Trojans begin national championship chase
No. 5 USC men’s swimming and diving team and No. 7 women’s swimming and diving team join forces to begin their journeys to the NCAA championships with the NCAA Zone Diving Championships at the United States Air Force Academy in Fort Collins, Colo., from Thursday to Saturday.
Both teams are coming off strong finishes in the Pac-12 championships, with the women’s team finishing third and the men’s team finishing fourth.
The women are led by senior Victoria Ishimatsu, who is coming off her fourth-straight Pac-12 3-meter title and her third straight 1-meter title. Ishimatsu closed out the 2012 Pac-12 championships with a second-place finish in platform. Freshman Jessica Warren also took seventh in the event.
The men’s side is headed by freshman Jordan Gear, who had three finals appearances in the Pac-12 Men’s Diving Championships, including a fourth-place finish in the platform final, and freshman Cody Walwick, who appeared in two finals events.
The events start Thursday with the women’s 1-meter prelims and finals and the men’s 3-meter prelims and finals.
What you talkin’ about Salo. Men finished fourth in the conference championships and are ranked fifth in the nation.
Only one other team in the country ranked ahead of the Trojans outside their own conference. Give me a break.