UCLA’s Gallagher Has Another Shot in the Pool Against USC’s Schubert

The USC-UCLA rivalry is always big, regardless of the sport. But when the women’s swimming teams meet, it means a little extra to the coaches.

Almost 20 years ago, Bruin Coach Cyndi Gallagher was swimming for Mark Schubert on the nation’s best club team in Mission Viejo. For the last six years, she has been battling him for L.A. bragging rights. The battle resumes Saturday at 1 p.m. at USC, in the final dual meet before the Pacific 10 championships two weeks later.

Schubert took over the men’s program at USC in 1993, the women’s in 1994. And he has yet to lose to his former student, something Gallagher is eager to change.

“I haven’t beat him yet,” said Gallagher, in her 11th year leading UCLA. “I’m getting really tired of him beating us.”

This year, that assignment could be tougher than ever for No. 17 UCLA, a team that has only three seniors and is 6-3-1 overall and 1-3-1 in the Pac-10. The fifth-ranked Trojans are 5-2, 2-2.

“We’re a young team, and on paper, it should be a wipeout,” Gallagher said. “But we’ll go out there and do our best and see what happens.”

UCLA’s best is something that concerns Schubert.

“That team always swims hard against us,” said Schubert, who will be one of two coaches for the U.S. team at the 2000 Olympics at Sydney, Australia. “We won’t have an easy time with them.”

Such was the case last year.

The teams met at UCLA in the middle of a rainstorm, and swam through the downpour.

“That was the most miserable dual meet I’ve ever attended,” Schubert said. “The weather was incredible.

“We tried to stay covered [in the locker room doorway], but the rain was coming in sideways and it hurt.”

Said Gallagher, with a laugh: “He was mad at that one. We stayed out in the rain, our fans were great, it was fun. But Mark was yelling at everybody.”

One of the keys will be the availability of senior Lindsay Benko, one of USC’s four All-Americans. Schubert said it is “probably realistic” that Benko, suffering from a back injury, won’t compete against UCLA. She holds seven personal records at USC and won the U.S. national title in the 200-meter freestyle at the 1998 summer nationals.

Another All-American, Karen Campbell, picked up the slack against national champion Stanford by breaking the Stanford pool record in the 100-meter butterfly.

For the Bruins, who have three All-Americans, the team lives and dies with junior Keiko Price. She has the team’s best time in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle, as well as the 200 individual medley.

Gallagher said her main interest is getting her team more experience before the Pac-10 championships.

“This is just plain fun,” she said. “Some of the swimmers from both teams are friends. They just don’t like each other at the meet.”

Schubert agreed.

“It is fun,” he said. “I really like to see UCLA do well. Except against USC.”

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The USC men’s team, No. 4 in the nation, had one of the most exciting weekends in the program’s history. After narrowly defeating California on Friday, the Trojans had the lead going into the final event Saturday at No. 1 Stanford. But they lost the 400 freestyle relay and the meet, 124-117. Schubert said the close loss at Stanford gives his team, which he calls the best he has had, confidence going into the Pac-10 meet.

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The Pepperdine men’s volleyball team, led by reigning American Volleyball Coaches Assn. player of the year George Roumain, is 8-0 and No. 3 in the rankings.

The Waves’ biggest match was Jan. 27, when they avenged last year’s loss to UCLA in the national championship match with a 15-13, 15-11, 5-15, 4-15, 15-11 victory at Pauley Pavilion.

The Bruins, 6-2 and 4-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, have dropped to fourth after beginning the year at No. 1. Tonight at 7 at USC’s North Gym, they play a Trojan team that is off to its hottest start in five years. The Trojans (6-2, 5-0) are ranked No. 9.

No. 6 Long Beach State (5-0, 4-0) plays host to Pepperdine (5-0 in the MPSF) Saturday at 7 p.m.

Loyola Marymount is 1-5 but held on to the No. 12 ranking this week.

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Four local tennis players took part at last weekend’s Rolex National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships at Dallas. The best finish was turned in by Pepperdine’s Kelly Gullett and John Hui, who reached the doubles consolation final before losing to Dustin Mauck and Keith Pollack of Southern Methodist.

On the women’s side, USC’s Ditta Huber went 1-2, and Cristina Popescu of UCLA withdrew with an injury in the first round of the consolation bracket.

The Bruin women (5-0) are ranked No. 8, the Trojan women (6-0) are No. 13. USC plays host to UCLA on Saturday.

The Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount women’s swimming teams will compete this weekend at the Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference Championships at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach. . . . USC golfer Jennifer Rosales, defending NCAA champion, received a sponsor’s exemption to compete in her first LPGA Tour event, the Valley of the Stars Championship Friday through Sunday at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale.