Brunelli shows that his comeback is complete

His swimming career easily could have ended -- via a severe injury to his left shoulder -- in a pool at Irvine in August 2006.

So perhaps it made sense that Nick Brunelli’s revival unfolded in Southern California this summer, first with a victory at Mission Viejo last month in the 50-meter freestyle and reinforced with another win at that distance against a star-studded field in the Janet Evans Invitational on Saturday.

Symmetry, anyone?

Brunelli, of Sun Devil Aquatics in Tempe, Ariz., seems to have a fondness for this meet at USC, having won the 50 in 2005 and placed second last year. On Saturday, he won the 50 in 22.49 seconds, defeating reigning world champion Ben Wildman-Tobriner, who was second in 22.55. South African sprint stars Roland Schoeman and Ryk Neethling were third and fourth, respectively.

For the 25-year-old Brunelli, this was a cosmic distance from where he was after shoulder surgery last September in Phoenix to repair a torn labrum. He didn’t even hesitate when he was asked whether he thought his career was over.

“Oh yeah, absolutely. After the surgery I’ve never been in so much pain in my life,” he said. “The first week and a half, every day, I’d think, ‘Am I done?’ ”

Brunelli, who was third at the Olympic trials in the 50 in 2004, injured the shoulder in the final of the 50 at the U.S. nationals in Irvine last summer, suffering the shoulder tear upon his entry after the start.

“I felt like that was my best actual swimming race I’ve ever done,” he said. “But I just came up a body length behind everybody. It looked like, ‘Oh, he had a bad start.’ My shoulder popped out of place, fell back on my side, and I popped up behind everybody.

“It fell out of its socket. I popped it back into place ... and finished the race. It hurt. But it was all adrenaline.”

Meanwhile, others continued to dabble with races outside their comfort zone, most notably Natalie Coughlin. She ventured into the realm of the 200 breaststroke, placing fifth in 2:33.57. The winner was Rebecca Soni of the Trojan Swim Club in 2:25.66.

Coughlin couldn’t remember the last time she found herself in Lane 1 for a final. “It was my best time. I haven’t swum it in a decade, but it still counts,” she said.

If she felt completely “clueless” about the breaststroke before the 200 experience, how did she feel afterward?

“Still completely clueless,” Coughlin said. “I have no idea what I’m doing. It’s just a really good racing opportunity for me. I have no idea what is going to happen. So I just kind of listen to my body.”

The meet’s host, swim legend Janet Evans, was on hand and she spoke about the recent loss of her world record. Kate Ziegler took out Evans’ 1988 record in the 1,500, breaking it by nearly 10 seconds last month in Mission Viejo.

“I wanted it to be Kate. I think she’s a great representative of swimming in our country, and I hope she does awesome in Beijing,” Evans said, referring to the 2008 Olympics. “It was time. And I do think it’s a matter of time for the 800 [record] as well.”

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lisa.dillman@latimes.com