UCLA swim and dive returns to finish season after intense winter conditioning
For swimmer Taylor Carlson and the other seniors on the UCLA swim and dive team, this weekend marks the final home meet at Spieker Aquatics Center. (Max Himmelrich/Daily Bruin)
By Kathryn Gallo
Jan. 9, 2015 9:51 a.m.
Stepping into the second half of their season, seniors on the UCLA swim and dive team are beginning to face a series of lasts.
This weekend will be no different as the Bruins go into their last home meet of the season at the Spieker Aquatics Center. The divers will be facing Kansas while the swimmers take on both Kansas and in-state opponent San Diego State.
“It’s both exciting and sad at the same time,” said senior swimmer Noelle Tarazona.
The Bruins will be entering this meet a bit worn down from the rigorous winter training session they completed over break. The team arrived back to campus a week early to complete an intense practice schedule consisting of two three-hour practices a day. With time off from school, the team was able to hone in on its sport and dedicate itself entirely to training for the entire week.
“It’s typically a physical growth week,” said dive coach Tom Stebbins. “We spend a lot of time overworking. It’s very difficult and it’s supposed to stretch you mentally and really wear you down physically.”
For the swimmers, the week was meant to push them for when the time comes to compete for the Pac 12 and NCAA championships later in the season.
“They are a lot more focused practices,” said senior swimmer Taylor Carlson. “They were longer and harder, but they were more race-focused because we are now into the championship portion of our season.”
As the more challenging competitions approach, each meet becomes another opportunity for the team to prepare and improve.
For this weekend’s meet, Tarazona sees it as a way to get the team back into the habit of racing after not competing since early December.
“This is a meet where we are just swimming through,” Tarazona said. “A lot of people are swimming in events they wouldn’t normally swim in. It’s for us to just get back into the mode of racing since we haven’t had a meet in a while now.”
This meet is only the beginning of the Bruins’ latter half of the season. After this weekend, the team will face some of its toughest dual competitions of the year against fellow Pac-12 conference members Stanford and Cal, as well as cross-town rival USC.
The team is working toward being ready for these more challenging meets later in the season, but this week they are planning to focus on the task at hand and getting through with a win.
Carlson’s main goal is to take time to embrace the moment in her final meet at UCLA.
“I just want to have fun with it and enjoy the experience because it’s the last time I will get to do it at home,” Carlson said.
