University Southern California Trojans
USC Hosts California and Stanford
February 05, 2004 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 5, 2004
USC's No. 11 men's swimming and diving team resumes Pac-10 action this week when it hosts No. 4 California on Friday (Feb. 6) at 1 p.m. and No. 3 Stanford on Saturday (Feb. 7) at 1 p.m. Both meets will be held at USC's McDonald's Swim Stadium.
CALIFORNIA
The Bears feature a pair of the top sprinters in the country in junior Duje Draganja and sophomore Milorad Cavic. Both also excel in the fly, Cavic currently owning the fastest 100 fly time in the country. Senior Alex Lim remains among the finest backstrokers in the country.
STANFORD
The Cardinal currently feature the top two ranked 100 and 200 backstrokers in the NCAA in seniors Peter Marshall and Markus Rogan. Jayme Cramer and Marshall own top 10 fly times while Rogan is also ranked high in both individual medleys.
FAST TIMES
USC sophomore Ous Mellouli remains the top-ranked 400m IM swimmer in the country with a converted 3:45.38 yard time from LCM. He's also second in the 500 free and among the top 15 in the 200 free. Senior Trent Staley is among the top 15 in the 200 back and top 20 in the 500 free.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
Ous Mellouli leads the trio after turning in five All-American swims last year (500y free, 400y IM, 1650y free, 400y medley relay and 800y free relay). Trent Staley earned his first ever in the 800y free relay and junior diver Ray Vincent also earned his first, coming on the 10-meter platform.
JENSEN TO TRAIN FOR OLYMPICS
USC freshman Larsen Jensen, one of the top long-distance swimmers in the world, has decided to leave school for the spring semester to concentrate on training for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials. He plans to return to school in the fall semester later this year.
Mark Schubert
USC Coach Mark Schubert is in his 12th year at Troy. He will make his seventh consecutive Olympic coaching appearance in 2004 when he directs the U.S. women's team in Athens, Greece. Three years ago, he finished a stint as head coach of the U.S. men's swim team at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Since he has been at USC, the men's and women's swimming programs are a combined 133-43. In his 33 years of coaching, Schubert has placed 28 swimmers on U.S. Olympic teams; these athletes have won 18 gold and eight silver medals, plus five world championship titles.
Hongping Li
An NCAA champion and two-time Olympian, Hongping Li is in his fifth season coaching USC's men's and women's divers. Li, the winner of the 1998 and 1999 United States Olympic Committee's "Diving Developmental Coach of the Year," award, came to USC after serving as the head coach of the Mission Viejo (Calif.) Nadadores Diving Team since 1993. Li has had immediate and tremendous success in his first four years at USC. In 2003, he helped guide Blythe Hartley and Nicci Fusaro to All-American showings at the NCAA Championships. Hartley was a three-time All-American for the second year in a row while Fusaro earned All-American honors for the third year in a row. Hartley, the 2002 NCAA Women's Diver of the Year, repeated as Pac-10 Women's Diver of the Year and Li repeated as Pac-10 Women's Diving Coach of the Year. In 2002, Fusaro joined with Hartley to become USC's only two divers to earn All-American honors in all three diving specialties in one NCAA meet. In 2001, Li guided Kellie Brennan to a pair of All-American honors (and her third consecutive Pac-10 1-meter title) and Fusaro to her first All-American honor at the 2001 NCAAs. Both also reached the top three at the 2001 U.S. Indoor Championships.
