December 3, 1998
All indicators point to a highly successful season for the 1998-99 California men's swimming team as head coach Nort Thornton enters his 25th year directing the Golden Bears. Thornton's squad returns five All-Americans, four school record holders and 17 lettermen from a team that placed third in the Pacific-10 Conference and eighth at the NCAA Championship last year.
"We have a solid nucleus of veterans, and an outstanding group of newcomers to work around our veterans," said Thornton. "If everything comes together, we could be pretty good. The strength of our team is our balance. We have at least one potential NCAA scorer in every event."
The Bears did an excellent job of peaking at the 1998 NCAA meet after a disappointing 15th place finish in 1997. The success of a season all comes down to a teams performance at the NCAAs. In 98 Cal shined at the national championships led by stellar individual efforts from returners Gordan Kozulj, Bart Kizierowski and Dan Lindstrom, as well as the combined efforts of the 400 free, the 400 medley and the 200 medley relays.
Kozulj, Kizierowski and Lindstrom will again lead the Bears as all three are among the nations elite and have made their marks on the Cal record books.
Kozulj, a team captain this season, earned All-America honors last year by placing third in the nation in the 200 back and breaking his own school record with a time of 1:42.74. He is a member of the Bears school record-setting 400 medley and 200 medley relays (backstroke leg) that placed sixth and ninth, respectively. Kozulj is second on the Cal all-time Top 10 list in the 100 back (48.25) and eighth in the 200 IM (1:47.97), as well. He also won the 200-meter back at last springs US Swimming National Championship.
Kizierowski, another of the Bears captains this year, earned All-American honors in 98 by placing fourth in the 100 free (42.93, second-best all-time Cal mark), and fourth in both the 400 free relay and the school record-setting 400 medley relay (freestyle leg). He also swam the freestyle leg on the Bears school record-setting 200 medley relay team, had the squads top time in the 200 free (1:37.44) and placed second in the 50 free (19.67, second-best all-time Cal mark) at the 98 Pac-10 Championship.
Lindstrom contributed immediately to the Bears last season after transferring from Auburn. He earned All-America honors and was involved in setting three Cal school records at the NCAAs. Individually, Lindstrom set a school record in the prelims of the 100 fly (46.95) and ended up finishing eighth nationally in that event. He also swam the butterfly leg on the Bears school record-setting 200 and 400 medley relays, and was second at the Pac-10 meet in the 100 fly.
Two Cal swimmers who also earned All-America honors at the 98 NCAAs were senior Will Moore and junior Lars Merseburg. Both Moore and Merseburg were members of the Bears 400 free relay that placed fourth at the national championship. Moore continues to improve and has become a force, not only in the sprint freestyle, but in the butterfly events as well. Merseburg, one of Cals captains this season, is also a rapidly improving sprint freestyler.
Another outstanding talent for the Bears is junior Ratapong "Nuk" Sirisanont. Sirisanont has the schools second-best all-time mark of 3:47.77 in the 400 IM, and last season placed fourth at the Pac-10 meet in both the 200 breast and 400 IM. He enters the 1998-99 campaign as Cals top swimmer in the 200 and 400 IM.
Four more Bear returners on the cusp of becoming NCAA scorers are senior captain Alex Silver, juniors Sean Cargin and Steve Messner, and sophomore James Davison. Silver has a best of 1:48.81 in the 200 fly and has placed in the Top 10 at the Pac-10 meet the last two years. Cargin had the teams best time in the 200 fly (1:47.03) last year and placed fifth at the Pac-10 meet in both the 200 fly and 200 IM. Messner is one of the Bears top breaststrokers and has a best of 55.40 in the 100 breast. Davison is also a top young swimmer at Cal with bests of 4:26.54 in the 500 free and 15:38.40 in the 1650 free.
Thornton and associate head coach Mike Bottom brought in several newcomers who could help replace the loss of 1998 All-Americans Bart Sikora and Christian Claytor in the backstroke and breaststroke events. Thornton and Bottom are extremely excited about the abilities of freshman Andrew Chan from Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. Chan should immediately help Cal in the breaststroke and the medley relays as he has a best of 55.00 in the 100 breast and 1:58.50 in the 200 breast. He will also help the Bears in the 200 IM with a best of 1:48.99.
Some other freshmen standouts who could contribute immediately to Cals success are Mickey Murad and Bruce Vogelgesang in the distance freestyle events. Murad enters the season with the Bears top time in the 1650 free (15:20.10) and second-best time in the 500 free (4:26.20). Vogelgesang already has a team-best 4:26.10 in the 500 free. Matt Macedo, Frank Uxa and Ryan Jones are three versatile swimmers who could help the Bears in both the backstroke and sprint freestyle events, while Jooyoung "Jay" Lee and Hiro Sakoda will provide strength in the butterfly events.
The following is an event-by-event look at the 1998-99 California mens swimming and diving team.
SPRINT FREESTYLE
Junior Bart Kizierowski will again lead the Bears in the sprint freestyle events after having the teams top times in the 50 (19.67, second-best all-time Cal mark), 100 (42.93, second-best all-time Cal mark) and 200 free (1:37.44) last year. Kizierowski also finished fourth in the nation in the 100 free at the 98 NCAAs, swam the anchor leg on the Bears school record setting 200 medley, 400 medley and 200 free relays. He set a Polish national record in the 100-meter free (50.18) at the 96 Atlanta Olympics.
Senior Dan Lindstrom is another top sprint freestyler, swimming lead-off on the Bears school record 200 free relay that placed fourth at the 98 NCAA meet. Lindstrom also has the ninth-best all-time Cal mark in the 50 free (20.08) and enters this season with a best of 44.30 in the 100 free.
Senior Will Moore and junior Lars Merseburg are two additional sprinters who will be key competitors for the Bears. Both Moore and Merseburg were members of Cals 400 free relay that placed fourth at the national championship. Moore had the teams second-best time in the 50 free last year (20.07, eighth-best all-time Cal mark), while Merseburg has the Bears 10th-best all-time mark in the 100 free (44.17) and had the teams second-best time in the 200 free (1:38.15) in 98.
Other Bear sprinters will include freshmen Matt Macedo, Frank Uxa, Ryan Jones, Sean Gruver, and juniors David Tong and Joey Morgan.
DISTANCE FREESTYLE
Sophomore James Davison and true freshmen Mickey Murad, Bruce Vogelgesang and George Wilkinson will make up the Cal distance freestyle crew this season.
One of the Bears top blue-chip freshmen a year ago, Davison had the teams top time in the 500 free (4:29.64) and third-best time in the 1650 free (15:49.32), placing 12th in both events at the Pac-10 Championship. He comes into this season with much improved times in both events with a 4:26.54 in the 500 free and 15:38.40 in the 1650 free.
Murad, Vogelgesang and Wilkinson come to Cal with impressive credentials and should help the Bears right away. Murad has a top time of 15:20.10 in the 1650 free and 4:26.20 in the 500 free. Vogelgesang comes into the season with a team-best 4:26.10 in the 500 free, while Wilkinson has a time of 15:43.61 in the 1650 free.
Sophomore Ryan Gruver will also be utilized as distance freestylers. Gruver had the teams second-best mark in the 1650 free (15:44.16) last year, placing 10th at the Pac-10 meet.
BUTTERFLY
In the 100 fly, Cal will be led by senior Dan Lindstrom, who is the school record holder with a time of 46.95, set in the prelims of the 98 NCAA meet. Lindstrom went on to place eighth at the NCAAs and swam the butterfly leg on the Bears 200 and 400 medley relays.
Junior Sean Cargin will be another top butterflyer for the Bears. Cargin had the teams top time in the 200 fly (1:47.03), placing fifth at the Pac-10 Championship. He has a best of 48.87 in the 100 fly, as well.
Senior Alex Silver and junior Bart Kizierowski are two more top butterflyers. Silver had the teams second-best time in the 200 fly last year and has a career-best of 1:48.81. Kizierowski has a best of 48.30 in the 100 fly, which is the eighth-best all-time mark in Cal history.
Senior Will Moore and junior Robbie Williams add depth to the butterfly events, as well. Moore has a best of 48.91 in the 100 fly and Williams has a 1:49.51 in the 200 fly.
Dmitriy Ayrapetov, Jay Lee and Hiro Sakoda are the Bears true freshmen who could come in and help immediately in the butterly. Lee enters the year with a best of 49.77 in the 100 fly, Sokada has a 1:49.30 in the 200 fly and Ayrapetov has a 50.37 in the 100 fly.
Juniors David Schmidt and David Tong, and freshman Carlos Soto could also step in and help the Bears in the butterfly events. Tong was a two-time CIF Southern Section champion in the 100 fly in high school and had a prep best of 50.50.
BACKSTROKE
The backstroke events will be in fine shape with the return of senior Gordan Kozulj. Kozulj, the Croatian record holder in the 100 and 200-meter backstroke, and last season he broke his own school record in the 200-yard back with a time of 1:42.74, placing third at the NCAA Championship. He also is second on the Cal all-time list with a time of 48.25 in the 100 back. Kozulj swam the backstroke leg on the Bears 200 and 400 medley relays, as well. He was the USS National 200-meter backstroke champion in 1998 and is currently fifth in the world rankings.
Junior Bart Kizierowski is also a talented backstroker, as he has a time of 50.25 in the 100 back and 1:47.22 in the 200 back. Another returner who could add depth in the backstroke is junior Eric Lopez.
The Cal coaches are excited about the abilities of true freshmen Ryan Jones and Frank Uxa, and sophomore transfer Tim Brown, in the backstroke events. Jones joins the Bears with a 49.99 in the 100 back and a 1:49.72 in the 200 back. Uxa has swam a 51.10 in the 100 back, while Brown is a transfer from Auburn and was the Arkansas state champ in the 100 back.
BREASTSTROKE
The Bears top performers in the breaststroke events will be juniors Ratapong Sirisanont and Steve Messner, and freshman standout Andrew Chan.
Sirisanont, a member of Thailands National Team since 1991, has the schools sixth-best all-time mark in the 200 breast (1:58.50) and last season placed fourth at the Pac-10 Championship. He also has a best of 56.50 in the 100 breast.
Messner had the teams second-best time in the 100 breast (56.46) and third-best time in the 200 breast (2:03.83) last season. He finished the year placing ninth in the 100 breast and 13th in the 200 breast at the Pac-10 meet.
Chan, a member of the Canadian National Team, is one of Cals top newcomers this season. He should immediately be a force for the Bears with bests of 55.00 in the 100 breast and 1:58.50 in the 200 breast.
True freshman Glen Bizewski could also provide dept in the breaststroke events for Cal.
INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
The individual medley will be a strong event for the Bears, led by Ratapong Sirisanont and Gordan Kozulj. Sirisanont has the schools second-best all-time mark in the 400 IM (3:47.77) and the fourth-best all-time mark in the 200 IM (1:47.28). Last season, he was fourth at the Pac-10 meet in the 400 IM for the
second year in a row.
Kozulj placed third in the 200 IM at the 98 Pac-10 Championship with the schools eighth-best all-time mark of 1:47.97. Sean Cargin will also help the Bears in the 200 IM as he swam a career-best 1:48.96, placing fifth at the 98 Pac-10 meet.
Some more veterans who have a chance to contribute in the individual medley include senior Alex Silver and juniors Robbie Williams and Steve Messner. Silver placed eighth at the 97 Pac-10 Championship in the 400 IM and has a best of 3:55.13. He is currently ranked 50th in the world in the 400 IM. Williams has a best of 3:58.83 in the 400 IM and Messner has a top time of 1:49.73 in the 200 IM.
Newcomers who could also help in the individual medley events are true freshmen Andrew Chan, Frank Uxa and Carlos Soto. Chan has a best of 1:48.99 in the 200 IM, Uxa has a top time of 1:51.58 in the 200 IM and Soto has a 4:02.13 mark in the 400 IM.
DIVING
Cals diving corps will consist of junior Joe Kocal. Kocal should be the Bears top performer after a solid freshman and sophomore year. He has top dual meet scores of 258.45 in the one-meter and 279.90 in the three-meter competition. Kocal also placed 11th in the one-meter competition and 14th in the three meter competition at the 98 Pac-10 Diving Championship.
