UCLA swim and dive confident about Washington State meet
By Sari Zureiqat
Oct. 10, 2014 4:05 a.m.
In facing Washington State on Friday, UCLA swim and dive won’t have to put up much of a fight.
No. 17 UCLA has defeated Washington State by a large margin in the past few years. Last season, at a two-day dual meet in Pullman, Wash., the Bruins trounced the Cougars 133-67 and 142-80 on a Friday and Saturday in January, respectively.
In the season prior, UCLA beat Washington State 150-97, a win that pushed the Bruins to a 5-0 season start.
UCLA, of course, knows this.
Dive coach Tom Stebbins earlier explained that UCLA’s first real challenge won’t manifest itself until mid-November with the Arizona duals, followed by tough competition in Georgia in December.
Additionally, at this point in the season, Stebbins is confident about the mental state of the athletes.
“They genuinely care for each other, they get along well,” he said. “They’re invested in what they’re doing day in and day out.”
Stebbins admitted that “it’s easy to have that stuff” in the first few weeks of the school year. The first few meets, he said, will be used to make training more specific and concrete in response to each athlete’s needs.
In swimming against Washington State last year, UCLA wasn’t so centered on defeating the Cougars as it was on breaking records.
“Those were our goals – to break as many dual meet records as we could and as many pool records as we could,” said coach Cyndi Gallagher in an interview with the Daily Bruin after last season’s dual meet in Pullman.
Ultimately, the resounding sentiment is that UCLA will fare well against Washington State, especially with the home pool advantage – Friday’s meet will take place at the Spieker Aquatics Center.
So this meet, more than anything, may simply come down to practice.
“I really want to have fun and enjoy my last year swimming, that’s really my ultimate goal,” said senior Courtney Wilde.
