It was the first loss of the season.

No, not Michigan’s. The No. 9 Michigan men’s swimming and diving team handed No. 1 Southern Cal its first loss of the season yesterday, 145-117.

After spending winter break training in California, the Wolverines started 2005 on a positive note. Beating Southern Cal gave the younger swimmers on the team the confidence that they can perform at the highest level with elite competition.

During their training, the Wolverines worked on some of the fundamental strokes, basic techniques and overall conditioning, Michigan coach Bob Bowman said.

Because of the strenuous workouts, the Wolverines may not have been as sharp as they could have been, but they still managed to defeat the top-ranked Trojans.

In the 500-yard freestyle, Michigan’s Peter Vanderkaay edged out fellow Olympic teammate Larsen Jensen of Southern Cal with a time of 4:30.18 to Jensen’s 4:31.44. Jensen wouldn’t play second fiddle for the entire meet though and won the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:18.29. He beat out Michigan’s Brendan Neligan who finished second in 9:21.24.

Vanderkaay also won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:38.61. Coming in second was Southern Cal’s Ous Mellouli, who finished in 1:39.55.

Michigan took a slight 20-16 advantage after two events with Chris DeJong, Christian Vanderkaay, Peter Vanderkaay and Davis Tarwater, winning the 400-yard medley relay in 3:20.55.

Michigan never relinquished the lead as it continued to excel. Tarwater won the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:50.46, and freshman Alex Vanderkaay took second, finishing in 1:52.07.

The Wolverines increased their lead to 73-58 after DeJong won the 100-yard backstroke, finishing in 49.39.

But Southern Cal closed the gap with Mike Mintenko, beating junior Peter Vanderkaay in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 45.35 to Vanderkaay’s 45.70.

Later in the meet, the Wolverines ----— with a lead of 129-97 — sealed their victory with a decisive win in the 400-yard freestyle relay when DeJong, Christian Vanderkaay, Tarwater and Andrew Hurd posted a time of 3:04.73. Southern Cal’s squad composed of Sean Sussex, Tyler Panos, Tyler Wilson and Ous Mellouli finished second with a time of 3:10.71.

The Wolverines’ Christian Vanderkaay also won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 57.13, beating out Southern Cal’s Paul Fahey, who finished just three-tenths of a second behind.

In the 200-yard backstroke, Michigan’s DeJong won with a time of 1:47.65. Southern Cal’s Victor Bodrogi finished second in 1:50.49.

Held at the USC Physical Education Building because of resurfacing done to Nova Aquatics — the facility where the Trojans normally swim — it was the first meet in the Physical Education Building since 1983.

Bowman said he believed that competing in the building — nicknamed the “dungeon” — helped add to the atmosphere.

“The pool had a good environment,” Bowman said. “It was really enclosed, so it allowed for a good energy. We got to swim in a meet with the best in the nation, and the pool environment allowed everyone to get excited.”

Bowman appeared pleased with his team’s performance and said he hopes that it can propel the Wolverines to achieve other similar victories.

“A win against Southern Cal is a nice step along the way for us,” Bowman said. “We have to make sure that we don’t get overconfident because we still have a long way to go and goals to accomplish. Still, we took a big step forward in the right direction.”