Swim finishes 10th at NCAAs

Swim finishes 10th at NCAAs

By Ross Bersot

Just as the Taps player drew his horn to his lips, the UCLA
women’s swim team stuffed it down his throat.

Coming out of a first-day coma that left them in the depths of
the standings at the NCAA Championships last month, the Bruins
resuscitated their effort over the final two days in Austin, Texas
and finished the meet in 10th place with 148 points.

"I thought we could struggle to get 12th (after the first
morning)," UCLA head coach Cyndi Gallagher said. "I told them,
‘Okay, I think probably the best we can do is 12th,’ and they ended
up getting 10th. They did better than I thought they could do. They
got it done."

The Bruins seemed done after the first morning (March 16) of
competition. Neither the 200-yard freestyle relay team, nor the 400
medley relay team qualified for the afternoon final heat, placing
12th in the former and 10th in the latter, when only the top eight
teams scored points.

Relays proved to be a pivotal letdown on all three days for
UCLA. Senior Mega Oesting was unable to compete at peak level due
to health problems and the relay teams had to suffice without her
services, which had been a critical component of the teams’ success
throughout the season.

The Bruins did not finish better than seventh in any relay
during the entire competition, which put them in a hole reminiscent
of the Marianas Trench because the relays count for double the
points of individual events.

"(In the past) we’ve had great relays," Gallagher said. "This
year we didn’t have great relays, we had good relays. That was
pretty evident when four relays didn’t get in the top eight.
Usually four or five relays get in the top eight. That’s where we
were probably lacking."

Indicative of just how tough the first day of competition was
for the women of Westwood is junior Annette Salmeen’s 17th-place
finish in the 500 free despite it being a career-best.

After spending the night in Davy Jones’ locker, the Bruins
blazed into the second day of the NCAAs in an attempt to salvage a
top-10 finish.

Jill Jenkins shook off the rookie butterflies and raced to a
fourth-place finish in the backstroke with a career-best 55.25.
Lindsay Etter, another freshman competing at her first NCAAs,
touched out Louisiana State’s Becky Gibbs by .02 with a 1:03.21 in
the 100 breaststroke to finish 11th.

Arizona State’s Beata Kaszuba turned th 100 breast into a
personal highlight show, hitting the wall in under 1:00.00 with
U.S. open-record 59.92 in the morning preliminary. She received a
standing ovation from the Austin crowd after proceeding to break
the barrier again in the afternoon final, topping her morning time
with an astounding 59.71 clip.

In the 200 free, Natalie Norberg scored an 11th 1:49.03 for UCLA
on her way to becoming the most overworked Bruin of the meet.

"I need (Norberg) everywhere," Gallagher said. "I needed her to
sprint and I needed her to do distance, and she did it all. She did
it all great."

Salmeen scored her first points of the meet with a 13th in the
100 butterfly at 55.86 mark.

Finishing the day with their only relay points of the meet, the
Bruin team of Norberg, freshmen Kasey Foster and Cindy Bertelink
and junior Salmeen nabbed seventh in the 800 free relay with a
7:30.04, no threat to the winning 7:14.31 of the speedy Southern
Methodist squad.

UCLA owned 96 points after the second day and moved up five
places due to outstanding individual performances, but needed the
same effort in the final day of competition to ensure a top-10
finish.

Highlighting the last day for UCLA was Salmeen, who posted
2:00.42 to nail down seventh place in her best event, the 200 fly.
Jenkins’ 1:58.18 earned her ninth in the 200 back, while Etter’s
2:15.14 placed her 13th in the 200 breast.

Diver Tracy Wilcox finished 31st on the one-meter springboard
and 12th on the three-meter board. Simmons’ performance earned her
23rd and 22nd in the respective events.

UCLA finished a solid 10th at the close of the meet, 30 points
ahead of Northwestern. Gallagher is proud of her team for racing
hard for the final two-thirds of the meet after the dismal
beginning.

"They didn’t even lose faith in themselves or what our mission
was there," Gallagher said.