2006-2007 USC Swimming and Diving 39

2006-2007 Coaches Profiles

dave salo • Head CoaCH 1st Year

Dave Salo, one of the nation’s top club swimming coaches for more than 15 years and a former Trojan assistant coach, has been named head coach for USC’s men’s and women’s swimming teams, Athletic Director Mike Garrett announced today (April 21).

He replaces Mark Schubert, who is assuming USA Swimming’s head coach position after guiding USC swimming for the past 14 years.

“Dave Salo brings a wealth of experience at all levels of competitive swimming,” said Associate Athletic Director Dr. Brandon Martin, who conducted the nationwide search to replace Schubert. “We believe that Dave is a perfect fit for our department, in terms of both developing and educating our student-athletes as well as winning championships.”

Salo, 47, who has coached Olympic medalists such as former Trojans Lenny Krayzelburg and Gabe Woodward, Aaron Peirsol, Amada Beard, Staciana Stitts, Colleen Lanne and Jason Lezak, comes to USC after serving as head coach of the Irvine Novaquatics from 1990 to 2006.

“Returning to USC, following in the footsteps of Hall of Fame coaches Peter Daland and Mark Schubert, is a coach’s dream,” said Salo. “The fact that it becomes my reality can’t be described adequately.

“I have had a dream coaching career - coaching some of the best swimmers in the world with one of the best clubs in the country. The opportunity to come back to USC to coach one of the most storied programs in the history of collegiate swimming is tremendously exciting. I am looking forward to contributing to the culture of expected excellence at USC.”

Salo guided the Novas to numerous Junior National and U.S. National team titles as well as several age group championships. He was tabbed 2002 U.S. Swimming Coach of the Year after leading the Novas to U.S. Spring and Summer national titles.

In addition to his work with the Novas, he has served extensively at the national level, including head coaching assignments for the United States at the 2005 World Championships (men) and the 2001 Goodwill Games (men). His assistant coaching duties for the U.S. include the 2004 Olympics (men), 2003 World Championships (men and women), 2002 Pan Pacific Championships (men), 2000 Olympics (women) and the 1999 Pan American Games (women).

Nova swimmers and alums who trained under Salo have consistently dotted the roster of U.S. national teams, often in starring roles. Peirsol, the world record holder in the 100 and 200 backstroke (lcm), is a two-time Olympian and won 2004 Olympic gold medals in the aforementioned events. Beard is a three-time Olympian with seven medals, one of many elite breaststrokers who have come under Salo’s tutelage. Lezak, a four-time Olympic medalist in two appearances, is among American’s greatest sprinters.

Besides duties with the Novas and the U.S. team, Salo served as co-head coach at Orange Coast College from 2000 to 2004. The

Pirates won the 2003 California state title and Salo was honored as state Co-Coach of the Year. Also in 2003, he became the Founding Director of Aquatics at Soka University in Alisa Viejo, Calif., where he recently completed his second season with the Lions.

Salo joined the Novas after five seasons (1985-90) working under legendary USC swimming coach Peter Daland. He helped guide Troy’s men’s team to five Top 5 NCAA finishes, including second-place marks in 1987, 1988 and 1990. Troy also had perfect dual-meet records in 1988, 1990 and 1991. Among the USC swimmers he helped coach were NCAA champions and Olympians Dave Wharton and Dan Jorgensen.

Salo graduated from Long Beach State with a B.A. and M.A. in exercise physiology and also served as an assistant women’s swimming coach there in 1981 and 1982. He earned his doctorate in the same field from USC in 1991.

Salo swam for Santa Rosa Junior College from 1976 to 78 before transferring to Long Beach State.

2006-2007 USC Swimming and Diving40

adam crossenassistant CoaCH

First Year

paul davidsonassistant CoaCH

First Year

Paul Davidson, who has more than 20 years of experience coaching at the collegiate and club levels, is in his first year as an assistant swimming coach at USC. Davidson comes to USC after serving as an assistant coach at UNLV in 2006, where he coached the distance groups and handled women’s recruiting. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach at Cal Lutheran from 2003-05, helping to build the program from scratch. Davidson’s other collegiate coaching experience came at Michigan, a three-year stint from 1994 to 1996. While working in Ann Arbor, he also was an assistant coach for Club Wolverine. During his stint in Michigan, the women’s team finished second at the 1995 NCAA Championships and Club Wolverine won a title at the U.S. Summer Nationals that same year. From 1996 to 2005, Davidson was head coach at Conejo Simi Aquat-ics in Simi Valley, Calif. Under his tutelage, the club produced several U.S. Olympic Trials and National Championships qualifiers, grew in membership and won the Coastal section championship in 2000. Davidson began his coaching career with the SoCal Aquatics Associa-tion in Tustin, Calif., where he served as senior coach and assistant national coach from 1985-1994 before moving on to Michigan. He was a member of the UC Irvine water polo team from 1980-85 and was a part of the NCAA Championship team in 1982. He graduated from UCI in 1988 with a bachelor of arts degree in film studies and comparative literature.

Adam Crossen, a former Trojan swimmer who has collegiate and club coaching experience at some of the top programs in the country, is in his first year as a USC assistant swimming coach. Crossen, 31, comes to USC after serving under current Trojan head coach Dave Salo at Soka University and with the Irvine Novaquatics club team. He was the associate head coach for the Novas (2003-2006) and as assistant with Soka (2004-2006). While with the Novaquatics, Crossen helped coach some of America’s top swimmers, including former Trojan and Olympian Lenny Krazyelburg and Olympian Jason Lezak. He handled coaching and recruiting for both the men’s and women’s teams at Soka. Also during his tenure with the Novas, Crossen served as the director of the USA Swimming 2004 Select Camp for the Western region held at Soka University. Prior to his stint with Soka and the Novaquatics, Crossen spent three years (2000-2003) as an assistant women’s swimming coach at California under former Trojan swimmer and current Bear head coach Teri McKeever. Crossen coached close to 20 All-Americans in his time with the Bears, including Olympic gold medal winner and three-time NCAA swimmer of the year Natalie Coughlin as well as Olympic medalist and current Trojan assistant swimming coach Staciana Winfield. Crossen, who was involved in all facets of the Bear program, helped Cal to top 10 finishes in all three years he was there. His stint with the Bears was preceded by a graduate assistant turn at Auburn University under head coach David Marsh from 1997 to 2000. Working with both programs, he helped guide the men’s team to an NCAA title in 1999 and to a runner-up finish in 1998. The women’s team finished fifth in 2000 and sixth in 1998 while Crossen was there. Crossen was the head coach of the Auburn Master Team and worked as a coach and head counselor at the Auburn Swim Camp as well. A four-year swimmer under former USC coach Mark Schubert (1994-97), Crossen graduated from USC in 1997 with a degree in exercise science. He earned a master’s degree in exercise physiology from Auburn in 2000. While at USC, he was a member of the Pac-10 Conference Student Athlete Committee. He is married to the former Julie Peck and the couple is expecting its first child.

2006-2007 Coaches Profiles

2006-2007 USC Swimming and Diving 41

staciana winfieldassistant CoaCH

First Year

Staciana Winfield, a 2000 U.S. Olympic gold medalist and four-time Pan Am Games gold medalist, is in her first year as an assistant swimming coach at USC. Winfield, whose maiden name is Stitts, was an assistant coach at the College of Charleston in 2005-2006, helping the men’s and women’s team post a school-record 18 point scorers at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships. One of America’s top breaststrokers from 1998 to 2004, Winfield’s resume is topped by her 2000 Olympic gold medal, which she earned swimming the breaststroke leg in the prelims of the 400-meter medley relay in Sydney, Australia. She won a pair of 100m breaststroke titles at the 1999 and 2003 Pan Am Games and swam the breaststroke leg on U.S.-winning 400m medley relays as well. She is also a three-time Goodwill Games medalist, a 2002 World Championships finalist (100m breast) and a 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials two-time finalist (100m and 200m breast). Winfield, 24, earned multiple All-American honors as a four-year star at California, where she was a four-time NCAA individual finalist and was part of Cal’s 2000 NCAA-title-winning 200m medley relay. She was also a three-time Pac-10 All-Academic first team selection. Winfield, from Encinitas, Calif., and a graduate of Carlsbad (Calif.) High, was a junior national champion in 1997 and the California High School state champion in 1998 in both the 100y and 200y breast. Winfield also swam for and worked with Salo at Irvine Novaquatics, one of the top club teams in the country. She is married to Brett Winfield.

2006-2007 Coaches Profiles

2006-2007 USC Swimming and Diving42

2006-2007 Coaches Profiles

hongping li

Head diving CoaCH •eigHtH Year

An NCAA champion and two-time Olympian who has been one of the most successful NCAA coaches in recent years, Hongping Li is in his eighth year as USC’s head diving coach. He was named to the position on July 1, 1999. Li, the 2002 and 2006 NCAA and 2001-03 and 2005-2006 Pac-10 Wom-en’s Diving Coach of the Year and the winner of the 1998 and 1999 United States Olympic Committee’s “Diving Developmental Coach of the Year” award, came to USC after serving as the head coach of the Mission Viejo (Calif.) Na-dadores Diving Team since 1993. Li, who was an assistant coach on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Diving team, has had immediate and sustained success since joining the USC staff, directing five men’s and women’s divers to a combined 25 All-American honors and five NCAA titles. In 2006, Blythe Hartley won her fourth and fifth career NCAA titles with wins on the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard while men’s diver Michael Hilde made his All-American debut on 3-meter. Hartley, who also earned her 12th (a maxi-mum for a diver) All-American honor with a final appearance on platform, was named NCAA Women’s Diver of the Year for the second time. Her five career NCAA titles is tied for second among NCAA women divers. She also won her seventh and eighth career Pac-10 titles (a Pac-10 record). Hilde won his second career Pac-10 platform title (Troy’s fourth in a row in the event). In addition to Hilde, Kenny Jenkins qualified for his first NCAA Championships, marking the third straight year USC has had two men at the NCAAs. In 2005, Hartley won her third career NCAA title while Ray Vincent earned his third consecutive All-American honors on the platform, marking the sixth consecutive season Li’s divers earned All-American honors. Hartley was named 2005 NCAA and Pac-10 women’s diver of the year after winning the NCAA 3-meter title and her fifth and sixth career Pac-10 titles a few weeks earlier. She went on to win her second career World Championship gold medal on 3-meter

in July, 2005, in Montreal. Vincent also won a Pac-10 title on platform and Troy’s men’s diving contingent was the highest scoring unit of the meet. In 2004, Vincent earned All-American honors on the platform, continuing Li’s streak of having Trojans earn All-American honors each year he’s been at USC. Additionally, Hartley represented Canada at the 2004 Olympics (winning bronze on synchronized platform) while Li’s club diver Rachelle Kunkel made the U.S. team placing 9th on 3-meter springboard. In 2003, three of Li’s divers earned All-American honors. Vincent became Li’s first men’s diver at USC to do so, taking third in the platform at the 2003 NCAA Championships. At the women’s NCAAs, Hartley was a three-time All-American while Nicci Fusaro earned one All-American honor. Hartley also swept the 2003 Pac-10 Championship diving events on the women’s side (Fusaro took a pair of seconds) and Vincent won the platform title in the men’s meet. For their efforts, Li was named 2003 Pac-10 Women’s Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season and Hartley was named Pac-10 Women’s Diver of the Year for the second straight year. Li also served as head coach for the U.S. Diving team that competed at the 2003 Grand Prix Diving Championships in Rome, Italy. He earned NCAA Coach of the Year honors after directing the women’s

Hongping Li’sUsC HigHLigHts

2002 and 2006 nCaa Women’s CoaCH oF tHe Year

•2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006

PaC-10 Women’s CoaCH oF tHe Year

•Li Has direCted UsC divers to

Five nCaa titLes and a Combined 25 aLL-ameriCan Honors

•Under Li, trojan divers Have Won a Combiend 17 PaC-10 titLes and

Have been named botH PaC-10 diver oF tHe Year and neWComer diver

oF tHe Year Five times

2006-2007 USC Swimming and Diving 43

2006-2007 Coaches Profiles

diving squad to superb results at the 2002 NCAA Championships. Hartley won a pair of NCAA titles and made three finals appearances on her way to 2002 NCAA Women’s Diver of the Year while Fu-saro also made three NCAA finals appearances. Senior diver Kellie Brennan also scored and just missed earning All-American honors. Also in 2002, Hartley won a silver and a bronze at the 2002 Commonwealth Games while Fusaro qualified for the 2002 U.S. national team. In 2001, Li guided Brennan to a pair of All-American honors (and her third consecutive Pac-10 1-meter title) and Fusaro to her first at the 2001 NCAAs. Both also reached the top three at the 2001 U.S. Indoor Championships. Brennan was named Pac-10 Diver of the Year, Fusaro was tabbed as Newcomer of the Year and Li earned his first Pac-10 Coach of the Year honor. A year earlier in 2000, Li helped guide Brennan to her first two All-Ameri-can honors. Li, 43, was named the 1998 and 1999 U.S. Diving Outstanding Age Group Coach of the Year, was a U.S. team coach at the 1999 Pan Am Games, the 1998 World Diving Championships, the 1998 Goodwill Games and the 1997 World Junior Championships, and earned the Coach of Excellence award at the 1995 Senior National Championships. He is also a voting member of the USA Diving’s Committee Olympic Success. At Mission Viejo, he produced eight Junior

National champions who won a combined 20 indi-vidual titles. Among the elite divers Li coached was Erica Sorgi, who has captured five senior national titles since 1996. Li led the Nadadores to the 1998 Junior Na-tional Championships team title as well as every Western National team title since 1996. He served as an assistant coach at Mission Viejo from 1989-93, helping the club to consecutive junior team titles from 1991-93. Originally from Beijing, Li was a 12-time na-tional champion and a two-time Olympian while competing for China. He finished fourth on the 3-meter springboard at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and earned gold medals on the platform at the 1981 FINA World Cup in Mexico City and the 1981 World University Games. He also quali-fied for the 1980 Olympics, but did not compete because of the Chinese boycott. Li attended USC from 1985-89 and received a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1989. He won an NCAA title in the 3-meter springboard as a freshman in 1986 and earned All-American honors in the 1-meter springboard. He also earned Pac-10 titles in the 1- and 3-meter springboards that same year. He was not eligible to compete after 1986 because of an NCAA age rule. Li lives in La Palma, Calif., with his wife, Ling, and their 12-year-old daughter, Amanda.

USC Coach Hongping Li with Nicci Fusaro (middle) and Blythe Hartley at the 2002 NCAA Championships. Hartley won two NCAA titles in 2002 and both she and Fusaro were three-time All-Americans.

Li was named 2002 NCAA Coach of the Year while Hartley was tabbed 2002 NCAA Diver of the Year.