CSL Match 3: Caroline Bricker Wins Three Individual Events, Leads Stanford to Win; Ryan Erisman Crushes 4:08 500 Free Amid Huge Day
A week after its debut in Westmont, Ill., the College Swimming League moved to the west coast, allowing home team Stanford and Bay Area rival California to take center stage. Ohio State also returned for its second CSL contest while Auburn raced for the first time.
Cal had a strong day throughout, posting numerous 1-2 finishes in the opening portion of the meet and receiving a breakout meet from Ryan Erisman, who clocked a huge personal best of 4:08.55 in the 500 freestyle before winning two further events. Cal’s winners also included Yamato Okadome, Elle Scott, Camille Henveaux, Mia West and newcomer Michel Arkhangelskiy also placed first in individual events for the Golden Bears.
But Stanford was the victorious team here, a splendid showing in Super Skins pushing the Cardinal over the top. Caroline Bricker was the star of the day, with the senior capturing first place on three separate occasions in her individual events. Ethan Ekk, Sander Kiaer Sorensen and Alana Berlin were the other Stanford swimmers to win their races.
Stanford finished with 550 points, narrowly ahead of Cal’s 543.5. Of course, this hardly settles the rivalry between the two schools; they will meet in another CSL meet as well as possibly the postseason, then three more times in the spring, for dual meet action plus the ACC Championships and the NCAA Championships. On this day, Auburn placed third (371.5) and Ohio State fourth (255).
Women’s 200 Backstroke
The first points of the match went to Ohio State as Kk Leblanc got the win in the 200 backstroke, clocking 1:54.19. The Buckeyes ended up with a 1-3 finish as Delia Lloyd went 1:55.71, with Stanford’s Sylvia Roy (1:55.55) splitting the difference.
Men’s 200 Backstroke
Stanford’s Ethan Ekk was dominant in the men’s 200 back, recording a time of 1:39.20 to defeat the field by almost two seconds. Ekk, who represents Canada internationally, won bronze in the 200-meter back at this summer’s Pan Pacific Championships. Cal occupied the next two spots with Humberto Najera (1:41.05) and Baylor Stanton (1:41.32).
Women’s 200 Breaststroke
A tight finish in the women’s 200 breast went the way of Cal’s Elle Scott, who clocked 2:09.42 to hold off charging teammate Silje Slyngstadli on the final 50. Slyngstadli finished in 2:09.51 while Stanford’s Lucy Thomas came from well off the pace to take third (2:09.86).
Men’s 200 Breaststroke
Reigning NCAA champion Yamato Okadome started off his season with a time of 1:50.88 in the 200 breast, more than a second ahead of Stanford’s Daniel Li (1:51.98). Okadome swam a time of 1:48.61 at the 2026 NCAA Championships. The second Golden Bear, Zachary Tan, claimed third (1:55.78).
Women’s 500 Freestyle
Only two swimmers cracked the 4:30 barrier, both California Golden Bears. Camille Henveaux got the win in 4:38.66, less than a half-second clear of teammate Ella Cosgrove in 4:39.07. Auburn’s Sammie Hamilton ended up third (4:43.64).
Men’s 500 Freestyle
Ryan Erisman produced one of the top performances of the college swimming season thus far. Fresh off a brilliant summer season in which he won three titles at U.S. Nationals, Erisman crushed the field here in the 500 free with a time of 4:08.55. That surpassed his best time from last season by more than 2.5 seconds, and only four swimmers went quicker at the NCAA Championships.
As Erisman earned Cal’s fourth consecutive victory, his team ended up with the third 1-2 finish in four tries. Keaton Jones came in at 4:15.27, almost four seconds clear of Stanford’s Henry McFadden (4:19.17).
Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay
Cal cruised to a win in the first relay of the day. Mary-Ambre Moluh led off in 21.97 before Mia West split 21.53. Gracyn Aquino and Charlotte Burnham put the finishing touches on a time of 1:28.02. The Ohio State team of Kk Leblanc, Rachel Bockrath, Erin Little and Carrie Furbee placed second in 1:28.65, just ahead of Stanford’s Annam Olasewere, Skye Carter, Lucy Thokmas and Sylvia Roy (1:28.72).
Men’s 200 Freestyle Relay
The Auburn Tigers claimed their first victory of the day with an electric sprint relay effort. Warner Russ, Nicolas Gama, Mike Rice and Matthew Hamilton combined for a time of 1:16.72, with both of the final swimmers producing 18-second splits. Cal ended up in the next two spots here, as Lucca Battaglini, Martin Wrede, Michel Arkhangelskiy and Jordan Ragland placed second (1:16.85) and Nans Mazellier, Albert Smelzer, Samuel Quarles and Keaton Jones took third (1:17.53).
Women’s 200 Butterfly
Stanford’s Caroline Bricker made her season debut in strong fashion, recording a time of 1:52.42 in the 200 fly for an easy victory in her home pool. The senior previously won the NCAA title in the 400-yard IM in 2025 and captured the U.S. national title in the 200-meter fly that year. Here, Bricker pulled away from Cal’s Kelsey Zhang (1:56.07) and Stanford teammate Charlotte Hook (1:56.35).
Men’s 200 Butterfly
It did not take long for Ryan Erisman to add to his big day. He would return from his stellar 500 to top the 200 fly in 1:41.68, almost 1.5 seconds clear of the field. Teammate Casper Puggaard helped Cal to an even bigger haul, holding off Stanford’s Gibson Holmes for second by one hundredth, 1:43.10 to 1:43.11.
Women’s 100 IM
The versatile Mia West came out on top of the 100 IM in a time of 53.47, and her Cal teammate Elle Scott made it another sweep for the Bears with her time of 53.61. Scott was back in the pool following her win in the 200 breast. Stanford’s Levenia Sim claimed third (54.25).
Men’s 100 IM
Auburn’s Gabriel Machuco secured his team’s first individual win of the day by an enormous margin, going 47.39 to comfortably defeat Stanford’s Ethan Harrington (48.63). Alexey Glivinskiy of the Tigers came in third (48.80).
Women’s 100 Backstroke
Mary-Ambre Moluh has become a multi-event standout during her time representing Cal, and she secured her first individual CSL win here after helping Cal top the 200 free relay. Moluh went 51.40 in the 100 back, beating Auburn’s Lora Komoroczy (52.09) and Cal teammate Adriana Smith (52.26).
Men’s 100 Backstroke
Michel Arkhangelskiy is making his debut for Cal at this meet following two seasons competing for Florida State. After helping the Bears’ top 200 free relay squad to a second-place finish, he topped the 100 back with a time of 45.45. That was sufficient to defeat Stanford’s Ethan Ekk (45.71), with Cal’s Albert Smelzer third (47.04).
Women’s 100 Freestyle
Ohio State’s Rachel Bockrath got to the wall in 48.29, 0.36 clear of Stanford’s Annam Olasewere (48.65). A tight race for third went to Auburn’s Isabella Ekk (49.07).
Men’s 100 Freestyle
An extremely tight men’s 100 free ended with the top-four finishers all within four tenths, and swimmers from Stanford and Auburn were the dominant performers. Sander Kiaer Sorensen of the Cardinal topped the field in 42.83 ahead of Auburn’s Mike Rice (42.95). Not far back were the Tigers’ Daniel Krichevsky (43.11) and the Cardinal’s Nathan Foucu (43.12).
Women’s Skins
By virtue of the win in the 200 free relay, Cal could pick the stroke for women’s skins, and backstroke was the decision, opting to maximize the strength of Mary-Ambre Moluh. In the first round, Moluh and Stanford’s Alana Berlin tied with matching marks of 24.58, but Moluh ended up in the back of the pack in round two as Berlin (24.96) led the way in 24.96 ahead of teammate Levenia Sim, Auburn’s Lora Komoroczy and Cal’s Adriana Smith.
Berlin (25.44) and Sim (25.79) were the two swimmers to advance to an all-Stanford final heat. There, Berlin recorded a time of 25.11 to win comfortably.
Men’s Skins
Auburn selected breaststroke for men’s skins and immediately showed speed as Uros Zivanovic (23.87) and Kaua Carvalho (23.90) led the way from the start. Those two would advance to the semifinals but in the fourth and third positions, respectively, as Yamato Okadome (24.11) and Daniel Li (24.17) shined in round two.
Okadome would win the next round in 23.72, followed by Li in 24.23, with the two Tigers falling back. That set up one representative from each Bay Area institution in the final, where Okadome won by almost nine tenths, 23.75 to 24.63.
Women’s 200 IM
The first woman to earn a second individual win on the day was Caroline Bricker, returning from her 200 fly triumph to swim a time of 1:54.09 in the 200 IM. That defeated the field by more than 2.5 seconds. Cal’s Mia West finished in 1:56.65 for second place, and Stanford’s Emily Thompson was timed in 1:58.69 for third-place points.
Men’s 200 IM
Gabriel Machuco won his second medley event of the meet, swimming a time of 1:43.32 in the 200-yard race to take the win for Auburn. Ethan Ekk of Stanford secured his third top-two finish of the day, following his 200 back win and 100 back runnerup finish with a time of 1:44.20. Third went to Cal’s Baylor Stanton in 1:44.82.
Women’s 100 Breaststroke
Ohio State’s Maria Ramos Najji finished in 59.49 for the win while Elle Scott, already first in the 200 breast and second in the 100 IM, continued her strong day with a second-place result, 0.15 behind in 59.64. Silje Slyngstadli took third for Cal (1:00.14).
Men’s 100 Breaststroke
His third breaststroke win of the evening in as many tries. Yamato Okadome came in six tenths clear of anyone else in the 100 breast, recording a time of 52.37. He previously topped the 200-yard race as well as breaststroke skins. Zachary Tan made it a 1-2 finish for Cal in 52.95, followed by Auburn’s Kaua Carvalho (53.24).
Women’s 50 Freestyle
Annam Olasewere got to the wall a tenth clear of Ohio State’s Kk Leblanc, 22.38 to 22.49. The Buckeyes went 2-3 as Rachel Bockrath (22.58) edged Stanford’s Skye Carter (22.60).
Men’s 50 Freestyle
Auburn continued its strong showing in the sprint events as Warner Russ won the 50 free in 19.21 ahead of teammate Mike Rice (19.47). Jonathan Tan came in third for Stanford (19.52).
Women’s 100 Butterfly
Cal grabbed a 1-2 finish here, with Mia West grabbing her second top finish of the day in 52.44. Teammate Kelsey Zhang finished 0.12 behind with a second-place time of 52.56, followed closely by Auburn’s Zetta Grace Bartee (52.68).
Men’s 100 Butterfly
Cal’s Casper Puggaard was the only swimmer to get under 46 seconds, stopping the clock in 45.97. Auburn’s Bradford Johnson (46.28) and Stanford’s Gibson Holmes (46.55) rounded out the top three.
Women’s 200 Freestyle
For the third time in the competition, Caroline Bricker touched first, and as with her wins in the 200 fly and 200 IM, this one was dominant. Bricker swam a time of 1:44.26, followed by the Cal duo of Ava Chavez (1:45.39) and Ella Cosgrove (1:45.97).
Men’s 200 Freestyle
Individual events concluded with the men’s 200 free as Cal’s Ryan Erisman grabbed his third win to conclude the day. Erisman clocked 1:32.12 in the eight-lap race, adding to his earlier impressive results in the 500 free and 200 fly. Stanford’s Henry McFadden was second in 1:32.65, followed by Auburn’s Daniel Krichevsky (1:33.72).
Women’s Super Skins
Stanford’s women won this relay by steadily improving their finish over all four rounds. The team consisted of Alana Berlin, Lucy Thomas, Ella Jablonski and Annan Olasewere. Cal led the way after round one before Ohio State took over in the second round. The Cardinal led the way in the semifinal contest to set up a showdown with Ohio State, but the Buckeyes were disqualified in the final.
Stanford recorded times between 1:38.20 and 1:38.50 in the rounds, the slowest coming in the final. The day’s best relay belonged to the Cal team of Adriana Smith, Sijle Slyngstadli, Mia West and Mary-Ambre Moluh, who went 1:37.48 in the first round.
Men’s Super Skins
Cal’s men excelled in the opening rounds, with the team of Lucca Battaglini, Yamato Okadome, Michel Arkhangelskiy and Martin Wrede swimming 1:24.96 in round one for the top time of the day. Cal continued to lead in the second relay heat, but Stanford took over in the third and then secured top points in the final while Cal was disqualified.
Stanford’s team, whose best time of 1:24.99 in the first round was only three hundredths behind Cal, consisted of Ethan Ekk, Daniel Li, Ethan Harrington and Jonathan Tan.
