MEET NOTES: UCLA’s Taylor Carlson Discusses Unique Meaning to USC-UCLA Rivalry

Below, see the pre-meet notes from the USC Trojans, and above, watch a video with UCLA’s Taylor Carlson as she talks about the upcoming cross-town battle.

The USC women’s swimming and diving team completes its dual meet season with its annual crosstown clash against UCLA on Friday (Feb. 13) at1 p.m. at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center in a meet that will be broadcast live by Pac-12 Networks.

USC, ranked No. 14, is 4-3, 3-3, while UCLA is 7-3, 3-3. The 3-meter diving will begin at 10:40 a.m. followed by 1-meter at noon and the first swimming event will start at 1 p.m.

Friday will also mark Senior Day for four Trojans, including two-time NCAA champion diver Haley Ishimatsu, All-American Andrea Kropp, co-captain Rebecca Heyliger and Kate Davey. All four earned Pac-12 All-Academic honors last season.

USC-UCLA Series
The Trojans hold a 24-16 edge against the Bruins and have won seven meets in a row. USC won a series-best 10 in a row from 1994 to 2003. The Trojans’ current win streak includes a 165-135 win last year in Westwood when they broke 10 Spieker Aquatics Center pool records and nine meet records. USC defeated UCLA, 167.5-132.5, in the last meet at USC in 2013. Troy won the 2012 clash in Westwood, 170-130, in a meet in which Trojan swimmers also broke a combined 10 Bruin pool records. That followed a 176-124 victory at USC in 2011, a 164.5-136.5 win at UCLA in 2010, a 160-140 rain-soaked 2009 home win and a 158-142 decision in Westwood in 2008. UCLA last won in 2007 when the Bruins clinched victory during the meet’s final relay at McDonald’s Swim Stadium. USC hasn’t lost to UCLA in Westwood since 2004.

SoCal BMW Crosstown Cup
The winner of the USC-UCLA dual meet scores five points toward the SoCal BWM Crosstown Cup, awarded annually to the school with the most successful athletic year against the other. Points are awarded to the winner of each Trojan-Bruin head-to-head contest (57.5 points is the magic number). USC captured the inaugural trophy in 2001-02, UCLA won it in 2002-03, USC recaptured it in 2003-04, UCLA won it back in 2004-05, USC claimed it in 2005-06, UCLA was victorious in 2006-07 and, for the first time in the competition’s history, a school won it five consecutive years when USC captured it in 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. UCLA ended the streak in 2012-13, but USC won again in 2013-14, 60-55. UCLA leads this year, 55-10, entering Friday’s meet. The Trojans hold an overall lead of 9-4.

Trojan swimmers with NCAA ‘B’ cuts

* Sophomore Blair Carnes: 200y breast (2:15.11).

* Sophomore Sidney Cooke: 100y back (53.91), 200y back (1:58.63).

* Sophomore Chelsea Chenault: 200y (1:45.31), 500y free (4:42.44), 200y fly (1:57.82).

* Sophomore Maggie D’Innocenzo: 400y IM (4:15.15), 200y fly (1:58.18).

* Sophomore Kelsey Kafka: 200y breast (2:14.97).

*Senior Andrea Kropp: 100y breast (1:00.01), 200y breast (2:09.32), 200y IM (1:56.99).

* Junior Joanna Stenkvist: 100y fly (54.81), 200y back (1:58.31).

* Junior Kendyl Stewart: 200y IM (2:00.85), 100y fly (51.99), 100y back (53.83), 200y back (1:54.20).

* Sophomore Evan Swenson: 50y free (22.81), 100y free (49.93).

* Junior Jasmine Tosky: 200y free (1:47.18), 200y fly (1:55.59), 100y breast (1:02.16), 200y breast (2:11.08), 400y IM (4:12.05).

* Freshman Hannah Weiss: 100y back (52.23), 200y back (1:55.09), 100y fly (53.01).

* Junior Kasia Wilk: 50y free (22.78), 100y free (49.91).

* Junior Lucy Worrall: 100y fly (53.46).

USC has `A’ cuts in both medley relays and `B’ cuts in the freestyle relays. Senior Haley Ishimatsu and junior Sam Adams have NCAA diving cuts on all three boards while freshmanAlexa Cacao has one on 1-meter and junior Natalie Kalibat has them on 1- and 3-meter.

Trojans ranked in the NCAA Top Times top 25

* Chelsea Chenault’s 1:45.31 in the 200y free (14^th) and 4:42.44 in the 500y free (21^st), Hannah Weiss’ 52.23 in the 100y back (13^th), Kendyl Stewart’s 51.99 in the 100y fly (6^th) and 1:54.20 in the 200y back (21^st), Andrea Kropp’s 1:00.01 in the 100y breast (13^th), 2:09.32 in the 200y breast (10^th) and 1:56.99 in the 200y IM (10^th), Jasmine Tosky’s 1:55.59 in the 200y fly (10^th), 2:11.08 in the 200y breast (21st) and 4:12.05 in the 400y IM (23rd).

National Nods

*USA Swimming named USC head swimming and diving coach Dave Salo as the national women’s head coach for the 2015 FINA World Championships on Nov. 17. Salo, now in his ninth year as the Trojans men’s and women’s coach, will join U.S. men’s coach Dave Durden, who also directs the men’s team at Cal. The 2015 FINA World Championships are set forAug. 2-9 next year in Kazan, Russia. Salo will be serving as the U.S. women’s head coach at the Worlds for the second time, having also directed the team in 2013 at the games in Barcelona.

*Junior Kendyl Stewart was among five swimmers nominated for USA Swimming’s Breakout Performer of the Year honor at the 2014 Golden Goggles in November. She earned the nomination after winning a bronze in the 100m fly and a silver on the 400m medley relay at the 2014 Pan Pacs. She also won her first career U.S. titles with victories in the 50m and 100m fly at the 2014 U.S. Summer Nationals.

USC Women Notes
The Trojans return seven All-Americans, led by senior diver and two-time NCAA platform champion Haley Ishimatsu as well as juniors Kendyl Stewart, Jasmine Tosky, Kasia Wilk andJoanna Stenkvist and sophomores Chelsea Chenault and Evan Swenson.

Other top returning contributors include senior breaststroke specialist Andrea Kropp, a 2013 All-American, sophomore freestyler Lexie Malazdrewicz, who competed as a freshman at last year’s NCAAs, junior diver Sam Adams, a three-time 2014 Pac-12 Championships finalist, and improving sophomore IM’er Maggie D’Innocenzo. USC also has a host of young breaststrokers including sophomore Riley Hayward and Kelsey Kafka looking to break through.

Stewart and senior sprint freestyler Rebecca Heyliger are the captains for the 2014-15 squad.

USC, under ninth-year head coach Dave Salo, will have to replace a trio of 2014 senior standouts in Kasey Carlson, Stina Gardell and Meghan Hawthorne. Carlson was a six-time All-American and three-time individual finalist whose 50y and 100y free and 100y breast will be hard to replace while Gardell and Hawthorne were both stalwarts in the 200y and 400y IM and the 200 breaststroke.

Among the top newcomers to the squad are freshmen Hannah Weiss, Kindle Van Linge and Alexa Cacao. Weiss is a 2013-14 Junior National team member strong in the fly and back. Van Linge is strong in the 100y fly and back while Cacao is an up-and-coming diver who won the 2014 U.S. springboard title in the 16-18 age group. Also now available is 2014 transfer Lucy Worrall, a butterfly specialist who was an NCAA point scorer for Miami in 2013 in the 100y fly.