Jan. 3, 2000

LAS VEGAS - The men's swimming and diving team will host the California Golden Bears on Wednesday, January 5 at 2pm in the Buchanan Natatorium. The Pac-10 powerhouse celebrated a fourth-place national finish at the 1999 NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, IN. The team is coached by Nort Thornton, entering his 26th year as the Golden Bears' Head Coach.

The Rebels will need top performances from Michael Short (San Jose, Calif.), Jacint Simon (Kecskemet, Hungary), Bobby Middleton (Cathedral City, Calif.) and the rest of the Rebel squad on Wednesday. Simon tallied season best times in the 500 Free (4:23.80), 1650 Free (15:31.19), and the 200 Fly (1:48.30) at the Winter Invite two weeks ago. Middleton added to the best times list with marks of 55.50 in the 100 Breast and 2:03.17 in the 200 Breast. Short will be utilized in the 50 Free, 100 Free and will play a key role in the 200 R-Free, 400 R-Free, and 200 R-Medley.

The men's and women's teams will then head to Florida for training and to compete at Florida Atlantic Saturday, January 8. The Florida Atlantic Invitational will be one of the bigger invites the Rebels will compete in. They will face schools such as Nebraska, Iowa, New Mexico, and Texas A&M.