States.
“I got a lot more nervous,” he said. “College is a lot easier to be a lot more confident because you already know who all the players are. And (at an) international (meet), it’s like, ‘This guy’s from Japan, this guy’s from Brazil. I don’t know who either of these dudes are, but they’re both really fast.’
“It’s a lot more of a guessing game for me, especially since it’s in meters and I’m not experienced in meters.”
Though Shields may have experienced some growing pains, such was not the case for Adrian or alumnus David Russell.
Russell took second in the 200-meter backstroke and third in the 100-meter backstroke. Adrian tied France’s Yannick Agnel in the 100 free and claimed fourth in the 50 free.
June also saw senior Nick Ferrif finish first and second respectively in the 100-meter and 50-meter breaststroke for New Zealand at the Oceania Swimming Championships in Samoa.
Cal, with its highly international roster, will also have five swimmers competing in the European Championships in Budapest, Hungary, from Aug. 8-14.
-Christina Jones
W. Swim
Latin for “our sea,” Mare Nostrum was a term the Romans used for the Mediterranean Sea. The term has since been connected to many other Italian conquests.
In a current example, it does not describe a struggle on land, but in water. Mare Nostrum is the three-city European swimming competition that attracts some of the world’s best swimmers.
Nine competitors represented California Aquatics, Cal’s swim club, and put their summer training to the test overseas in Barcelona, Spain; Canet-en-Roussillon, France; and Monaco.
Cal alum and Olympic gold-medalist Dana Vollmer garnered two title wins in the long-course contests.
She touched the wall first in the 100-meter butterfly in Canet-en-Roussillon and again in Monaco. Two-time Olympian Natalie Coughlin took third in the 100-meter backstroke in France, fifth in the 100-meter freestyle in Monaco and seventh in the 100-meter backstroke in Barcelona.
New Zealand native and recent Cal graduate Lauren Boyle took fourth in both the 200-meter freestyle and the 800-meter freestyle in Canet-en-Roussillon. The Olympian also took fifth in the 400-meter freestyle.
New addition Caitlin Leverenz had a top-five finish in each of the cities in the 200-meter individual medley relay.
Seniors Hannah Wilson, Amanda Sims and Erica Dagg, as well as juniors Liv Jensen and Sara Isakovic were also Cal Aquatics representatives who all made it to the championship finals in their events.
The Bears returned to the states after their European triumphs for the Los Angeles Grand Prix.
The four-day tilt took place from July 8-11 and marked the last chapter of the eight-meet Grand Prix series.
Coughlin and Vollmer led the sleuth of Bears with each of their wins at USC’s McDonald’s Swim Stadium.
Coughlin posted 1:00.52 to seal her win in her signature event, the 100-meter backstroke, in which she is the two-time Olympic defending champion. She fended off national team youngster Rachel Bootsma by less than a second at the finish.
Vollmer clocked 57.39 to win the 100-meter butterfly, breaking the meet record she set three years ago and finishing a full body’s length ahead of second. Isakovic took seventh in the 100 fly.
Showcasing the Bears’ talent in relay swimming, the foursome of Dagg, Vollmer, Sara Sun and Katherine Raatz finished second in the 800-meter freestyle relay.
Dagg swam again in the 400-meter freestyle relay with Jensen, Boyle and Emily Bibb, with the quartet garnering a fourth-place finish.
The Bears showed their strength in the last two stints to tune up for the upcoming ConocoPhillips National Championships and the Pan Pacific Championship in August.
Cal coach Teri McKeever was also named the head coach for the U.S. team in the Pan Pacific Championships, a second-time accomplishment for her.
-Kelly Suckow
M. Polo
Before Americans were busy grilling up hamburgers, the Cal men’s water polo team got to enjoy some foreign food overseas.
From June 16 to July 4, the Bears travelled to Serbia and Montenegro to train against the respective countries junior national teams.
But when they weren’t busy spending anything from four to six hours per day lifting and practicing, the players got to explore a bit of their surroundings – including visiting junior Luka Saponjic’s house in Belgrade, where they got a taste of the type of fare the country offered.
“They were these different kind of sausages, these hamburger sausages – I forget the name,” senior Zach White said. “They have this cheese bread thing. It wasn’t just cheese bread, but I can’t really explain it. There was some interesting Serbian stuff. They go big on those grilled barbecued beef things there too.”
When they were in the pool, the type of competition they faced was also different from what they often saw back home during the season.
“It’s a little bit more physical over there,” White said. “Here you get to rely on the refs to kind of bail you out of something. Over there, you have to work for what you’ve earned. They don’t really call (fouls) that often.”
Team chemistry also improved by the sheer virtue of repetition; with no school or work to worry about in Europe, their sole focus was on water polo.
“It was a good bonding experience because we just played all the time together,” White said. “Basically almost three weeks of straight water polo. You don’t get a day off. We’re a lot stronger as a team.”
Team bonding occurred out of the pool as well; during off hours in Belgrade, players got the chance to watch Serbia defeat Germany, 1-0, during the group play round of the World Cup.
“This was actually pretty cool because some of us went out into the city, relaxed, watched the game,” White said. “When they won that game, that whole city was just going nuts.”
The experience allowed them to build on their performance back in May at the Cal-hosted Fisher Cup. The second annual edition of the tournament showcased some of the top talent in America, bringing Olympians and collegians alike to Berkeley. Competing as the Lamorinda club team, Cal players placed fourth after losing to 10-8 to UCLA – a third-place game in which lack of physicality was a problem.
“Towards they end, (the Bruins) kind of just kept hammering us … As the (Serbia) trip went on, we became a lot more aggressive,” White said. “We were able to put the pressure more on them … We’re not inclined to do what we did in the Fisher Cup.”
The Olympic Club, featuring a litany of Cal alums – such as current Cal goalie coach Sean Nolan – edged the New York Athletic Club for the tournament title, 8-7.
-Jack Wang
W. Polo
After the Cal women’s water polo team’s 2010 season, Stephanie Peckham poured high praise on her teammate, Emily Csikos.
“As a goalie, it makes me better because I have the best shooter in the NCAA shooting on me everyday at practice,” Peckham said. “(She) brings so much to the team with her international experience.”
Indeed, last summer in Rome, Csikos led her native Canada to the country’s first FINA World Championship final since 1991.
The Calgary, Alberta native had 15 scores throughout the seven-game tournament on the way to a silver medal.
Now, just a couple of months removed from a 69-goal season and third place at the NCAA Championship, the Bears’ star driver resumed international competition at the FINA Women’s World League Super Final in La Jolla, Calif.
The incoming junior found the net 13 times over six games, but the week was ultimately a disappointing one for Team Canada.
Heading into southern California with a No. 2 world ranking, her home country finished last in a loaded eight-team field.
Csikos got the Canadians off to a strong start – striking twice in an 11-9 victory over Hungary to open tournament play.
From there, however, her squad dropped its remaining five contests.
The team surrendered three unanswered goals in the fourth quarter of a 7-4 upset loss to China, and fell to the reigning Olympic champion Netherlands despite two more scores from Csikos.
Canada was also unable to avenge last year’s 7-6 loss to the United States in the FINA World Championship final.
After pouring in the game’s first three goals, Canada allowed a 7-1 run the rest of the way – with Csikos’ second score being the team’s lone answer.
During the game, the Cal star faced off against a pair of former Bear standouts in Heather Petri and Elsie Windes – both of whom earned silver medals for United States in the 2008 Olympics.
Csikos then had one of the top scoring performances of the tournament, erupting for a game-high five goals during a penalty shoot-out rematch loss to Hungary.
-Ed Yevelev