MEET NOTES: Utah Swimming and Diving to battle Cal on Friday

UP NEXT
The Utah women’s swimming and diving team will host No. 4 Cal this Friday, Nov. 14 at Ute Natatorium in Salt Lake City. The meet is scheduled to get underway at 2 p.m.

Meet Notes
• Visiting team bench will be moved to the north side to allow for the south benches to be used for fans.
• South benches will not be opened until balcony is filled.
• Balcony can be opened at 12:30 for fans to view warm-ups.
• South benches will not be open (if balcony is filled) until just before the meet begins to allow Cal a place to warm-up.
• Ushers will be placed at each door on the south and north sides.
• Security will be on pool deck to prohibit fans from access the pool areas.
• Credentials will be distributed to working staff only.
• No tickets will be issued, but a stamp will be put on each fan’s hand as they enter the Natatorium so fans can re-enter if they leave.
• Once capacity is reached in the Natatorium, we will have to close the doors to any fans without a stamp.
• Those fans not allowed in will be able to view the meet through the east, west, and south Natatorium windows.

Ute Proud
Friday’s meet will serve as the women’s swimming and diving team’s “Ute Proud” meet. The student-athletes will don Ute Proud swimming caps during the meet, while the coaches wear Ute Proud t-shirts.

The entire athletics department is celebrating Native American Heritage Month in November and the Ute Proud campaign, which was unveiled two months ago, will expand from primarily an educational effort to a celebration of the partnership with the Ute Tribe throughout November.

Last Time Out
The Utah women’s swimming and diving team dropped a Pac-12 dual-meet to No. 10 Arizona (90-210), but downed UNLV (208-91) at Buchanan Natatorium in Las Vegas back on Nov. 1.

Sophomore diver Amanda Casillas recorded a second-place finish in the one-meter (254.20) and a third-place finish in the three-meter (253.00) events, while senior Jasmine Matkovic finished fourth overall in the one-meter (236.50).

Sophomore Stina Colleou had a pair of third-place finishes in the 100 breast (1:03.47) and 200 breast (2:15.81), while freshman Maddie Meisel recorded two second-place finishes in the 500 free (4:59.73) and 1000 free (10:16.55).

Senior Giuliana Gigliotti placed second in both the 50 free (23.48) and 100 free (50.98), while junior Petra Soininen finished second in both the 100 fly (56.15) and 200 fly (2:03.69).

Senior Amanda Barrett placed second in the 200 back (2:01.99) and freshman Megan Kawaguchi finished second in the 100 back (56.03), while the 200 medley relay team of Kawaguchi, Colleou, Soininen and Gigliotti finished second with a time of 1:43.72.
Utah Notes

The Utes are 3-3 overall on the season with non-conference wins over Colorado Mesa (314-60), BYU (291-83) and UNLV (208-91). Utah dropped a non-conference meet to Boise State (143.5-156.5) and have a pair of Pac-12 meet losses to Stanford (124-174) and Arizona (90-210).

Utes Among the Top-50
1,650 Freestyle
43. Kat Wickham – 17:18.89 (10/3/14)
200 Breast
24. Stina Colleou – 2:15.21 (10/4/14)

Cal Notes
The Cal Bears are coming off a 161-124 win over No. 19 Wisconsin last Friday in Berkely, Calif. The Bears recorded 10 first-place finishes, which included Missy Franklin taking top honors in the 100 back (54.36) and Elizabeth Pelton taking home first in both the 200 free (1:47.58) and 200 back (1:54.58).

Marina Garcia Urzainqui recorded a pair of wins in the 100 breast (1:02.93) and 200 breast (2:15.79), while Anne Kastler won both one-meter (284.50) and three-meter (305.10) events.

Cal is 2-1 in dual-meets this season. Along with its win over Wisconsin, Cal defeated Oregon State in a Pac-12 meet (156-97) back on Oct. 23, but fell to Texas (139-161) in non-conference action back on Oct. 31. The Bears opened the season at the Cal Poly Queen of the Pool meet (Sept. 19) and has also competed at the All Florida Invitational (Oct. 3).

Cal currently has six different swimmers ranked among the nation’s top-25 times in 18 different events, which includes Franklin who ranks sixth in the 100 free (49.20), fifth in the 200 free (1:46.37) and fifth in the 200 IM (1:59.43); along with Pelton who ranks 2nd in the 200 back (1:54.23), 3rd in the 200 IM (1:58.69) and 10th in the 200 free (1:47.58).

Previous Meeting
Utah and Cal last met in a dual-meet back on Oct. 27, 2012, with the Bears earning the win, 185-114 at Ute Natatorium in Salt Lake City.

Utah picked up wins in the 200 medley relay, 100 free, one-meter, three-meter, 500 free events in the meet.

Notable swimmers on this year’s team that competed back then are Mlissa Paakh (third, 100 fly), Petra Soininen (second, 100 fly; second, 200 fly) and Maddie Jamora who was on the 200 free relay team that finished in second-place.

What the Coaches are saying
Utah Head Coach Joe Dykstra –
“We are thrilled to welcome one of the premier swimming and diving programs in the NCAA to the Ute Natatorium this Friday afternoon. The Cal women have been a perennial top-3 team at the NCAA’s and are the defending Pac-12 Champions. They bring tons of star power including maybe the world’s best swimmer in Missy Franklin, and it will be awesome for our fans to get to see us race this kind of team in a dual-meet session here in Salt Lake City.”

Utah Head Diving Coach Richard Marschner
“The meet will give us another opportunity to compete against some very high level competition. We’ve been training well and I’m looking forward to seeing if we can have some breakthrough performances and getting some zone qualifications.”

Up Next
Following Friday’s meet, the Utah diving teams will head to Atlanta, Ga., to compete in the Georgia Tech Invitational, which will take place at Georgia Tech’s Aquatic Center Nov. 21-23. The Utah swimming and diving teams will then be back in action Dec. 4-6 at the Texas Invitational, which will take place at the Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas.

College Swimming News courtesy of Utah Swimming and Diving.