October 6, 1998
For USC's men's and women's swimmers, it's hard to tell when their seasons begin and end.
School has started and training for the upcoming 1998-99 schedule has already begun. But, then again, it never really ended. Swimming is a year-round sport for them. The NCAA Championships may have ended in late March, but for many Trojans, the competition season was just warming up.
There were the U.S.S. Spring Nationals in April and the Summer Nationals in August. There were the Goodwill Games in July as well as a host of regional meets throughout the summer, like the Janet Evans Invitational hosted by USC.
And it proved to be a very successful summer for anyone swimming under the Cardinal & Gold. Whether it be current, incoming or recently graduated, numerous Trojan swimmers qualified for international competitions in 1999 with their 1998 summer performances.
It's enough to make a swimming coach proud, not to mention eager for the NCAA season to begin.
"When swimmers come to school at USC, they usually have two goals in mind athletically," USC men's and women's swimming coach Mark Schubert said. "One is to be a part of a national championship team and the other is to represent their country in national and international competition.
"We try to provide them the opportunity to achieve both goals and it is very satisfying to watch them improve and accomplish those goals."
Lenny Krayzelburg was USC's, and perhaps the country's, most decorated swimmer in 1998. He opened the year by winning two gold medals in the 100m and 200m backstrokes at the world championships in January. He also posted a gold-medal effort at the Goodwill Games before sweeping the backstroke again at the Summer Nationals. In the last meet, he reset his American record in the 200m back (1:57.38). The time earned him the Phillips Performance Award for best swim of the meet. Though his eligibility was exhausted in May, Krayzelburg is still a student at USC and is training at the school.
"Arguably, Lenny was probably the most successful male swimmer in the country this year," Schubert said.
USC's top women's swimmer, senior All-American Lindsay Benko, put together an outstanding summer that was capped by her first national title when she won the 200m freestyle at the Summer Nationals. The swim was good enough to qualify her for the Pan Pacific Championships next year in Australia. Joining her on the squad will be Krayzelburg and recent Trojan alumnus Brad Bridgewater. (The Lenny-Brad backstroke duo, by the way, have been ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the 200m back throughout 1998.)
"Lindsay certainly did some spectacular things this past year," said Schubert of the women's co-captain. "She made her first international final at the World Championships and although she didn't have a fantastic NCAAs like in previous years, considering all the demands of the Worlds, she swam well."
Senior Bela Szabados, the top returning men's swimmer for USC, wasn't at any of the U.S. meets this summer. A native of Hungary, he spent his summer competing on the European circuit. Szabados was a three-time All-American last year and will compete at the World Short Course Championships next year.
"Bela is adjusting to his role on the team as someone who we need to not only do well individually but on the relays as well," Schubert said. "He probably has the toughest workload on the team because we depend on him to anchor the relays and win individually. He handled it last year and whenever he steps up to the block, he's a threat to win."
A couple of other threats to win any time they race are a pair of Trojan women who qualified for the Pan American Games next year. All-Americans Karen Campbell, a senior co-captain, and Alexis Binder, a sophomore, were both finalists at the Summer Nationals, with Binder finishing fifth in the 800m freestyle and seventh in the 1500m freestyle and Campbell taking fourth in the 100m butterfly.
"This summer, Alexis became a real international threat," Schubert said. "This summer she took to training at a new level and was able to do things in practice that I haven't seen since Janet Evans trained here. Her potential is unlimited.
"Karen continues to improve and is one of our most valuable assets. She has made great strides and has developed more confidence and certainly has a chance to challenge for an individual championship in the 100 or 200 fly at the NCAAs."
Another Pan Am Games qualifier is freshman David Hartzel. He made the consolation final of the 400m free and took 19th in the 800m free at Summer Nationals and, according to Schubert, "is a multi-talented swimmer." All-American seniors Mike Williams and Mark Kwok and All- American sophomore Philippe Demers all earned spots on the 1999 U.S. Short Course World Championship squad. Williams, the men's captain, took seventh in the finals of the 100m fly at the Summer Nationals and Demers reached the bonus finals of the 100m and 200m free. Kwok will represent Hong Kong at the meet and will also swim at the Asian Games.
"Mike did a terrific job at the NCAAs not only individually, but his contributions in the relays were huge," Schubert said. "He also had a great meet at nationals. We're excited about his senior year and we are looking for a big season from him as well a lot of leadership.
"Philippe made big contributions on our relays at the NCAAs and scored in three individual events. I hope he will really take a leadership role on the team and become a dominant swimmer here.
"Mark has improved every year. I anticipate him being able to final in multiple events at the NCAAs and help us on more than one relay."
Sophomore All-American Corrie Murphy made the finals of the 400m IM and reached the consolation finals in the 200m back at the Summer Nationals. It was good enough for a spot on the U.S. World University Games team.
"Corrie's speed continues to improve. Her backstroke has been spectacularly strong and even her middle distance free is coming back to her," Schubert said. "She is going to be a major leader on the team."
A pair of men's swimmers also made the U.S. World University Games team: sophomore Gabe Woodward and freshman Mark Warkentin.
At the Summer Nationals, Woodward reached the bonus final of the 100m freestyle. Warkentin finished sixth in the 800m freestyle and seventh in the 400m freestyle.
"Mark has been a consistent national finalist and seems to have really gained confidence with his performances at nationals this year," Schubert said. "Gabe showed a lot of improvement last year and he's going to be one of the people we will depend on to improve and contribute this year."
Junior All-American Bret Awbrey earned a spot on the Goodwill Games team this summer with his second-place finish in the 200m butterfly at the Spring Nationals. At the Goodwill Games, Awbrey posted personal bests in both the 100m and 200m butterfly.
Senior All-American diver Dorte Lindner spent the summer competing for Germany and qualified for the World Diving World Cup next year. On the men's side, sophomore All-American diver Justin Dumais, a longtime U.S. national team member, competed at the Goodwill Games this summer.
