Men's Swimming & Diving | March 29, 2019

Senior Carsten Vissering, for the second day in a row, led USC's efforts with powerful breaststroke performances, breaking USC's school record in the 100y breast for the eighth time while also leading Troy into the A final of the 200y medley relay on Friday (March 29) at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas.
 
The Trojans moved into 12^th Friday night with 75 points thanks to Vissering, the relay and junior Mario Koenigsperger's first scoring swim. California continues to lead the team competition with 372 points with Texas second (329), Indiana third (277.5) and North Carolina State fourth (215).
 
Vissering twice lowered his school record on Friday, first with a 50.68 in the 100y breast prelims to take the third seed in the final behind Minnesota freshman Max McHugh's 50.30 and Indiana senior Ian Finnerty's 50.61.
 
In the final, Vissering finished second by lowering his best by another 0.38 to 50.30 while Finnerty won at 49.85, the second fastest swim ever with McHugh third (50.52). The 50.30 is the eighth time Vissering has lowered the school record, first doing it by breaking Vladimir Morozov's 52.01 with a 51.82 in the 2017 Pac-12 Championships prelims.
 
"That hundred along with this meet has been such a surreal experience for me," Vissering said. "It felt great to race my last hundred breast as a Trojan but what really makes it special are my teammates, coaches, and support staff, and family and  seeing them in my corner is what pushes me to my best."
 
Koenigsperger has had his own breaststroke success this season. He twice lowered his PR in the 100y breast today, first with a 52.22 to earn a spot in the B final and then again with a 52.12 to finish fifth in the consolation race. He lowered his personal best four times during the season.
 
Vissering joined seniors Patrick Mulcare and Kyle Grissom as well as sophomore Nikola Miljenic in earning a spot in the 200y medley relay A final with a 1:24.07 to grab the eighth spot. In the final, the quartet posted a season-best 1:23.82, eighth overall, 0.01 out of second.
 
Senior Alex Valente competed in the 100y fly prelims, finishing 45^th (47.02). Mulcare was 34^th in the 100y back (46.65).
 
Said USC Coach Dave Salo: "Despite a lack of depth, the men's team has been grinding it out with strong relays and individual races to keep us battling for top 10. Carsten has been focused on the 100 breaststroke all season long and this is his first second-place finish. It came against some great competition but I know he was disappointed by not throwing down a 49 second swim.
 
"All of our relays have moved up in the rankings and I'm very proud of these guys for stepping up each night to be better. One more day to go and looking for Patrick Mulcare to finish strong in the 200 back. Everyone also believes Mario is ready to throw down a strong 200 breast."