UCLA swim and dive starts season strong with weekend wins

The Bruins sent nine of their best swimmers and divers across the country to the SMU Classic in Lewisville, Texas, this weekend, and the team returned with a positive early-season result.

UCLA finished in a second-place tie with the University of Missouri behind first place University of Louisville.

Sophomore diver Maria Polyakova starred in the invitational, finishing first in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives. The 18-year-old was the youngest diver to place in both events, and won the 1-meter by almost 30 points.

In the swimming events, the Bruins racked up second-place finishes.

Juniors Linnea Mack and Madison White finished as runners-up in the 50-yard freestyle and the 200-yard backstroke respectively. Sophomore Katie Grover raced to second place in the 200-yard butterfly and freshman Emma Schanz – swimming in one of the first races of her college career – placed second in the 200-yard individual medley.

Freshman swimmer Caroline McTaggart, racing in the 100-yard freestyle, broke the meet record with a time of 48.67 seconds, but Louisville senior Kelsi Worrell narrowly beat her at 48.6.

Mack broke through for the swimming team’s only first-place finish, winning the 100-yard backstroke in a fraction over 53 seconds.

Closer to home, the rest of the team dominated its season-opening meet against the University of San Diego. The Bruins finished in first place in all but one of the 15 events. Freshman swimmer Alex Hubel was part of three of those in her career-opening events.

On the boards, the Monahan sisters, Ciara and Montana, came in first and second overall. Ciara Monahan, a sophomore, had a score of 275.85 in the finals, with senior Montana Monahan just behind at 257.48.

The Bruins will travel up the coast to UC Santa Barbara this Saturday to take on the UCSB Gauchos and the Oregon State Beavers for their first full-team meet of the 2015-16 season.

Compiled by Tanner Walters, Bruin Sports senior staff.