NCAA Div. I Men: Cal, USC Tangle on Saturday

BERKELEY, Feb. 1. THE NO. 7-RANKED University of California men's swim team hosts No. 8-ranked University of Southern California in a Pac-10 thriller this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Bears (4-0, 2-0 in Pac-10) look to remain undefeated in dual meet competition this year, but will get a tough fight from a strong Trojan team.

HEAD COACH NORT THORNTON
Nort Thornton, the 1999 Pacific-10 Coach of the Year, is in his 27th season as Cal's head men's swim coach. Thornton, the dean of the Pac-10 swimming coaches, has a career dual meet record of 193-76 (.717) with the Golden Bears and his squad finished fifth in the nation at the 2000 NCAA Championship. Thornton led Cal to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1979 and 1980.

BEAR NOTES
In its last dual meet competitions, the No. 7 ranked California men's swim team (4-0, 2-0 in Pac-10) upset No. 6 ranked Arizona, 129-112, Jan. 19 in Tucson, AZ, and defeated No. 13 ranked Arizona State, 162-133, Jan. 20 in Tempe, AZ.

Against the Wildcats, the Bears won eight of the meet's 11 events with five different swimmers winning individual events. Cal was paced by sophomore Anthony Ervin, who won both the 50 (20.06) and the 100 free (44.22), and swam the freestyle leg on the Bears' winning 200 medley relay.

Other individual winners for Cal were junior Peter
Aronsson (200 IM 1:52.51), junior Hiro Sakoda (200 fly
1:49.04), freshman Alex Lim (200 back 1:47.88) and
sophomore Daniel Kim (200 breast 2:04.75). The Bears
also won the 200 medley relay (1:31.27, junior Matt
Macedo, Kim, Lim, Ervin) and the 400 free relay
3:02.91, Macedo, senior Scott Greenwood, junior Matt
Burny, sophomore Trent Holsman).

Cal won 11 events against Arizona State, highlighted by three individual victories by Lim. Lim picked up wins in the 100 back (48.94), 200 back (1:47.65) and 100 fly (49.33). He was also a member of Cal's victorious 400 medley relay (3:18.21 Lim, Kim, Sakoda, Ervin). Other individual winners for the Bears against the Sun Devils were junior Ryan Gruver in the 1000 free (9:22.74), Kim in the 100 breast (56.04), Sakoda in the 200 fly (1:50.52), Ervin in the 100 free (43.87) and Aronsson in the 200 breast (2:03.53). Cal also won the 200 free relay (1:21.04 sophomore Frank Uxa, Greenwood, Macedo, Ervin) and the 400 free relay (swam as an exhibition 2:58.76 Burney, Macedo, Green-wood,Ervin).

At this point of the season, Anthony Ervin has the
nation's top collegiate time in the 100 free (43.10 NCAA automatic) and the second best time in the 50 free
(19.57 NCAA automatic). Other Bears who have top collegiate times this season include Daniel Kim, with the nation's fifth best time in the 100 breast (55.14), and freshman Alex Lim with the nation's 11th best time in the 100 back (48.94). Cal's 200 free relay is the third fastest in the nation (1:19.25), the 400 free relay is the third fastest in the nation (2:55.36 NCAA automatic), the 200 medley (1:29.41)and 800 free relays (6:37.69) are the fifth fastest in the
nation, and the 400 medley relay is the eighth fastest in the nation (3:17.18).

NOTING USC
Cal has a 10-48 all-time record against No. 8 ranked USC (3-1, 1-1 in Pac-10), falling to the Trojans in the last meeting between the two schools,128-115, Feb. 4, 2000 in Los Angeles. USC is led by sophomore Erik Vendt, who won the silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley (4:14.23) at the 2000 Olympic Games and was the 2000 NCAA champion in the 1,500-meter freestyle (14:31.02 short course meters). Vendt currently has the nation's second-best time in the 1,000 free (9:00.91).

Another top swimmer for the Trojans is junior Tamas Kerekjarto, who currently has the nation's second-best time in the 200 IM (1:48.24) and third-best time in the 400 IM (3:51.30). USC head coach, Mark Schubert, was the United States' men's swimming coach at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

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