Men’s swimming and diving wins Pac-12 championship


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The No. 11 men’s swimming and diving team won the 2015 Pac-12 Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Federal Way, Washington over the weekend, the team’s first Pac-12 title since 1979.

The Trojans won with a program-record 818.5 points, coming from behind on the final night to overtake Stanford (809.5) by a slim nine-point margin. A margin of victory of nine points or less hasn’t decided a match since 1999, when Stanford beat Cal by eight points. Defending champion California placed third (673), Arizona was fourth (508), Arizona State was fifth (309) and Utah was sixth (283).

“The men were on fire all weekend long. I’m really proud of the team for building on the momentum and supporting each other. We had incredible energy,” USC coach Dave Salo said.

Senior Cristian Quintero made history when he became the first Pac-12 swimmer ever to win the 100y, 200y and 500y free in the same meet, winning the 100y free in 42.21. Quintero was named Pac-12 Swimmer of the Meet for his historic performance.

“I can’t speak highly enough about the performance of Cristian Quintero,” Salo said.  “It stands on its own. But his quiet leadership certainly pushed the envelope of our performances by so many others. The sophomore class came through the way we knew they could but did not quite materialize last year. Mike Domagala, Reed Malone, Santo Condorelli, Steven Stumph, Dylan Carter and the rest of them were amazing.”

Freshman Ralf Tribuntsov took fifth in the race in 42.88, while sophomore Reed Malone finished sixth in 43.03. The four swimmers now make up four of the top-six fastest Trojans ever in the event.

“And the incredible performance by our freshman Ralf Tribuntsov cannot be overstated,” Salo said. “He came through when we might not have expected it given his freshman status. Now that we know how to win we have to make this a habit.”

Sophomore Steven Stumph won the 200y breast to take home USC’s first conference title in the race since 2001. Junior Ridge Altman finished fifth in 1:55.04, senior Andrew Malone took seventh in 1:55.66 and junior Morten Klarskov was eighth (1:55.84) in his third-straight final in the race.

In the platform finals held last week, Trojan divers scored crucial points to add to USC’s winning total, as junior Collin Pollard was third (395.60) and senior Jordan Gear was fourth (360.35). Junior Deon Reid was ninth (313.00) and freshman Dashiell Enos was 14th (269.25).

The Trojans entered the 400 yard free relay, the final event of the event, with a 3-point lead. Tribuntsov, Condorelli, Malone and Quintero won the event in 2:49.50 to solidify the conference win for USC.

“This championship was an outstanding example of the camaraderie every member on this team feels towards each other,” Malone said. “Everyone had a role to play and every person stepped into that role without hesitation, not for themselves, but for the team.”

The NCAA Championships will be held from March 26-28 in Iowa City, Iowa.