MARK SCHUBERT
2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
MARK SCHUBERT HEAD COACH •14TH YEAR
Mark Schubert, who is in his 14th year as head coach of the USC men’s swimming team and 13th in charge of the women’s team, has led a program at Troy that mirrors his own career as a coach. Both are unparalleled. Each feature a storied resume of NCAA accolades, a distinguished history of Olympic success and a blossoming international relationship that complements it all. Here are the basics. Schubert has won three NCAA team titles and his squads have won 49 NCAA individual titles. USC’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have won a combined 10 team titles and 146 NCAA (and AIAW) individual titles. In August of 2004, in Athens, Greece, Schubert had his third stint as a United States Swimming head coach and his seventh consecutive assignment as an Olympic coach. Also in Athens, USC swimmers and divers continued their own Olympic success, winning a combined 13 medals, including four golds. Among Troy’s aquatic accomplishments is accounting for almost half of the USC Athletic Department’s Olympic medal count, which totals more than 200. And more and more, both Schubert and USC are enjoying their success thanks to teams with rosters that read like a United Nations’ roll call. In the past four seasons alone, USC has had swimmers from Sweden, Great Britain, Italy, Guatemala, Canada, Brazil, Hungary, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Costa Rica. All three areas have converged the last three years, shining in national and international. Most recently, at the 2005 World Championships in Montreal, junior Larsen Jensen won a pair of silver medals (800m and 1500m free) while senior Ous Mellouli won two bronze medals (400m IM and 400m free). Former great Kaitlin Sandeno won a gold (800m free relay) and a bronze (400m IM) while diver Blythe Hartley won a gold (1meter). USC was well represented in Athens in 2004 with 18 athletes from four continents competing. Among the medal winners were Klete Keller, Erik Vendt, Hartley (Canada), Jensen and Sandeno while others like Ous (Tunisia) and Kalyn Keller were finalists. Mellouli also won a gold at the 2004 World Championships. In 2003, Mellouli, Mihaly Flaskay (Hungary), Hartley, Vendt, USC great Lindsay Benko and
Jensen all won medals at the 2003 World Championships (Schubert was an assistant coach for the U.S. team) in what was a preview of the 2004 Games. Jensen and Kalyn Keller shared the spotlight with Sandeno at the 2003 U.S. Summer Nationals, dominating much of the event with a combined eight titles. NCAA titles by Mellouli (400y IM) and Jensen (1650y free) highlighted USC’s men’s efforts at the 2005 NCAA Championships. Seven Trojans won AllAmerican honors last year, including Flaskay, who barely missed an NCAA title with a second in the 100y breast. Hartley won an NCAA title on 3-meter springboard to highlight USC’s women’s efforts, which included an All-American performance from Marisa Kozak and an All-American showing in the 800y free relay. Though USC finished out of the running at the NCAA Championships in 2004, Troy still had some amazing results. Sandeno won two NCAA titles and took second in a third while Kalyn Keller won her first NCAA title (the two also combined to win four Pac-10 titles). The men’s team was highlighted a pair of second-place finishes by Mellouli, who also won three Pac-10 individual titles. The 2003 season was extremely successful as the both teams remained among the elite in the country. Schubert guided the women to third place at the NCAA Championships, its highest finish since winning the team title in 1997. The women’s team had five All-American swimmers who earned a combined 16 All-American honors. The men’s squad took fifth for the second year in a row and finished in the top six for the seventh year in a row. The team featured eight swimmers who earned a combined 21 AllAmerican honors. Since Schubert came on board at Troy in 1992, he has directed his men’s squads into the top seven at the NCAA Championships eight times and has guided the women’s team into
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the top seven nine times, including its first-ever national championship in 1997. Also in that span, his women’s squads have produced 17 NCAA individual titles, one relay title, 28 Pac-10 individual titles and one relay title. His men’s teams have won nine NCAA individual titles, one NCAA relay title, 32 Pac10 individual titles and five Pac-10 relay titles. Additionally, the men’s and women’s swimming programs are a combined 137-54 in dual-meet competition under Schubert. Schubert is also the director of the highly successful Trojan Swim Club, which won the 1999 U.S. Summer Nationals women’s and combined team championships and the 2003 U.S. Summer Nationals women’s title. His “Swim with SChubert” swim camp, like his USC and Trojan Swim Club teams, works out of USC’s McDonald’s Swim Stadium. One of the United States’ most recognizable and successful coaches of all-time, Schubert was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on Jan. 10, 1997 as “Honor Coach.” The same year, he also was named Coach of the Year by five organizations: American Swimming Coaches Association, United States Olympic Committee, United States Swimming, NCAA and Pac-10. Two years later, he earned a trio of Coach of the Year awards in 1999, coming from the USOC, ASCA and USS. Schubert’s international coaching experience is highlighted by his seven consecutive coaching appearances with U.S. Olympic swim teams. In
2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
Mark Schubert‘s Collegiate Record YEAR 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
SCHOOL Texas (W) Texas (W) Texas (W) Texas (W) USC (M) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W)
RECORD 6-2 9-1 6-1 7-1 8-3 8-1 8-1 6-2 8-1 8-1 9-1 8-0 9-1
PAC-10 — — — — 2-2 3-1 4-1 2-2 4-1 3-1 4-1 4-0 4-1
NCAA FIN. 2 1 1 2 13 6 6 10 7 7 4 6 1
NCAA TITLES 4 5 8 3 0 0 4 0 0 0 5 1 4
CONF. FINISH 1 1 1 1 4 3 3 3 4 4 3 2 2
USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W)
5-2 8-1 6-1 6-2 5-2 5-3 3-3 4-3 4-5 5-4 5-3 5-3 1-6 3-5 4-3 1-5-1 169-67-1 71-32 71-30-1
2-2 4-1 3-1 3-2 2-2 2-3 1-3 2-3 0-4 1-4 2-2 2-3 0-4 1-4 2-2 0-4-1
5 5 6 6 6 7 4 6 5 4 3 3 14 9 9 10
0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 4 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 49 10 17
2 2 2 2 3 5 2 3 4 2 3 3 4 6 3 5
Overall USC (Men) USC (Women)
Mark Schubert’s Career Highlights HAS WON THREE NCAA TEAM TITLES, TWO AT TEXAS (1990-91) AND ONE AT USC (1997) • HIS ATHLETES AT THE TWO SCHOOLS HAVE WON 49 NCAA INDIVIDUAL AND RELAY TITLES • HAS PLACED 38 OF HIS SWIMMERS ON U.S. OLYMPIC TEAMS, INCLUDING TRIPLE MEDALLIST KAITLIN SANDENO (2004), TRIPLE GOLD MEDAL WINNERS LENNY KRAYZELBURG (2000) AND MARY T. MEAGHER (1984) AND DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL WINNERS TIFFANY COHEN (1984) AND BRIAN GOODELL (1976) • HAS COACHED U.S. TEAMS IN THEM LAST SEVEN OLYMPICS, INCLUDING SERVING AS HEAD COACH OF THE U.S. WOMEN’S TEAM IN 2004, THE MEN’S TEAM IN 2000 AND THE WOMEN’S TEAM IN 1992. HIS 2000 MEN’S TEAM WON 16 MEDALS, INCCLUDING SEVEN GOLDS. HIS 1992 WOMEN’S TEAM WON 14 MEDALS, INCLUDING FIVE GOLDS. • INDUCTED INTO THE INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING HALL OF FAME IN 1997
HONORS 1990 NCAA Coach of the Year 1992 Olympic Head Coach
1996 Olympic Assistant Coach 1996 Pac-10 Coach of the Year 1997 NCAA, Pac-10, USS, USOC, ASCA Coach of the Year 1999 USS, USOC and ASCA Coach of the Year 2000 Olympic Head Coach
Mark Schubert’s U.S. Olympians 2004 Lindsay Benko ..........................................1 GOLD Larsen Jensen ........................................... 1 SILVER Rhi Jeffrey ................................................1 GOLD Kayln Keller Klete Keller ............................1 GOLD, 1 BRONZE Lenny Krayzelburg.....................................1 GOLD Kaitlin Sandeno ....... 1 GOLD, 1 SILVER, 1 BRONZE Erik Vendt ................................................ 1 SILVER Gabe Woodward ................................. 1 BRONZE 2000 Klete Keller ............................ 1 SILVER, 1 BRONZE Lenny Krayzelburg.....................................3 GOLD Lindsay Benko ..........................................1 GOLD Erik Vendt ................................................ 1 SILVER
1980 (USA Boycott) Steve Barnicoat Jesse Vassallo Brian Goodell Mary Beth Linzmeier 1976 Brian Goodell .........................................2 GOLD Casey Converse Shirley Babashoff ....................................1 GOLD ............................................................... 4 SILVER Maryanne Graham Nicole Kramer Marsha Morey
1996 Brad Bridgewater .....................................1 GOLD Janet Evans Kristine Quance .....................................1 GOLD 1992 Janet Evans .............................................1 GOLD ............................................................... 1 SILVER Erika Hansen Lawrence Frostad 1988 Dan Veatch Erika Hansen Susan Johnson 1984 Mike O’Brien ..........................................1 GOLD Rich Saeger ............................................1 GOLD Tiffany Cohen .........................................2 GOLD Mary T. Meagher .....................................3 GOLD Dara Torres .............................................1 GOLD Amy White .............................................. 1 SILVER
2005-2006 USC Swimming and Diving
Lenny Krayzelburg 41
2005-2006 Coaches Profiles addition to his aforementioned post in 2004, he headed the men’s team in 2000, was as an assistant in 1996 and was head coach in 1992. Schubert was an assistant for the combined men’s and women’s teams in 1980, 1984 and 1988. He was also the head coach of the 1982 U.S. World Championship team and was an assistant on the 1978, 1982, 1986, 1991, 1994, 1998 and 2003 World Championships staffs. His Trojan swimmers captured four medals in Rome and four more in Perth, Australia. In his 34 years of coaching, Schubert has placed 38 swimmers on U.S. Olympic teams; these athletes have won 23 gold and 11 silver medals, plus eight world championship titles. Even more impressive, Schubert’s swimmers have broken 27 world and more than 115 American records and have won more than 200 U.S. national titles. Schubert’s swimmers had a great summer of 2002. Benko set a world record in the 200m free at the Short Course World Championships, winning two golds and swimming on three American record-breaking relays. She also won gold at the Pan Pacs. Vendt went under the world record in the 400m IM at
the U.S. Summer Nationals, but was barely edged by Michael Phelps at the wall. He won a pair of silvers in the 400m IM and the 1500m free at
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the Pan Pacs and was NCAA Swimmer of the Year. Among Schubert’s top swimmers in 2001 included twotime World Championship bronze medallist Klete Keller, World Championship silver medallist Vendt as well as World University Games medallists Ryosuke Imai and Mark Warkentin. Among the Olympians he coached in Sydney in 2000 were three-time gold medallist Lenny Krayzelburg, gold medallist Benko, silver medallist Vendt and silver and bronze medallist Keller. As the U.S. Olympic head coach for men, he guided the team to seven gold, six silver and three bronze medals. Krayzelburg, one of Schubert’s most recent phenoms, set the swimming world ablaze when he broke three backstroke world records at the 1999 Pan-Pacs, where Schubert served as head coach. For her part, Benko won five medals there and was part of an American record relay. Warkentin held his own by winning four gold medals at the 1999 World University Games. Overall, Schubert placed 12 swimmers on various U.S. National teams in 1998 and 1999, including 1998 World Championship participants Krayzelburg, Bard Bridgewater and Benko. Krayzelburg, Bridgewater,
2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
Bret Awbrey and Warkentin all competed for the U.S. at the 1998 Goodwill Games. Pan-Pac participants from 1999 included Krayzelburg, Benko and Bridgewater. Leonardo Costa and Karen Campbell made Schubert proud at the 1999 Pan Am Games, each taking home a gold. Rounding out the international competition were Corrie Murphy and Gabe Woodward at the World University Games and Paige Francis, Mike Williams, Philippe Demers and Costa at the 1999 World Short Course Championships. In 1997, Schubert led USC to its first ever NCAA women’s swimming and diving team title that was led by huge efforts from Kristine Quance and Benko. Schubert’s 1996 Atlanta Olympic performers included Bridgewater and Quance (both gold medalists) and Janet Evans (a gold medallist in Barcelona and Seoul). As the 1992 USA Women’s Olympic head coach, he guided the American women to two gold medal relay world records, four additional American records and an impressive world-leading 14 medals, including five gold. He has also coached Erika Hansen (formerly a USC assistant coach), Lawrence Frostad, former Olympic champions Mary T. Meagher (a triple gold medallist in 1984) and double gold medallist Tiffany Cohen, Trojans Sippy Woodhead and Mike O’Brien as well as Olympic champions Brian Goodell and Shirley Babashoff. Schubert came to USC from the University of Texas, where his swimmers won two NCAA team titles (1990 and 1991) and four Southwest Conference championships in his four years there (1989-92). His Longhorn swimmers won 12 NCAA individual and eight relay titles and Schubert was named 1990 NCAA Coach of the Year for his efforts. Among the swimmers Schubert coached to NCAA titles were American record holders Leigh Ann Fetter and Whitney Hedgpeth. He also served as the head coach of the 350-member Texas Aquatics U.S. Swimming club team that won 10 national titles during his four-year tenure. Prior to taking over at Texas, Schubert was one of the top club coaches in the U.S., serving as the head coach of the Mission Bay Makos Swim
Team in Boca Raton, Fla., which won nine national team titles from 198689. Schubert helped design the Mission Bay Aquatic Center and directed daily operations of one of the world’s most comprehensive aquatic centers, including competitive swimming, diving and master’s programs. Schubert initially made his mark on the national level as the head coach of the internationally renowned and highly successful Mission Viejo (Calif.) Nadadores from 1972 to 1985. While there, he coached such talented swimmers as Cohen, Meagher, Babashoff, Brian Goodell, Mike O’Brien, Jesse Vassallo, Sippy Woodhead and Dara Torres. His teams won a national-record 44 national team titles during his tenure. Schubert was named national Coach of the Year by the American Swimming Coaches Association in 1981, 1976 and 1975. Schubert coached at the high school level at Cuyahoga Falls (Ohio) High from 1971 to 1972 and at Mission Viejo (Calif.) High from 1973 to 1975, where his team won the 1975 CIF title. He is a 1971 graduate of Kentucky with a B.A. in education (he swam there from 1967-69), and he began his coaching career with the Wildcats, serving as an assistant coach from 1969 to 1971. His swimming-related duties include serving on the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) Board of Directors since 1975. He is a former vice-president and member of the Board of Directors of the College Swim Coaches Association of America. Schubert was honored by NACDA (the National Association of Athletic Directors) for his role in the success of the 1992 and 1996 USA Olympic Team. Schubert and his wife, Joke, live in Seal Beach, Calif., with their daughters, Tatum, 28, and Leigh, 26, both former swimmers. Joke was the head manager for the U.S. swimmers at the 2000 Olympics and was an assistant manager for the U.S. swim team at the 1996 Olympics.
2005-2006 USC Swimming and Diving
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2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
VIC RIGGS
LINDSAY MINTENKO
Vic Riggs, a veteran swim coach with more than a decade of experience coaching club swimmers from the developmental to Olympic levels, is in his third year as head assistant coach on USC’s staff. In his second year at USC, Riggs helped guide Ous Mellouli (400y IM) and Larsen Jensen (1650y Free) to their first NCAA titles. He was also key in the development of All-Americans Mihaly Flaskay (second in the 100y breast at the NCAAs) and Sean Sussex (fourth fastest 50y free performance in school history). Overall, he helped coach 12 Trojan men’s and women’s swimmers earn All-American recognition. In his first year at USC, Riggs helped coach 2004 All-Americans Ous Mellouli and Paul Fahey as well as NCAA champion Kalyn Keller (1500m free), among others. Riggs is the recruiting coordinator for the men’s and women’s teams and is the coach for the sprint and breaststroke groups. Riggs, an All-American swimmer and a two-time Olympic Trial qualifier, joined USC after two years (2001-03) as head coach and owner of the Gator Swim Club in Gainesville, Fla. During that time, he also served as the head coach for the U.S. National Distance Camp in May of 2002, his second consecutive stint as the camp’s head coach (2000). From 1995 to 2001, Riggs, 36, and his wife, Renee, directed the Nellie Gail Saddleback Valley Gators, coaching more than 120 swimmers from ages 5 to 21, from novice level to Olympic. Among the athletes Riggs coached in that time was current Trojan AllAmerican and Olympic medallist Kaitlin Sandeno, who won a bronze at the 2000 Olympics. During his time with NGSV, Riggs coached 15 junior national swimmers who won three junior national titles, set two junior national records, 26 National Championship standards, 15 Top 8 National Championship finishes, 57Junior National qualifying standards and 11 2000 Olympic Trial standards. Before joining efforts with his wife, Riggs served as the senior and age group head coach at Saddleback Valley Aquatics in Lake Forest, Calif., from 1991-95. He was an assistant swim coach at Cal State San Bernardino from 1990-91 and also served as head age group coach for Riverside Aquatics in that time. He began his coaching career in Southern California as the senior assistant at Fullerton Area Sports Team (FAST) in 1989. Riggs competed at California, earning All-American second team notice in 1986 and swam on Cal’s second-place NCAA team that year. He was ranked seventh in the world in the 1500m free and 9th in the 400m free in 1985 and was in the Top 25 in the world in both events in 1984. A 1985 World University Games participant for the U.S., he was an Olympic Trials qualifier in 1984 and 1988. He was a 28-time qualifier for the U.S. Senior Nationals from 1983-89 and won a junior national title in 1982. Riggs is married to wife Renee and they have four girls. They are Abigail, 5, Kathryn, 3, and infant twins, Irene and Caroline.
Former USC NCAA champion and Olympic gold medallist Lindsay Mintenko (formerly Lindsay Benko) was named a USC swimming assistant coach by Head Coach Mark Schubert on July 6, 2005. A five-time NCAA champion at USC from 1996-99, Mintenko (who recently married Olympic swimmer Mike Mintenko) was one of the world’s top freestyle swimmers, winning gold medals as a U.S. team captain at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. A career 10-time U.S. national champion who won three medals at the 2003 World Championships, Benko holds the world and American records in the 200 and 400 freestyles (scm) and is the American record-holder in the 200 free (lcm). She also served as a USC volunteer assistant coach from 2001-2004 while training under Schubert with the Trojan Swim Club. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, Mintenko won her second career gold medal after swimming in the prelims of the 4x200m free relay and won a silver medal after a prelim swim in the 4x100m free relay. She also swam the 200m free. She won her final U.S. national title in the 200m free in the Spring of 2004. In 2003, she won a gold and a silver on two relays at the 2003 World Championships. She also won her eighth and ninth U.S. national titles at the 2003 U.S. Spring Nationals, and was the high-point scorer at the meet. In 2002, she won the 200m free at the Short Course World Championships and the Pan-Pacific Championships. In 2001, she won a gold and a silver at the Goodwill Games. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Benko won gold as part of the 4x200m free relay, swimming the third leg in the final, and also swam in the 200m free and 200m back. Benko served as a co-captain for the U.S. contingent at the 1999 Pan Pacific Championships, also in Sydney, Australia. She proceeded to have the meet of her life down under, winning five medals and swimming on an American record relay. She won a pair of golds in the 4x100m and 4x200m free relays, the latter setting a U.S. record. In fact, her lead-off leg of the relay (1:58.86) was the third-fastest all-time American performance for 200 meters. Benko also won silver medals in the 200m and 400m free and a bronze in the 200m back. Benko’s 10 U.S. national titles included seven in the 200m free, two in the 400m free and one in the 200m back. She won a silver medal at the 1998 World Championships as part of the U.S. 800m free relay and also reached the finals of the 200m free. She also won a gold in the 4x200m free relay at the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships. She finished her career at Troy as a five-time NCAA champion, three in the 500y free (1996, 1997 and 1999) and two in the 200y back (1996 and 1997). Benko, a team captain as a junior and senior, was a 21-time All-American in her four-year stay at USC and reached the NCAA finals in all 12 individual events in which she competed. Benko’s five career NCAA wins at USC is second only to Kristine Quance’s eight and at the end of the 1998-99 spring semester, Benko owned a USC-high eight individual school records and five relay records. She also won six career Pac-10 titles.
HEAD ASSISTANT COACH THIRD YEAR
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ASSISTANT COACH FIRST YEAR
2005-2006 USC Swimming and Diving
2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
PAIGE FRANCIS
TAMAS KEREKJARTO
A six-time Trojan All-American and a member of USC’s first women’s swimming and diving national championship team, Paige Francis is in her first season as an assistant coach with the Trojans and second on the USC staff. Francis served as a graduate assistant coach in 2005. Prior to being hired at USC, Francis trained with the Irvine Novaquatics from 2002-04 while working part-time, but she retired from the sport prior to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials. She lived in Austin before that, working in public affairs and training with the University of Texas women’s team from 2001-02. A four-year swimmer at USC from 1997-2000, Francis graduated from USC with a degree in communications with a minor in business. As a senior in 2000, Francis competed in seven events at the NCAA Championships, earning All-American honors in the 400m medley relay. At the 2000 Pac-10 Championships, she was seventh in the 100y back (55.43) and 10th in the 200y back (1:59.51). As a junior in 1999, Francis was a two-time All-American, anchoring USC’s fifth-place 400y medley relay and swimming second on Troy’s eighth-place 200y free relay. She also swam on the 400y and 800y free relays. Individually, Francis was 28th in the 200y back (2:00.70) and 34th in the 200y free (1:49.89). At the 1999 Pac-10 Championships, Francis finalled in the 200y free, taking eighth in 1:49.04. She represented the United States at the 1999 FINA Short Course World Championships in Hong Kong and had a strong meet, posting a pair of sixth-place finishes in the 100m (1:01.27) and 200m back (2:10.19). Francis reached the finals of the 200m back (2:14.36, scm) at the 1998 FINA World Cup, finishing seventh. She was a 1999 Pac-10 All-Academic second team selection with a 3.17 GPA in communications. As a 1998 sophomore, Francis competed in five events at the NCAA Championships, highlighted by an 18th in the 200y free. She also swam on USC’s 200y, 400y and 800y free relays. Francis was a consolation finalist at the 1998 U.S. Summer Nationals in the 100m back (1:03.51) and competed in the 100m and 200m free and the 200m back. Francis was a three-time All-American as a 1997 freshman, helping lead USC to its first-ever national championship. She swam on USC’s fourth-place 200y medley and 800y free relays and on the seventh-place 400y free relay at the NCAAs. Individually at the NCAAs, she took 11th in the 200y back (1:59.31), 27th in the 100y back (56.26) and 28th in the 200y free (1:49.87). At the 1997 Pac-10 Championships, Francis took fifth in the 200y back (1:59.49), sixth in the 200y free (1:49.65) and 10th in the 200y IM (2:03.65). At the 1997 World University Games, Francis was third in the 100m back (1:03.89). Francis was a prep All-American in the 100y and 200y free and 100y back at Arcadia High in Scottsdale, Ariz., and competed for Phoenix Swim Club. She was a four-time Arizona state champion in the 100y back and a three-time champion in the 200y free.
An eight-time All-American at USC and a two-time Olympian, Tamas Kerekjarto is in his second season as a volunteer assistant coach at USC. Most recently, he represented Hungary at the 2004 Olympics, reaching the semifinals of the 200m IM (finishing 13th overall). He is USC’s second-fastest swimmer ever in the 200y IM (1:45.56) and is fourth-fastest in the 400y IM (3:44.85). He also has a top 10 time in the 200y fly. He was a four-time All-American as a senior in 2002 and helped USC to an NCAA title in the 800y free relay. He also earned All-American honors in the 200y and 400y IM and the 400y free relay. Kerekjarto was a three-time All-American as a 2001 junior, taking fourth in the 200y IM (1:45.65), sixth in the 400y IM (3:44.85) and helping USC to a second-place finish in the 800y free relay at the NCAA Championships. He was also 20th in the 200y fly (1:45.95). At the 2001 Pacific-10 Conference Championships, Kerekjarto was second in the 200y IM (1:46.12), third in the 400y IM (3:45.81) and sixth in the 200y fly (1:45.95). He just missed medalling at the 2001 World University Games, taking fourth in both the 200m IM (2:03.38) and the 400m IM (4:25.04). As a 2000 sophomore, Kerekjarto joined the USC team in the spring semester and earned All-American honors shortly after. He competed in three individual events at the 2000 NCAAs, but earned his All-American honor by helping USC’s 400m medley qualify for the finals. Individually, he won the consolation final of the 200m IM (1:58.23, scm) and was 30th in the 200m fly (2:00.24, scm). At the 2000 Pac-10s, Kerekjarto was third in the 200y IM (1:47.06), sixth in the 400y IM (3:50.11) and 13th in the 200y fly (1:48.83). At the 2000 U.S. Spring Nationals, he was 24th in the 200m free (1:54.85). He also helped the USC 400m and 800m free relays reach the finals. At the 1999 U.S. Open, he took seventh in the 400m IM (4:29.72) and 13th in the 200m fly (2:04.74). Kerekjarto came to USC with quite a bit of international experience. He competed for Hungary at the 1996 Olympics, taking 55th in the 50m free. Later that same year, he won the 200m IM at the European Junior Championships. He also won the event at the same meet in 1997 and took second in both the 100m and 200m free. He competed at the 1999 European Championships and was 10th in the 400m IM and 15th in the 200m IM. Kerekjarto (pronounced kerry-kee-arr-TOE) was born July 9, 1979, in Miskolc, Hungary. He came to USC thanks in part to his friendship with former USC All-American and world champion swimmer Bela Szabados, who also competed on the Hungarian national team.
ASSISTANT COACH FIRST YEAR
GRADUATE COACH SECOND YEAR
2005-2006 USC Swimming and Diving
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2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
HONGPING LI HEAD DIVING COACH • SEVENTH YEAR
An NCAA champion and two-time Olympian who has been one of the most successful NCAA coaches in recent years, Hongping Li is in his seventh year as USC’s head diving coach. He was named to the position on July 1, 1999. Li, the 2002 NCAA and 2001-03 and 2005 Pac-10 Women’s Diving Coach of the Year and the winner of the 1998 and 1999 United States Olympic Committee’s “Diving Developmental Coach of the Year” award, came to USC after serving as the head coach of the Mission Viejo (Calif.) Nadadores Diving Team since 1993. “Hongping is one of the finest young coaches in the country,” USC Head Swim Coach Mark Schubert said. “He had spectacular results at the club level at Mission Viejo and he has continued that here. He comes from a great tradition of diving, which gives a tremendous new aspect to our program. He’s also a USC graduate and a former NCAA champion, so he knows our tradition here as well.” Li, who was an assistant coach on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Diving team, has had immediate and sustained success in his first six years at USC, directing four men’s and women’s divers to a combined 21 All-American honors and three NCAA titles. In 2005, Blythe Hartley won her third career NCAA title while Ray Vincent earned his third consecutive AllAmerican honors on the platform, marking the sixth consecutive season Li’s divers earned All-American honors. Hartley was named 2005 NCAA and Pac-10 women’s diver of the year after winning the NCAA 3meter title and her fifth and sixth career Pac-10 titles a few weeks earlier. She went on to win her second career World Championship gold medal on 3-meter in July, 2005, in Montreal. Vincent also won a Pac-10 title on platform (the third time in a row a USC diver has done so) and Troy’s men’s diving contingent was the highest scoring unit of the meet. In 2004, Vincent earned All-American honors on the platform, continuing Li’s streak of having Trojans earn All-American honors each year he’s been at USC. Additionally, Hartley represented Canada at the 2004 Olympics (winning bronze on synchronized platform) while Li’s club diver Rachelle Kunkel made the U.S. team placing 9th on 3-meter springboard. In 2003, three of Li’s divers earned All-American honors. Vincent became Li’s first men’s diver at USC to do so, taking third in the platform at the 2003 NCAA Championships. At the women’s NCAAs, Hartley was a three-time All-American while Nicci Fusaro earned one All-American honor. Hartley also swept the 2003 Pac-10 Championship diving events on the women’s side (Fusaro took a pair of seconds) and Vincent won the platform title in the men’s meet. For their efforts, Li was named 2003 Pac-10 Women’s Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season and Hartley was named Pac-10 Women’s Diver of the Year for the second straight year. Li also served as head coach for the U.S. Diving team that competed at the 2003 Grand Prix Diving 46
Championships in Rome, Italy. He earned NCAA Coach of the Year honors after directing the women’s diving squad to superb results at the 2002 NCAA Championships. Hartley won a pair of NCAA titles and made three finals appearances on her way to 2002 NCAA Women’s Diver of the Year while Fusaro also made three NCAA finals appearances. Senior diver Kellie Brennan also scored and just missed earning All-American honors. Also in 2002, Hartley won a silver and a bronze at the 2002 Commonwealth Games while Fusaro qualified for the 2002 U.S. national team. In 2001, Li guided Brennan to a pair of All-American honors (and
2005-2006 USC Swimming and Diving
2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
USC Coach Hongping Li with Nicci Fusaro (middle) and Blythe Hartley at the 2002 NCAA Championships. Hartley won two NCAA titles in 2002 and both she and Fusaro were three-time All-Americans. Li was named 2002 NCAA Coach of the Year while Hartley was tabbed 2002 NCAA Diver of the Year. her third consecutive Pac-10 1-meter title) and Fusaro to her first at the 2001 NCAAs. Both also reached the top three at the 2001 U.S. Indoor Championships. Brennan was named Pac-10 Diver of the Year, Fusaro was tabbed as Newcomer of the Year and Li earned his first Pac-10 Coach of the Year honor. A year earlier in 2000, Li helped guide Brennan to her first two All-American honors. Li, 42, was named the 1998 and 1999 U.S. Diving Outstanding Age Group Coach of the Year, was a U.S. team coach at the 1999 Pan Am Games, the 1998 World Diving Championships, the 1998 Goodwill Games and the 1997 World Junior Championships, and earned the Coach of Excellence award at the 1995 Senior National Championships. He is also a voting member of both the USA Diving’s Committee Olympic Success and USA Diving’s Competitive Committee of Excellence. At Mission Viejo, he produced eight Junior National champions who won a combined 20 individual titles. Among the elite divers Li coached was Erica Sorgi, who has captured five senior national titles since 1996. Li led the Nadadores to the 1998 Junior
National Championships team title as well as every Western National team title since 1996. He served as an assistant coach at Mission Viejo from 1989-93, helping the club to consecutive junior team titles from 1991-93. Originally from Beijing, Li was a 12-time national champion and a two-time Olympian while competing for China. He finished fourth on the 3-meter springboard at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and earned gold medals on the platform at the 1981 FINA World Cup in Mexico City and the 1981 World University Games. He also qualified for the 1980 Olympics, but did not compete because of the Chinese boycott. Li attended USC from 1985-89 and received a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1989. He won an NCAA title in the 3-meter springboard as a freshman in 1986 and earned All-American honors in the 1-meter springboard. He also earned Pac-10 titles in the 1- and 3-meter springboards that same year. He was not eligible to compete after 1986 because of an NCAA age rule. Li lives in La Palma, Calif., with his wife, Ling, and their 11-year-old daughter, Amanda.
2005-2006 USC Swimming and Diving
HONGPING LI’S USC HIGHLIGHTS 2002 NCAA WOMEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR • 2001, 2002, 2003 PAC-10 WOMEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR • LI HAS DIRECTED USC DIVERS TO THREE NCAA TITLES AND A COMBINED 21 ALL-AMERICAN HONORS • UNDER LI, TROJAN DIVERS HAVE WON A COMBIEND 14 PAC-10 TITLES AND HAVE BEEN NAMED BOTH PAC-10 DIVER OF THE YEAR AND NEWCOMER DIVER OF THE YEAR FOUR TIMES
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2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
KAITLIN SANDENO
MIKE MINTENKO
A four-time Olympic medallist, two-time NCAA champion and 12-time All-American in three years at USC, Trojan great Kaitlin Sandeno is in her second year as a volunteer assistant coach with Troy. One of the world’s greatest swimmers, Sandeno competed three years at USC (2002-2004) before turning professional prior to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. It was a move that paid off for Sandeno, who was one of the stars of the Games. She won gold as the anchor of the world-record setting American 800m free relay, won silver in the 400m IM in an American record time (4:34.95) and won bronze in the 400m free (4:06.19). She was also fourth in the 200m fly. Sandeno competed in six events at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, winning the 400m free in 4:08.07. She was also second in both the 400m IM (4:40.39) and the 200m fly (2:09.94), third in the 200m free (1:59.55) and sixth in the 800m free (8:32.74). At the 2005 World Championships, Sandeno won gold as part of the 800m free relay and won bronze in the 400m IM (4:40.85). At the 2004 NCAA Championships, Sandeno won her first two NCAA titles and came within a hair of winning a third. She set the American, U.S. Open, NCAA and USC record en route to winning the 400m IM (4:30.44, scm) and broke the NCAA, U.S. Open and USC records by finishing first in the 200m IM (2:08.11, scm). She set the USC record in the 200m fly (2:06.02) and was only 0.05 from first. Despite that, she was still the meet’s highest scorer with 57 individual points. She won her fifth and sixth career Pac-10 titles at the 2004 Pac-10 Championships, winning the 400y IM (4:05.74) and the 200y fly (1:52.63) in USC and Pac-10 meet records. She was also second in the 200y IM. Sandeno had a huge sophomore season in 2003, swimming healthy after battling injuries as a freshman. She turned in a team-high five All-American performances, including three top-3 finishes. She finished second in the 500y free (4:39.31, a USC record) and third in both the 400y IM (4:07.20) and the 1650y free (15:58.58). Sandeno also led off the Trojans’ third-place 800y free relay and their eighth-place 400y medley relay in addition to swimming on USC’s 400y free relay. At the 2003 Pac-10s, Sandeno won titles in the 500y free (4:39.50), 1650y free (15:54.51, a USC record) and the 400y IM (4:09.14). She also anchored USC’s winning 800y free relay, becoming the first Trojan to win a combined four Pac-10 titles since Sue Habernigg won a combined five in 1985. Sandeno won her sixth career national title in the 400m IM and seventh overall at the 2003 U.S. Spring Nationals. Later in the summer, at the 2003 U.S. Summer Nationals, Sandeno earned the meet’s individual high point award as she won three individual and one relay title. She took firsts in the 400m IM (4:40.82), 200m fly (2:08.78) and the 200m IM (2:12.97). Despite a severe back strain that limited Sandeno’s training until the final four weeks of the season, she was still among USC’s top swimmers as a 2002 freshman and was a three-time All-American at the NCAAs Sandeno had a spectacular career while a prep at El Toro High in Lake Forest, Calif., and with the Nellie Gail Saddleback Valley Club. She competed in three of the most grueling events at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, winning a bronze in the 800m free. She finished fourth in the 400m IM and sixth in the 200m fly. Before graduating from El Toro, Sandeno won her fifth and sixth career U.S. national titles at the 2001 U.S. Spring National, taking the 400m IM and the 200m fly. At the 2001 World Championships, Sandeno competed in four events, taking bronzes in the 200m fly (2:08.52) and 800m free (8:31.45). She was also fifth in the 400m IM (4:43.13) and sixth in the 1500m free (16:28.91). She is among only six women ever to qualify for four events at the Worlds (joining, among others, former Trojans Sippy Woodhead and Kristine Quance-Julian and former USC coach Janet Evans).
Mike Mintenko, a two-time Olympian and world championship medallist -husband of USC assistant coach Lindsay Mintenko -- is in his first year as a volunteer assistant coach with the USC men’s and women’s swimming teams. Mintenko, who retired from competitive swimming in November of 2005, is one of the most successful Canadian swimmers in the last decade. In an eight-year Canadian national career, the the butterfly specialist competed at the last two Olympic Games, highlighted by a fifth-place finish in the men’s 100m fly at the Sydney Games. He saved his best overall international performance for last. At the 2005 World Championships, he helped Canada to a silver medal in the 400m free relay (setting a Canadian record) and added fifth and eighth place finishes in the 50m and 100m fly, respectively. Mintenko was a 100m fly finalist at the 2000 Olympics as well as the 2001 World Championships. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in sport and fitness from UNLV.
VOLUNTEER COACH SECOND YEAR
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VOLUNTEER COACH FIRST YEAR
JOANNA FARGUS UNDERGRADUATE COACH FIRST YEAR
Joanna Fargus, a six-time All-American at USC and former co-captain, is in her first year as an undergraduate coach for the Trojan program. She earned an All-American honor as part of USC’s 800y free relay in 2005 and won her first career Pac-10 title in the 200y back. Fargus, who struggled as 2003 sophomore because of an ankle injury, was also an All-American in the 800m free relay as a 2004 junior and set a school record in the 200m back (scm). At the 2004 Pac-10 Championships, Fargus’ efforts were highlighted by a third-place finish in the 200y back. As a freshman in 2002, she was a four-time All-American and a two-time NCAA back finalist. Also in 2002 at the Commonwealth Games, she took second in the 200m back and helped England to a gold in the 800m free relay. Fargus came to USC as an accomplished international swimmer, winning a bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships in the 200m back and finishing ninth in the same event at the 2000 Olympics. She is a communications major.
2005-2006 USC Swimming and Diving
MARK SCHUBERT HEAD COACH •14TH YEAR
Mark Schubert, who is in his 14th year as head coach of the USC men’s swimming team and 13th in charge of the women’s team, has led a program at Troy that mirrors his own career as a coach. Both are unparalleled. Each feature a storied resume of NCAA accolades, a distinguished history of Olympic success and a blossoming international relationship that complements it all. Here are the basics. Schubert has won three NCAA team titles and his squads have won 49 NCAA individual titles. USC’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have won a combined 10 team titles and 146 NCAA (and AIAW) individual titles. In August of 2004, in Athens, Greece, Schubert had his third stint as a United States Swimming head coach and his seventh consecutive assignment as an Olympic coach. Also in Athens, USC swimmers and divers continued their own Olympic success, winning a combined 13 medals, including four golds. Among Troy’s aquatic accomplishments is accounting for almost half of the USC Athletic Department’s Olympic medal count, which totals more than 200. And more and more, both Schubert and USC are enjoying their success thanks to teams with rosters that read like a United Nations’ roll call. In the past four seasons alone, USC has had swimmers from Sweden, Great Britain, Italy, Guatemala, Canada, Brazil, Hungary, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Costa Rica. All three areas have converged the last three years, shining in national and international. Most recently, at the 2005 World Championships in Montreal, junior Larsen Jensen won a pair of silver medals (800m and 1500m free) while senior Ous Mellouli won two bronze medals (400m IM and 400m free). Former great Kaitlin Sandeno won a gold (800m free relay) and a bronze (400m IM) while diver Blythe Hartley won a gold (1meter). USC was well represented in Athens in 2004 with 18 athletes from four continents competing. Among the medal winners were Klete Keller, Erik Vendt, Hartley (Canada), Jensen and Sandeno while others like Ous (Tunisia) and Kalyn Keller were finalists. Mellouli also won a gold at the 2004 World Championships. In 2003, Mellouli, Mihaly Flaskay (Hungary), Hartley, Vendt, USC great Lindsay Benko and
Jensen all won medals at the 2003 World Championships (Schubert was an assistant coach for the U.S. team) in what was a preview of the 2004 Games. Jensen and Kalyn Keller shared the spotlight with Sandeno at the 2003 U.S. Summer Nationals, dominating much of the event with a combined eight titles. NCAA titles by Mellouli (400y IM) and Jensen (1650y free) highlighted USC’s men’s efforts at the 2005 NCAA Championships. Seven Trojans won AllAmerican honors last year, including Flaskay, who barely missed an NCAA title with a second in the 100y breast. Hartley won an NCAA title on 3-meter springboard to highlight USC’s women’s efforts, which included an All-American performance from Marisa Kozak and an All-American showing in the 800y free relay. Though USC finished out of the running at the NCAA Championships in 2004, Troy still had some amazing results. Sandeno won two NCAA titles and took second in a third while Kalyn Keller won her first NCAA title (the two also combined to win four Pac-10 titles). The men’s team was highlighted a pair of second-place finishes by Mellouli, who also won three Pac-10 individual titles. The 2003 season was extremely successful as the both teams remained among the elite in the country. Schubert guided the women to third place at the NCAA Championships, its highest finish since winning the team title in 1997. The women’s team had five All-American swimmers who earned a combined 16 All-American honors. The men’s squad took fifth for the second year in a row and finished in the top six for the seventh year in a row. The team featured eight swimmers who earned a combined 21 AllAmerican honors. Since Schubert came on board at Troy in 1992, he has directed his men’s squads into the top seven at the NCAA Championships eight times and has guided the women’s team into
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the top seven nine times, including its first-ever national championship in 1997. Also in that span, his women’s squads have produced 17 NCAA individual titles, one relay title, 28 Pac-10 individual titles and one relay title. His men’s teams have won nine NCAA individual titles, one NCAA relay title, 32 Pac10 individual titles and five Pac-10 relay titles. Additionally, the men’s and women’s swimming programs are a combined 137-54 in dual-meet competition under Schubert. Schubert is also the director of the highly successful Trojan Swim Club, which won the 1999 U.S. Summer Nationals women’s and combined team championships and the 2003 U.S. Summer Nationals women’s title. His “Swim with SChubert” swim camp, like his USC and Trojan Swim Club teams, works out of USC’s McDonald’s Swim Stadium. One of the United States’ most recognizable and successful coaches of all-time, Schubert was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on Jan. 10, 1997 as “Honor Coach.” The same year, he also was named Coach of the Year by five organizations: American Swimming Coaches Association, United States Olympic Committee, United States Swimming, NCAA and Pac-10. Two years later, he earned a trio of Coach of the Year awards in 1999, coming from the USOC, ASCA and USS. Schubert’s international coaching experience is highlighted by his seven consecutive coaching appearances with U.S. Olympic swim teams. In
2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
Mark Schubert‘s Collegiate Record YEAR 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
SCHOOL Texas (W) Texas (W) Texas (W) Texas (W) USC (M) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W)
RECORD 6-2 9-1 6-1 7-1 8-3 8-1 8-1 6-2 8-1 8-1 9-1 8-0 9-1
PAC-10 — — — — 2-2 3-1 4-1 2-2 4-1 3-1 4-1 4-0 4-1
NCAA FIN. 2 1 1 2 13 6 6 10 7 7 4 6 1
NCAA TITLES 4 5 8 3 0 0 4 0 0 0 5 1 4
CONF. FINISH 1 1 1 1 4 3 3 3 4 4 3 2 2
USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W) USC (M) USC (W)
5-2 8-1 6-1 6-2 5-2 5-3 3-3 4-3 4-5 5-4 5-3 5-3 1-6 3-5 4-3 1-5-1 169-67-1 71-32 71-30-1
2-2 4-1 3-1 3-2 2-2 2-3 1-3 2-3 0-4 1-4 2-2 2-3 0-4 1-4 2-2 0-4-1
5 5 6 6 6 7 4 6 5 4 3 3 14 9 9 10
0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 4 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 49 10 17
2 2 2 2 3 5 2 3 4 2 3 3 4 6 3 5
Overall USC (Men) USC (Women)
Mark Schubert’s Career Highlights HAS WON THREE NCAA TEAM TITLES, TWO AT TEXAS (1990-91) AND ONE AT USC (1997) • HIS ATHLETES AT THE TWO SCHOOLS HAVE WON 49 NCAA INDIVIDUAL AND RELAY TITLES • HAS PLACED 38 OF HIS SWIMMERS ON U.S. OLYMPIC TEAMS, INCLUDING TRIPLE MEDALLIST KAITLIN SANDENO (2004), TRIPLE GOLD MEDAL WINNERS LENNY KRAYZELBURG (2000) AND MARY T. MEAGHER (1984) AND DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL WINNERS TIFFANY COHEN (1984) AND BRIAN GOODELL (1976) • HAS COACHED U.S. TEAMS IN THEM LAST SEVEN OLYMPICS, INCLUDING SERVING AS HEAD COACH OF THE U.S. WOMEN’S TEAM IN 2004, THE MEN’S TEAM IN 2000 AND THE WOMEN’S TEAM IN 1992. HIS 2000 MEN’S TEAM WON 16 MEDALS, INCCLUDING SEVEN GOLDS. HIS 1992 WOMEN’S TEAM WON 14 MEDALS, INCLUDING FIVE GOLDS. • INDUCTED INTO THE INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING HALL OF FAME IN 1997
HONORS 1990 NCAA Coach of the Year 1992 Olympic Head Coach
1996 Olympic Assistant Coach 1996 Pac-10 Coach of the Year 1997 NCAA, Pac-10, USS, USOC, ASCA Coach of the Year 1999 USS, USOC and ASCA Coach of the Year 2000 Olympic Head Coach
Mark Schubert’s U.S. Olympians 2004 Lindsay Benko ..........................................1 GOLD Larsen Jensen ........................................... 1 SILVER Rhi Jeffrey ................................................1 GOLD Kayln Keller Klete Keller ............................1 GOLD, 1 BRONZE Lenny Krayzelburg.....................................1 GOLD Kaitlin Sandeno ....... 1 GOLD, 1 SILVER, 1 BRONZE Erik Vendt ................................................ 1 SILVER Gabe Woodward ................................. 1 BRONZE 2000 Klete Keller ............................ 1 SILVER, 1 BRONZE Lenny Krayzelburg.....................................3 GOLD Lindsay Benko ..........................................1 GOLD Erik Vendt ................................................ 1 SILVER
1980 (USA Boycott) Steve Barnicoat Jesse Vassallo Brian Goodell Mary Beth Linzmeier 1976 Brian Goodell .........................................2 GOLD Casey Converse Shirley Babashoff ....................................1 GOLD ............................................................... 4 SILVER Maryanne Graham Nicole Kramer Marsha Morey
1996 Brad Bridgewater .....................................1 GOLD Janet Evans Kristine Quance .....................................1 GOLD 1992 Janet Evans .............................................1 GOLD ............................................................... 1 SILVER Erika Hansen Lawrence Frostad 1988 Dan Veatch Erika Hansen Susan Johnson 1984 Mike O’Brien ..........................................1 GOLD Rich Saeger ............................................1 GOLD Tiffany Cohen .........................................2 GOLD Mary T. Meagher .....................................3 GOLD Dara Torres .............................................1 GOLD Amy White .............................................. 1 SILVER
2005-2006 USC Swimming and Diving
Lenny Krayzelburg 41
2005-2006 Coaches Profiles addition to his aforementioned post in 2004, he headed the men’s team in 2000, was as an assistant in 1996 and was head coach in 1992. Schubert was an assistant for the combined men’s and women’s teams in 1980, 1984 and 1988. He was also the head coach of the 1982 U.S. World Championship team and was an assistant on the 1978, 1982, 1986, 1991, 1994, 1998 and 2003 World Championships staffs. His Trojan swimmers captured four medals in Rome and four more in Perth, Australia. In his 34 years of coaching, Schubert has placed 38 swimmers on U.S. Olympic teams; these athletes have won 23 gold and 11 silver medals, plus eight world championship titles. Even more impressive, Schubert’s swimmers have broken 27 world and more than 115 American records and have won more than 200 U.S. national titles. Schubert’s swimmers had a great summer of 2002. Benko set a world record in the 200m free at the Short Course World Championships, winning two golds and swimming on three American record-breaking relays. She also won gold at the Pan Pacs. Vendt went under the world record in the 400m IM at
the U.S. Summer Nationals, but was barely edged by Michael Phelps at the wall. He won a pair of silvers in the 400m IM and the 1500m free at
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the Pan Pacs and was NCAA Swimmer of the Year. Among Schubert’s top swimmers in 2001 included twotime World Championship bronze medallist Klete Keller, World Championship silver medallist Vendt as well as World University Games medallists Ryosuke Imai and Mark Warkentin. Among the Olympians he coached in Sydney in 2000 were three-time gold medallist Lenny Krayzelburg, gold medallist Benko, silver medallist Vendt and silver and bronze medallist Keller. As the U.S. Olympic head coach for men, he guided the team to seven gold, six silver and three bronze medals. Krayzelburg, one of Schubert’s most recent phenoms, set the swimming world ablaze when he broke three backstroke world records at the 1999 Pan-Pacs, where Schubert served as head coach. For her part, Benko won five medals there and was part of an American record relay. Warkentin held his own by winning four gold medals at the 1999 World University Games. Overall, Schubert placed 12 swimmers on various U.S. National teams in 1998 and 1999, including 1998 World Championship participants Krayzelburg, Bard Bridgewater and Benko. Krayzelburg, Bridgewater,
2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
Bret Awbrey and Warkentin all competed for the U.S. at the 1998 Goodwill Games. Pan-Pac participants from 1999 included Krayzelburg, Benko and Bridgewater. Leonardo Costa and Karen Campbell made Schubert proud at the 1999 Pan Am Games, each taking home a gold. Rounding out the international competition were Corrie Murphy and Gabe Woodward at the World University Games and Paige Francis, Mike Williams, Philippe Demers and Costa at the 1999 World Short Course Championships. In 1997, Schubert led USC to its first ever NCAA women’s swimming and diving team title that was led by huge efforts from Kristine Quance and Benko. Schubert’s 1996 Atlanta Olympic performers included Bridgewater and Quance (both gold medalists) and Janet Evans (a gold medallist in Barcelona and Seoul). As the 1992 USA Women’s Olympic head coach, he guided the American women to two gold medal relay world records, four additional American records and an impressive world-leading 14 medals, including five gold. He has also coached Erika Hansen (formerly a USC assistant coach), Lawrence Frostad, former Olympic champions Mary T. Meagher (a triple gold medallist in 1984) and double gold medallist Tiffany Cohen, Trojans Sippy Woodhead and Mike O’Brien as well as Olympic champions Brian Goodell and Shirley Babashoff. Schubert came to USC from the University of Texas, where his swimmers won two NCAA team titles (1990 and 1991) and four Southwest Conference championships in his four years there (1989-92). His Longhorn swimmers won 12 NCAA individual and eight relay titles and Schubert was named 1990 NCAA Coach of the Year for his efforts. Among the swimmers Schubert coached to NCAA titles were American record holders Leigh Ann Fetter and Whitney Hedgpeth. He also served as the head coach of the 350-member Texas Aquatics U.S. Swimming club team that won 10 national titles during his four-year tenure. Prior to taking over at Texas, Schubert was one of the top club coaches in the U.S., serving as the head coach of the Mission Bay Makos Swim
Team in Boca Raton, Fla., which won nine national team titles from 198689. Schubert helped design the Mission Bay Aquatic Center and directed daily operations of one of the world’s most comprehensive aquatic centers, including competitive swimming, diving and master’s programs. Schubert initially made his mark on the national level as the head coach of the internationally renowned and highly successful Mission Viejo (Calif.) Nadadores from 1972 to 1985. While there, he coached such talented swimmers as Cohen, Meagher, Babashoff, Brian Goodell, Mike O’Brien, Jesse Vassallo, Sippy Woodhead and Dara Torres. His teams won a national-record 44 national team titles during his tenure. Schubert was named national Coach of the Year by the American Swimming Coaches Association in 1981, 1976 and 1975. Schubert coached at the high school level at Cuyahoga Falls (Ohio) High from 1971 to 1972 and at Mission Viejo (Calif.) High from 1973 to 1975, where his team won the 1975 CIF title. He is a 1971 graduate of Kentucky with a B.A. in education (he swam there from 1967-69), and he began his coaching career with the Wildcats, serving as an assistant coach from 1969 to 1971. His swimming-related duties include serving on the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) Board of Directors since 1975. He is a former vice-president and member of the Board of Directors of the College Swim Coaches Association of America. Schubert was honored by NACDA (the National Association of Athletic Directors) for his role in the success of the 1992 and 1996 USA Olympic Team. Schubert and his wife, Joke, live in Seal Beach, Calif., with their daughters, Tatum, 28, and Leigh, 26, both former swimmers. Joke was the head manager for the U.S. swimmers at the 2000 Olympics and was an assistant manager for the U.S. swim team at the 1996 Olympics.
2005-2006 USC Swimming and Diving
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2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
VIC RIGGS
LINDSAY MINTENKO
Vic Riggs, a veteran swim coach with more than a decade of experience coaching club swimmers from the developmental to Olympic levels, is in his third year as head assistant coach on USC’s staff. In his second year at USC, Riggs helped guide Ous Mellouli (400y IM) and Larsen Jensen (1650y Free) to their first NCAA titles. He was also key in the development of All-Americans Mihaly Flaskay (second in the 100y breast at the NCAAs) and Sean Sussex (fourth fastest 50y free performance in school history). Overall, he helped coach 12 Trojan men’s and women’s swimmers earn All-American recognition. In his first year at USC, Riggs helped coach 2004 All-Americans Ous Mellouli and Paul Fahey as well as NCAA champion Kalyn Keller (1500m free), among others. Riggs is the recruiting coordinator for the men’s and women’s teams and is the coach for the sprint and breaststroke groups. Riggs, an All-American swimmer and a two-time Olympic Trial qualifier, joined USC after two years (2001-03) as head coach and owner of the Gator Swim Club in Gainesville, Fla. During that time, he also served as the head coach for the U.S. National Distance Camp in May of 2002, his second consecutive stint as the camp’s head coach (2000). From 1995 to 2001, Riggs, 36, and his wife, Renee, directed the Nellie Gail Saddleback Valley Gators, coaching more than 120 swimmers from ages 5 to 21, from novice level to Olympic. Among the athletes Riggs coached in that time was current Trojan AllAmerican and Olympic medallist Kaitlin Sandeno, who won a bronze at the 2000 Olympics. During his time with NGSV, Riggs coached 15 junior national swimmers who won three junior national titles, set two junior national records, 26 National Championship standards, 15 Top 8 National Championship finishes, 57Junior National qualifying standards and 11 2000 Olympic Trial standards. Before joining efforts with his wife, Riggs served as the senior and age group head coach at Saddleback Valley Aquatics in Lake Forest, Calif., from 1991-95. He was an assistant swim coach at Cal State San Bernardino from 1990-91 and also served as head age group coach for Riverside Aquatics in that time. He began his coaching career in Southern California as the senior assistant at Fullerton Area Sports Team (FAST) in 1989. Riggs competed at California, earning All-American second team notice in 1986 and swam on Cal’s second-place NCAA team that year. He was ranked seventh in the world in the 1500m free and 9th in the 400m free in 1985 and was in the Top 25 in the world in both events in 1984. A 1985 World University Games participant for the U.S., he was an Olympic Trials qualifier in 1984 and 1988. He was a 28-time qualifier for the U.S. Senior Nationals from 1983-89 and won a junior national title in 1982. Riggs is married to wife Renee and they have four girls. They are Abigail, 5, Kathryn, 3, and infant twins, Irene and Caroline.
Former USC NCAA champion and Olympic gold medallist Lindsay Mintenko (formerly Lindsay Benko) was named a USC swimming assistant coach by Head Coach Mark Schubert on July 6, 2005. A five-time NCAA champion at USC from 1996-99, Mintenko (who recently married Olympic swimmer Mike Mintenko) was one of the world’s top freestyle swimmers, winning gold medals as a U.S. team captain at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. A career 10-time U.S. national champion who won three medals at the 2003 World Championships, Benko holds the world and American records in the 200 and 400 freestyles (scm) and is the American record-holder in the 200 free (lcm). She also served as a USC volunteer assistant coach from 2001-2004 while training under Schubert with the Trojan Swim Club. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, Mintenko won her second career gold medal after swimming in the prelims of the 4x200m free relay and won a silver medal after a prelim swim in the 4x100m free relay. She also swam the 200m free. She won her final U.S. national title in the 200m free in the Spring of 2004. In 2003, she won a gold and a silver on two relays at the 2003 World Championships. She also won her eighth and ninth U.S. national titles at the 2003 U.S. Spring Nationals, and was the high-point scorer at the meet. In 2002, she won the 200m free at the Short Course World Championships and the Pan-Pacific Championships. In 2001, she won a gold and a silver at the Goodwill Games. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Benko won gold as part of the 4x200m free relay, swimming the third leg in the final, and also swam in the 200m free and 200m back. Benko served as a co-captain for the U.S. contingent at the 1999 Pan Pacific Championships, also in Sydney, Australia. She proceeded to have the meet of her life down under, winning five medals and swimming on an American record relay. She won a pair of golds in the 4x100m and 4x200m free relays, the latter setting a U.S. record. In fact, her lead-off leg of the relay (1:58.86) was the third-fastest all-time American performance for 200 meters. Benko also won silver medals in the 200m and 400m free and a bronze in the 200m back. Benko’s 10 U.S. national titles included seven in the 200m free, two in the 400m free and one in the 200m back. She won a silver medal at the 1998 World Championships as part of the U.S. 800m free relay and also reached the finals of the 200m free. She also won a gold in the 4x200m free relay at the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships. She finished her career at Troy as a five-time NCAA champion, three in the 500y free (1996, 1997 and 1999) and two in the 200y back (1996 and 1997). Benko, a team captain as a junior and senior, was a 21-time All-American in her four-year stay at USC and reached the NCAA finals in all 12 individual events in which she competed. Benko’s five career NCAA wins at USC is second only to Kristine Quance’s eight and at the end of the 1998-99 spring semester, Benko owned a USC-high eight individual school records and five relay records. She also won six career Pac-10 titles.
HEAD ASSISTANT COACH THIRD YEAR
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ASSISTANT COACH FIRST YEAR
2005-2006 USC Swimming and Diving
2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
PAIGE FRANCIS
TAMAS KEREKJARTO
A six-time Trojan All-American and a member of USC’s first women’s swimming and diving national championship team, Paige Francis is in her first season as an assistant coach with the Trojans and second on the USC staff. Francis served as a graduate assistant coach in 2005. Prior to being hired at USC, Francis trained with the Irvine Novaquatics from 2002-04 while working part-time, but she retired from the sport prior to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials. She lived in Austin before that, working in public affairs and training with the University of Texas women’s team from 2001-02. A four-year swimmer at USC from 1997-2000, Francis graduated from USC with a degree in communications with a minor in business. As a senior in 2000, Francis competed in seven events at the NCAA Championships, earning All-American honors in the 400m medley relay. At the 2000 Pac-10 Championships, she was seventh in the 100y back (55.43) and 10th in the 200y back (1:59.51). As a junior in 1999, Francis was a two-time All-American, anchoring USC’s fifth-place 400y medley relay and swimming second on Troy’s eighth-place 200y free relay. She also swam on the 400y and 800y free relays. Individually, Francis was 28th in the 200y back (2:00.70) and 34th in the 200y free (1:49.89). At the 1999 Pac-10 Championships, Francis finalled in the 200y free, taking eighth in 1:49.04. She represented the United States at the 1999 FINA Short Course World Championships in Hong Kong and had a strong meet, posting a pair of sixth-place finishes in the 100m (1:01.27) and 200m back (2:10.19). Francis reached the finals of the 200m back (2:14.36, scm) at the 1998 FINA World Cup, finishing seventh. She was a 1999 Pac-10 All-Academic second team selection with a 3.17 GPA in communications. As a 1998 sophomore, Francis competed in five events at the NCAA Championships, highlighted by an 18th in the 200y free. She also swam on USC’s 200y, 400y and 800y free relays. Francis was a consolation finalist at the 1998 U.S. Summer Nationals in the 100m back (1:03.51) and competed in the 100m and 200m free and the 200m back. Francis was a three-time All-American as a 1997 freshman, helping lead USC to its first-ever national championship. She swam on USC’s fourth-place 200y medley and 800y free relays and on the seventh-place 400y free relay at the NCAAs. Individually at the NCAAs, she took 11th in the 200y back (1:59.31), 27th in the 100y back (56.26) and 28th in the 200y free (1:49.87). At the 1997 Pac-10 Championships, Francis took fifth in the 200y back (1:59.49), sixth in the 200y free (1:49.65) and 10th in the 200y IM (2:03.65). At the 1997 World University Games, Francis was third in the 100m back (1:03.89). Francis was a prep All-American in the 100y and 200y free and 100y back at Arcadia High in Scottsdale, Ariz., and competed for Phoenix Swim Club. She was a four-time Arizona state champion in the 100y back and a three-time champion in the 200y free.
An eight-time All-American at USC and a two-time Olympian, Tamas Kerekjarto is in his second season as a volunteer assistant coach at USC. Most recently, he represented Hungary at the 2004 Olympics, reaching the semifinals of the 200m IM (finishing 13th overall). He is USC’s second-fastest swimmer ever in the 200y IM (1:45.56) and is fourth-fastest in the 400y IM (3:44.85). He also has a top 10 time in the 200y fly. He was a four-time All-American as a senior in 2002 and helped USC to an NCAA title in the 800y free relay. He also earned All-American honors in the 200y and 400y IM and the 400y free relay. Kerekjarto was a three-time All-American as a 2001 junior, taking fourth in the 200y IM (1:45.65), sixth in the 400y IM (3:44.85) and helping USC to a second-place finish in the 800y free relay at the NCAA Championships. He was also 20th in the 200y fly (1:45.95). At the 2001 Pacific-10 Conference Championships, Kerekjarto was second in the 200y IM (1:46.12), third in the 400y IM (3:45.81) and sixth in the 200y fly (1:45.95). He just missed medalling at the 2001 World University Games, taking fourth in both the 200m IM (2:03.38) and the 400m IM (4:25.04). As a 2000 sophomore, Kerekjarto joined the USC team in the spring semester and earned All-American honors shortly after. He competed in three individual events at the 2000 NCAAs, but earned his All-American honor by helping USC’s 400m medley qualify for the finals. Individually, he won the consolation final of the 200m IM (1:58.23, scm) and was 30th in the 200m fly (2:00.24, scm). At the 2000 Pac-10s, Kerekjarto was third in the 200y IM (1:47.06), sixth in the 400y IM (3:50.11) and 13th in the 200y fly (1:48.83). At the 2000 U.S. Spring Nationals, he was 24th in the 200m free (1:54.85). He also helped the USC 400m and 800m free relays reach the finals. At the 1999 U.S. Open, he took seventh in the 400m IM (4:29.72) and 13th in the 200m fly (2:04.74). Kerekjarto came to USC with quite a bit of international experience. He competed for Hungary at the 1996 Olympics, taking 55th in the 50m free. Later that same year, he won the 200m IM at the European Junior Championships. He also won the event at the same meet in 1997 and took second in both the 100m and 200m free. He competed at the 1999 European Championships and was 10th in the 400m IM and 15th in the 200m IM. Kerekjarto (pronounced kerry-kee-arr-TOE) was born July 9, 1979, in Miskolc, Hungary. He came to USC thanks in part to his friendship with former USC All-American and world champion swimmer Bela Szabados, who also competed on the Hungarian national team.
ASSISTANT COACH FIRST YEAR
GRADUATE COACH SECOND YEAR
2005-2006 USC Swimming and Diving
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2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
HONGPING LI HEAD DIVING COACH • SEVENTH YEAR
An NCAA champion and two-time Olympian who has been one of the most successful NCAA coaches in recent years, Hongping Li is in his seventh year as USC’s head diving coach. He was named to the position on July 1, 1999. Li, the 2002 NCAA and 2001-03 and 2005 Pac-10 Women’s Diving Coach of the Year and the winner of the 1998 and 1999 United States Olympic Committee’s “Diving Developmental Coach of the Year” award, came to USC after serving as the head coach of the Mission Viejo (Calif.) Nadadores Diving Team since 1993. “Hongping is one of the finest young coaches in the country,” USC Head Swim Coach Mark Schubert said. “He had spectacular results at the club level at Mission Viejo and he has continued that here. He comes from a great tradition of diving, which gives a tremendous new aspect to our program. He’s also a USC graduate and a former NCAA champion, so he knows our tradition here as well.” Li, who was an assistant coach on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Diving team, has had immediate and sustained success in his first six years at USC, directing four men’s and women’s divers to a combined 21 All-American honors and three NCAA titles. In 2005, Blythe Hartley won her third career NCAA title while Ray Vincent earned his third consecutive AllAmerican honors on the platform, marking the sixth consecutive season Li’s divers earned All-American honors. Hartley was named 2005 NCAA and Pac-10 women’s diver of the year after winning the NCAA 3meter title and her fifth and sixth career Pac-10 titles a few weeks earlier. She went on to win her second career World Championship gold medal on 3-meter in July, 2005, in Montreal. Vincent also won a Pac-10 title on platform (the third time in a row a USC diver has done so) and Troy’s men’s diving contingent was the highest scoring unit of the meet. In 2004, Vincent earned All-American honors on the platform, continuing Li’s streak of having Trojans earn All-American honors each year he’s been at USC. Additionally, Hartley represented Canada at the 2004 Olympics (winning bronze on synchronized platform) while Li’s club diver Rachelle Kunkel made the U.S. team placing 9th on 3-meter springboard. In 2003, three of Li’s divers earned All-American honors. Vincent became Li’s first men’s diver at USC to do so, taking third in the platform at the 2003 NCAA Championships. At the women’s NCAAs, Hartley was a three-time All-American while Nicci Fusaro earned one All-American honor. Hartley also swept the 2003 Pac-10 Championship diving events on the women’s side (Fusaro took a pair of seconds) and Vincent won the platform title in the men’s meet. For their efforts, Li was named 2003 Pac-10 Women’s Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season and Hartley was named Pac-10 Women’s Diver of the Year for the second straight year. Li also served as head coach for the U.S. Diving team that competed at the 2003 Grand Prix Diving 46
Championships in Rome, Italy. He earned NCAA Coach of the Year honors after directing the women’s diving squad to superb results at the 2002 NCAA Championships. Hartley won a pair of NCAA titles and made three finals appearances on her way to 2002 NCAA Women’s Diver of the Year while Fusaro also made three NCAA finals appearances. Senior diver Kellie Brennan also scored and just missed earning All-American honors. Also in 2002, Hartley won a silver and a bronze at the 2002 Commonwealth Games while Fusaro qualified for the 2002 U.S. national team. In 2001, Li guided Brennan to a pair of All-American honors (and
2005-2006 USC Swimming and Diving
2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
USC Coach Hongping Li with Nicci Fusaro (middle) and Blythe Hartley at the 2002 NCAA Championships. Hartley won two NCAA titles in 2002 and both she and Fusaro were three-time All-Americans. Li was named 2002 NCAA Coach of the Year while Hartley was tabbed 2002 NCAA Diver of the Year. her third consecutive Pac-10 1-meter title) and Fusaro to her first at the 2001 NCAAs. Both also reached the top three at the 2001 U.S. Indoor Championships. Brennan was named Pac-10 Diver of the Year, Fusaro was tabbed as Newcomer of the Year and Li earned his first Pac-10 Coach of the Year honor. A year earlier in 2000, Li helped guide Brennan to her first two All-American honors. Li, 42, was named the 1998 and 1999 U.S. Diving Outstanding Age Group Coach of the Year, was a U.S. team coach at the 1999 Pan Am Games, the 1998 World Diving Championships, the 1998 Goodwill Games and the 1997 World Junior Championships, and earned the Coach of Excellence award at the 1995 Senior National Championships. He is also a voting member of both the USA Diving’s Committee Olympic Success and USA Diving’s Competitive Committee of Excellence. At Mission Viejo, he produced eight Junior National champions who won a combined 20 individual titles. Among the elite divers Li coached was Erica Sorgi, who has captured five senior national titles since 1996. Li led the Nadadores to the 1998 Junior
National Championships team title as well as every Western National team title since 1996. He served as an assistant coach at Mission Viejo from 1989-93, helping the club to consecutive junior team titles from 1991-93. Originally from Beijing, Li was a 12-time national champion and a two-time Olympian while competing for China. He finished fourth on the 3-meter springboard at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and earned gold medals on the platform at the 1981 FINA World Cup in Mexico City and the 1981 World University Games. He also qualified for the 1980 Olympics, but did not compete because of the Chinese boycott. Li attended USC from 1985-89 and received a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1989. He won an NCAA title in the 3-meter springboard as a freshman in 1986 and earned All-American honors in the 1-meter springboard. He also earned Pac-10 titles in the 1- and 3-meter springboards that same year. He was not eligible to compete after 1986 because of an NCAA age rule. Li lives in La Palma, Calif., with his wife, Ling, and their 11-year-old daughter, Amanda.
2005-2006 USC Swimming and Diving
HONGPING LI’S USC HIGHLIGHTS 2002 NCAA WOMEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR • 2001, 2002, 2003 PAC-10 WOMEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR • LI HAS DIRECTED USC DIVERS TO THREE NCAA TITLES AND A COMBINED 21 ALL-AMERICAN HONORS • UNDER LI, TROJAN DIVERS HAVE WON A COMBIEND 14 PAC-10 TITLES AND HAVE BEEN NAMED BOTH PAC-10 DIVER OF THE YEAR AND NEWCOMER DIVER OF THE YEAR FOUR TIMES
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2005-2006 Coaches Profiles
KAITLIN SANDENO
MIKE MINTENKO
A four-time Olympic medallist, two-time NCAA champion and 12-time All-American in three years at USC, Trojan great Kaitlin Sandeno is in her second year as a volunteer assistant coach with Troy. One of the world’s greatest swimmers, Sandeno competed three years at USC (2002-2004) before turning professional prior to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. It was a move that paid off for Sandeno, who was one of the stars of the Games. She won gold as the anchor of the world-record setting American 800m free relay, won silver in the 400m IM in an American record time (4:34.95) and won bronze in the 400m free (4:06.19). She was also fourth in the 200m fly. Sandeno competed in six events at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, winning the 400m free in 4:08.07. She was also second in both the 400m IM (4:40.39) and the 200m fly (2:09.94), third in the 200m free (1:59.55) and sixth in the 800m free (8:32.74). At the 2005 World Championships, Sandeno won gold as part of the 800m free relay and won bronze in the 400m IM (4:40.85). At the 2004 NCAA Championships, Sandeno won her first two NCAA titles and came within a hair of winning a third. She set the American, U.S. Open, NCAA and USC record en route to winning the 400m IM (4:30.44, scm) and broke the NCAA, U.S. Open and USC records by finishing first in the 200m IM (2:08.11, scm). She set the USC record in the 200m fly (2:06.02) and was only 0.05 from first. Despite that, she was still the meet’s highest scorer with 57 individual points. She won her fifth and sixth career Pac-10 titles at the 2004 Pac-10 Championships, winning the 400y IM (4:05.74) and the 200y fly (1:52.63) in USC and Pac-10 meet records. She was also second in the 200y IM. Sandeno had a huge sophomore season in 2003, swimming healthy after battling injuries as a freshman. She turned in a team-high five All-American performances, including three top-3 finishes. She finished second in the 500y free (4:39.31, a USC record) and third in both the 400y IM (4:07.20) and the 1650y free (15:58.58). Sandeno also led off the Trojans’ third-place 800y free relay and their eighth-place 400y medley relay in addition to swimming on USC’s 400y free relay. At the 2003 Pac-10s, Sandeno won titles in the 500y free (4:39.50), 1650y free (15:54.51, a USC record) and the 400y IM (4:09.14). She also anchored USC’s winning 800y free relay, becoming the first Trojan to win a combined four Pac-10 titles since Sue Habernigg won a combined five in 1985. Sandeno won her sixth career national title in the 400m IM and seventh overall at the 2003 U.S. Spring Nationals. Later in the summer, at the 2003 U.S. Summer Nationals, Sandeno earned the meet’s individual high point award as she won three individual and one relay title. She took firsts in the 400m IM (4:40.82), 200m fly (2:08.78) and the 200m IM (2:12.97). Despite a severe back strain that limited Sandeno’s training until the final four weeks of the season, she was still among USC’s top swimmers as a 2002 freshman and was a three-time All-American at the NCAAs Sandeno had a spectacular career while a prep at El Toro High in Lake Forest, Calif., and with the Nellie Gail Saddleback Valley Club. She competed in three of the most grueling events at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, winning a bronze in the 800m free. She finished fourth in the 400m IM and sixth in the 200m fly. Before graduating from El Toro, Sandeno won her fifth and sixth career U.S. national titles at the 2001 U.S. Spring National, taking the 400m IM and the 200m fly. At the 2001 World Championships, Sandeno competed in four events, taking bronzes in the 200m fly (2:08.52) and 800m free (8:31.45). She was also fifth in the 400m IM (4:43.13) and sixth in the 1500m free (16:28.91). She is among only six women ever to qualify for four events at the Worlds (joining, among others, former Trojans Sippy Woodhead and Kristine Quance-Julian and former USC coach Janet Evans).
Mike Mintenko, a two-time Olympian and world championship medallist -husband of USC assistant coach Lindsay Mintenko -- is in his first year as a volunteer assistant coach with the USC men’s and women’s swimming teams. Mintenko, who retired from competitive swimming in November of 2005, is one of the most successful Canadian swimmers in the last decade. In an eight-year Canadian national career, the the butterfly specialist competed at the last two Olympic Games, highlighted by a fifth-place finish in the men’s 100m fly at the Sydney Games. He saved his best overall international performance for last. At the 2005 World Championships, he helped Canada to a silver medal in the 400m free relay (setting a Canadian record) and added fifth and eighth place finishes in the 50m and 100m fly, respectively. Mintenko was a 100m fly finalist at the 2000 Olympics as well as the 2001 World Championships. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in sport and fitness from UNLV.
VOLUNTEER COACH SECOND YEAR
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VOLUNTEER COACH FIRST YEAR
JOANNA FARGUS UNDERGRADUATE COACH FIRST YEAR
Joanna Fargus, a six-time All-American at USC and former co-captain, is in her first year as an undergraduate coach for the Trojan program. She earned an All-American honor as part of USC’s 800y free relay in 2005 and won her first career Pac-10 title in the 200y back. Fargus, who struggled as 2003 sophomore because of an ankle injury, was also an All-American in the 800m free relay as a 2004 junior and set a school record in the 200m back (scm). At the 2004 Pac-10 Championships, Fargus’ efforts were highlighted by a third-place finish in the 200y back. As a freshman in 2002, she was a four-time All-American and a two-time NCAA back finalist. Also in 2002 at the Commonwealth Games, she took second in the 200m back and helped England to a gold in the 800m free relay. Fargus came to USC as an accomplished international swimmer, winning a bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships in the 200m back and finishing ninth in the same event at the 2000 Olympics. She is a communications major.
2005-2006 USC Swimming and Diving
