USC Opens Season With Oregon State, UC Davis
September 29, 2010 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Sept. 29, 2010
The USC women's swimming and diving team will begin the 2010-11 season by hosting conference foe Oregon State as well as UC Davis on Friday (Oct. 1) at noon at USC's McDonald's Swim Stadium.
Following the meet on Saturday, USC will host its annual Alumni Relays at 11 a.m., featuring many former standout swimmers as well as a silent auction to fundraise for the team.
TROJAN VETERANS
The Women of Troy, under fifth-year head coach Dave Salo, are coming off of a seventh-place finish at the 2010 NCAA Championships and return six All-Americans, including seniors Presley Bard and Lyndsay DePaul, juniors Katinka Hosszu and Victoria Ishimatsu and sophomores Haley Anderson and Jessica Schmitt.
Hosszu, Bard and DePaul return as one of the top swimming trios in the country, each of whom helped USC to All-American relay performances in the 400y medley and the 800y free. Hosszu also earned All-American nods in the 400y IM (3rd) and the 200y fly (2nd) while Bard did it in the 100y (3rd) and 200y back (4th) and DePaul did it in the 100y (2nd) and 200y fly (3rd). Ishimatsu was a two-time All-American last year in the 1-meter (5th) and 3-meter springboard (4th). Anderson was an All-American in the 1650y free (fourth) as well as the 800y free relay while Schmitt earned her All-American honor by swimming the breaststroke in the 400y medley relay.
USC finished third at the 2010 Pac-10 Championships (its best finish since 2003) and won six titles, its most since claiming six at the 2006 Pac-10s. Ishimatsu won both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard, her second and third career conference titles. Hosszu won her first Pac-10 crown in the 200y fly while Bard won USC's first ever Pac-10 title in the 100y back. Anderson won the 1650y free and Bard, DePaul, Anderson and Hosszu came together to win the 800y free relay, USC's first Pac-10 title in the event since 2003.
Other returning Trojans who appeared at the 2010 NCAA Championships include senior Ellie Doran, junior Tanya Krisman and sophomores Ariel Rittenhouse, Kate Shumway, Christel Simms and Yumi So. Doran, Simms, Rittenhouse and So were all Pac-10 finalists as well.
TROJAN NEWCOMERS
Salo's staff welcomes one of the top incoming classes in the country. Freshmen Meghan Hawthorne, Lynette Lim, Andrea Basaraba and Kasey Carlson all won CIF titles as seniors this past spring. Hawthorne set the CIF Southern Section Division I record en route to a title in the 200y IM (1:58.74) and she also won a title in the 100y fly. Lim won CIF Southern Section Division III tiles in the 200y free and the 500y free. Carlson, a 2009 World Championships bronze medalist in the 100m breast, won a pair of CIF North Coast Section titles, taking the 50y free and the 100y breast. Basaraba, at the CIF San Diego Section Division II Championships, won a title in the 100y free and was second in the 200y free. Also joining the Trojans this year are Swedish swimmer Stina Gardell, a national record holder and champion who competed in the 2009 World Championships in the 200m and 400m IM, as well as Amanda Smith, a transfer distance freestyler from Indiana who was a two-time All-American honorable mention pick with the Hoosiers in 2008-09.
SUMMER VACATION
Many USC swimmers had a successful summer of competition, none more so than junior Katinka Hosszu. The Hungarian native won two gold medals at the 2010 European Short Course Championships in front of hometown fans in Budapest, Hungary. She won titles in the 200m fly and the 200m IM and claimed a silver in the 400m IM. She also won gold as part of Hungary's 4x200m relay team.
Sophomore Haley Anderson represented the U.S. at the Pan Pacific Games, finishing fourth in the 1500m free and eighth in the 800m free. Those efforts came after she competed at the 2010 World Open Water Championships. Though a newcomer to the open water style, she finished fourth in the 25K in Roberval, Canada.
At the 2010 U.S. Nationals, seniors Presley Bard (100m back, 5th) and Lyndsay DePaul (100m fly, 6th) were both finalists
NUMEROUS TROJANS NAMED TO U.S. NATIONAL TEAMS
Seniors Presley Bard (100m back) and Lyndsay DePaul (100m, 200m fly) as well as sophomore Haley Anderson (800m free, 10K) were named to the 2010-2011 U.S. National senior team on Sept. 28. USC volunteer coach and former swimmer Rebecca Soni is also on the squad. Trojan freshman Meghan Hawthorne (200m, 400m IM) was named to the U.S. 2010-2011 National Youth Team, as was USC men's freshman Jack Wagner (100m, 200m free and 200m back).
SALO INDUCTED INTO ASCA HALL OF FAME
Dave Salo joined join Jack Baurele, Bob Bowman, Jerry Holtrey and David Marsh as 2010 inductees into the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame at the ASCA's Annual Awards Banquet in Indianapolis Sept. 4. Salo has mentored numerous Olympic and World Championships medalists, All-Americans and NCAA champions during a career that has spanned more than 25 years. Among the Olympic medalists that Salo has coached are Rebecca Soni, Ous Mellouli, Larsen Jensen, Aaron Peirsol, Jason Lezak, Lenny Krayzelburg, Stacianna Stitts, Colleen Lanne, Amanda Beard and Gabe Woodward.
NEW ASSISTANT COACH
Salo added a new assistant coach to the Trojan staff this spring, Kevin Clements, a 14-time NCAA All-American at Auburn and former American record holder who comes to USC after two years as an assistant at LSU and three years at Maryland. At USC, Clements will work with all groups but more extensively with the Trojans' freestylers and IM'ers. He will aid in the recruiting efforts for the women's team and brings with him a great deal of swimming knowledge ranging from his international experience to winning an NCAA team championship.
Players Mentioned
