Men of Troy will defend Pac-12 title


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Less than a week after the USC women’s swimming and diving team captured its first conference championship in more than three decades, the men’s team will have their turn to begin a run at a Pac-12 title of their own.

The No. 9 Trojans come into the Pac-12 Championships with a 9-1 record on the season, and they’ve won four of their five Pac-12 meets — including a sweep of second-ranked Cal and No. 11 Stanford. The last time the Trojans beat both of their Bay Area rivals in the same season was 1997.

Trojan swimmers will have to face off against swimmers from these top-ranked teams once again and they will also be taking on No. 20 Arizona State and Utah — two teams USC has already beaten this season. Five of the six teams competing in the conference championships are ranked in the nation’s top-25, and the Trojans’ path to defending last year’s Pac-12 title will not be an easy one.

“Cal, Stanford and Arizona are all very competitive teams that will be making an impact at the NCAA Championships later in March,” head coach Dave Salo said. Salo led USC to their first conference championship since 1979 last year.

“Winning the Pac-12 Championships gives the team just a little more confidence that we are one of the top teams in the country,” Salo said.

The Trojans are off to a good start in the conference championships, even before the swimmers hit the lanes. The Pac-12 men’s diving championships took place last week, concurrently with the women’s conference championships. USC boasted strong individual performances from sophomore Dashiell Enos and senior Collin Pollard. Enos finished first in the three-meter with a score of 419.35, and Pollard, competing in his final postseason for the Trojans, won the platform event with a score of 427.7 to go along with his second-place finish in the one-meter. USC is currently tied with Stanford atop the leaderboard, and both schools lead third-place Cal by nearly 100 points.

“I am so thrilled with my overall performance this weekend,” Pollard said after the meet. “I stayed consistent and really tried my best to perform up to my abilities not only on platform but on one-meter as well.”

When the swimmers get started Wednesday, the Trojans will have plenty of individuals to showcase as well.

Junior Steven Stumph won the 200-yard breast championship at last year’s Pac-12 meet, and fellow junior Reed Malone will look to improve upon his success at last year’s Pac-12s, where he finished second in the 500-yard freestyle.

Malone is one of three Trojan captains, and all of them will need to be at their best in order for USC to win the title. Seniors Morten Klarskov and Ted Singley have been keystone performers for the Trojans this season, and both will be competing in their final conference championships.

“We are relying on our captains to step up and lead the way with their performances,” Salo said. “Now we need them to score big against our main rivals.”

As important as veteran leadership is to a team’s success, the Trojans will also have to rely on some swimmers with no collegiate postseason experience. Freshmen Carsten Vissering, Patrick Mulcare and Alex Valente will all swim in individual events at the meet, and other freshmen are expected to make contributions to relay events.

The events that make up the Pac-12 Championships will begin on Wednesday and will continue until Saturday, when the champion will be crowned. All events will take place at Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington, and the final three days of the meet will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.