SWIMMING : Biondi Wins, but There Is More Than Pride at Stake

After the crowd had settled in for a second time, Matt Biondi edged Tom Jager by .02 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle match race at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach Saturday Night.

Because the NCAA won’t allow college teams to swim in meets involving professionals, the crowd of more than 1,000 had to leave the building and re-enter before the match race could take place.

When the crowd returned, it saw Biondi get off the blocks ahead of Jager and record the fastest U.S. time for the event this year, 20.13. Jager’s 20.15 is second fastest.

“I felt I had a good start,” Biondi said. “I didn’t feel I finished well, but it was good enough.”

It was Biondi’s fourth consecutive victory over Jager, dating to the Seoul Olympics.

For the swimmers, however, the outcome of the race was not as important as the race itself. For the first time in America, a swimming race had prize money. Biondi received a reported $2,500 for his victory, and Jager received $2,000.

“I’ve been saying that we need money to stay in the sport, and if I can get it from racing Matt, all the better,” Jager said.

In the team competitions, the California women’s team and the USC men’s team extended leads.

The California women won three events, including two individual winners. Heather Reagen, the winner of the 500-yard freestyle Friday, added the 200-yard freestyle, and Brooke Hanley won the 100-yard breaststroke.

The USC men had three individual winners. Ray Looze won the 100-yard breaststroke, David Wharton won the 400-yard individual medley and Brad Bailey won the 100-yard butterfly.

USC also won the 800-yard freestyle relay and the 200-yard medley relay. Scott Jaffe of California won the 200-yard freestyle and Stanford’s Jeff Rouse won the won 100-yard breaststroke.

The meet concludes tonight.