By Dan D’Addona.
The USC men’s swim team has a challenging weekend ahead, facing two Pac-12 powers as the Trojans prepare for the Pac-12 Championships.
On Friday, No. 14 USC faces No. 1 Cal, then on Saturday, the Trojans face No. 8 Stanford.
This will be a telling week for the Pac-12 as all three teams are ranked.
Meanwhile, on Saturday No. 12 Arizona State swims at No. 18 Arizona in a rivalry matchup. The Sun Devils are the upstart team in the conference and coach Bob Bowman has them on the upswing.
Arizona will look to hang on to rivalry bragging rights on its senior day in the men’s and women’s meet. The Wildcat women are ranked No. 17.
While Cal seems to be the favorite in the conference, with most of the Golden Bears tapering for the NCAA championships, a lot of things can happen at the conference meet.
All five of these teams will have a chance to make a major impact at Pac-12s and any one swim could make the difference.
Will Ryan Murphy’s points keep Cal significantly ahead?
Will Arizona State’s Cameron Craig make a freshman surge?
Will USC’s Patrick Mulcare prove he belongs with the nation’s elite?
Will Arizona’s youth continue to prove themselves?
Will Stanford freshman True Sweetser continue his success?
These are all questions that will be answered at the Pac-12 Championships, but we will get a hint of the answers this week as the top five teams in the conference face off.
With just three dual meets, it seems like a light week for the Pac-12, but in fact, there hasn’t been a weekend so important to the men’s season.
Rivalries, ranked teams and elite swimmers — this weekend will have a little bit of everything, and it will give each team a little bit of extra motivation as they aim for the conference championship.
Arizona doesn’t have bragging rights, they lost last year….?