SWIMMING : To Shave, Taper Now, or Hold Off Until Austin?

How does a team that finishes fourth in its conference championship expect to win the NCAA title?

With a sharp razor, a large bottle of shaving cream and a heavy dose of rest.

That is the game plan for USC between now and the NCAA Championships, March 28-30 in Austin, Tex.

Despite a gap of 392 points separating Pacific 10 champion Stanford and the fourth-place Trojans at last weekend’s conference meet, USC remains a favorite along with three-time defending champion Texas and the Cardinal for the NCAA crown.

It is simple math--the Trojans have the most returning scorers from the 1990 NCAA meet when they finished second to Texas, 506-423.

USC’s poor showing at the conference meet reflects the difference in strategy between Stanford Coach Skip Kenney and Trojan Coach Peter Daland.

With the exception of five of its best swimmers, the Cardinal tapered (reduced their training yardage) and shaved their body hair in an effort to win their 10th consecutive conference title and qualify as many swimmers as possible under rigid time standards for the NCAA Championships.

“I don’t know how to do it any other way because we don’t start school until Oct. 1, so we wouldn’t be able to taper by December,” Kenney said.

“I think when you do shave for the conference meet it lets you know where you are so you can fine tune it and continue to rest for the NCAAs, where you should be faster.”

In contrast, the Trojans did not taper or shave for the conference meet. They qualified most of their swimmers for the NCAAs in December, when they tapered and shaved for the Grand Prix meet.

“We work through this meet,” Daland said. “To my way of thinking, if someone is sick or injured they won’t go to the NCAAs if they wait to shave here (the Pac-10 meet). It is a shame we have to throw away the Pac-10 meet every year, but we have to.”

It is a throwaway because the weary, hairy Trojans can’t keep up with their rested, smooth-skinned competitors. How else to explain the performance of USC’s David Wharton? The former world record-holder in the 200 individual medley did not go fast enough in the conference preliminaries to make the finals in that event.

Gary Anderson, the breaststroker on both USC medley relays, couldn’t swim Saturday because of lingering back pain, and Greg Larson, a mainstay on the Trojan 400 and 800 freestyle relays, missed the meet because of a rib injury.

If the two cannot recover in time, the nine-time national champion Trojans might be denied their first title since 1977.

Even if Anderson and Larson are able to swim, Daland won’t wear the favorite’s label. He sees it as a three-team race between USC, Texas and Stanford, a team that ended the dual meet season with a No. 10 national ranking because of its 2-6 showing.

“They have projected themselves back onto the scene,” Daland said. “It is as simple as that. It should be a great meet.”

Even as his team was beating USC in the Pac-10 meet, Kenney gave the Trojans the nod.

“I think USC is No. 1 in the country even though Texas is ranked No. 1,” Kenney said. “They have almost every event covered.”

Less than 2 1/2 hours after coming up 1.8 seconds shy of the NCAA qualifying time in the 1,650-yard freestyle, USC freshman Kelan Holloway swam the 66 lengths again.

Since no other swimmer who came up short in the Pac-10 meet was inclined to try again in the time trial, Holloway was all alone--except for the legion of teammates who cheered his every stroke.

As he drew closer to the finish, the crowd joined his teammates in urging him to get under the NCAA standard of 15 minutes 17.01 seconds.

Eventually swimmers from other teams--even rival UCLA--added their voices, but the storybook ending was not to be. Holloway touched in 15:18.48; even so, Holloway got the loudest ovation of the meet.

Swimming Notes

Cal’s Scott Jaffe had the best comeback at the Pac-10 meet. After trailing leader Trip Zedlitz of Stanford by two full seconds at the halfway point of the 200 individual medley, he surged ahead to win in a meet record 1:47.18.

“It is uncomfortable to be last after the first 100,” Jaffe said. “Breaststroke and freestyle is the whole I.M. (individual medley) for me.”

In winning the 400 individual medley by more than a second in 3:48.99, Jody Braden became the first Washington swimmer to win a conference championship since 1975.

Stanford’s five backstrokers (world champion Jeff Rouse, Josh Mikesell, and freshmen Zedlitz, Derek Weatherford and Brian Retterer) dreamed of making the six-man finals together, and did in an uncommon display of depth.

“It was very exciting training those guys,” Kenney said. “At some workouts we’d clear the pool and keep the backstrokers in. On longer sets one guy would be first, on shorter sets another guy, on swimming and kicking another guy. They worked so well together.” Retterer, the winner of the 200 backstroke in a meet record 1:46.48, also swam on the winning 200 freestyle relay and took second in the 100 backstroke.

Because the Olympic trials are next March 1-6, Pac-10 men’s coaches have requested that the conference meet be moved up to November. The women’s coaches have also requested an earlier date, Feb. 5-7.

Texas’ men won all five relays at the Southwest Conference championship meet in defeating Southern Methodist, 979-806. Eleven of the 18 winning times at the Pac-10 meet were faster than those of the SWC meet. . . . Joey Hudepohl, a junior from St. Xavier High in Cincinnati, set three national high school records in the 50 (20.01), 100 (43.54) and the 200 freestyles (1:34.96). All three times would have won the Pac-10 championships.

Because of financial difficulties, Mission Bay Aquatic Center in Boca Raton, Fla., has forfeited the right to host U.S. Swimming’s Summer Nationals, Aug. 12-16. The meet has been transferred to the International Swimming Hall of Fame Pool in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The Mission Bay Makos were once a national power under Mark Schubert, the former Mission Viejo coach, who now coaches the Texas women. Under Schubert in 1986-88, the Makos won nine national team titles.

COMING MEETS: NCAA: Women--Division I National Championship, Indiana University Natatorium, Indianapolis, March 21-23; Men--Division I National Championship, University of Texas, Austin, Tex., March 28-30; U.S. Swimming: Coed--Junior National Championship East, Buffalo, N.Y., March 26-30; Junior National Championships West, Milwaukee, March 26-30; Spring National Championship, Federal Way, Wash., April 3-7.