University Southern California Trojans
USC at the Pac-10 Men's Swimming Championships
June 21, 1999 | Men's Swimming & Diving
March 4, 1999
LONG BEACH, Calif. - After winning titles in three of today's five events, the University of California is leading defending champion Stanford by 53 points at the 1999 Pac-10 Men's Swimming Championships. The championships are being held at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, Calif. USC is in third place (150.0), followed by Arizona (138.0), Arizona State (119) and Washington (75.0).
The first event of the day, the 200 yard freestyle relay, saw Cal nip the defending champion in the event, Stanford, by .05 at the wall. The Golden Bear team of seniors Dan Lindstrom and Will Moore, along with junior Bart Kizierowski and freshman Matt Macedo swam 1:19.00 to bring home Cal's first-ever conference title in the event.
Arizona junior Ryk Neethling successfully defended his Pac-10 title in the 500-yard freestyle with a swim of 4:17.70. Neethling came on in the last 50 yards to overtake 1997 champ Bela Szabados, despite battling the flu for the past week. Szabados turned in a swim of 4:19.37.
Cal senior Gordon Kozulj won his first-ever Pac-10 title in the 200 IM with a swim of 1:47.74. Kozulj held off teammate Nuk Sirisanont, who swam 1:47.93. Defending champion Glenn Counts of Stanford finished fifth at 1:48.45.
California picked up another individual title in the 50 freestyle as Kizierowski edged 1997 champion Francisco Sanchez of Arizona State. Kizierowski tuned in a swim of 19.70, while Sanchez clocked 19.78. The battle for third place was also hotly contested as Stanford's Justin Ewers' time of 19.93 bested Arizona's Roland Schoemon's 19.96.
In the final event of the evening, the 400 medley relay, Stanford's team of seniors Tate Blahnik, Dod Wales and Justin Ewers, along with sophomore Anthony Robinson, outlasted 1998 champion Cal to regain the title it has held 12 of the last 15 years with a swim of 3:11.01. The Bears turned in a time of 3:11.42.
The Pac-10 Men's Swimming Championships resume tomorrow morning beginning with preliminaries at 11:00 a.m. and the finals getting underway at 6:00 p.m. Admission for adults is $8.00, while students and seniors can get in for $4.00.
Team Standings
1. California 254.0 2. Stanford 201.0 3. USC 150.0 4. Arizona 138.0 5. Arizona State 119.0 6. Washington 75.0
