Bruins stylin’ at Pac-10 tournament

Monday, March 2, 1998

Bruins stylin’ at Pac-10 tournament

Team loses to Stanford, but individuals do well

By Steve Kim

Daily Bruin Staff

UCLA hosted the Pac-10 swimming championships last weekend with
several individual highlights but placed behind powerhouse teams
from Stanford, USC, Arizona and Cal.

The Bruins started well on the first day of competition with
Cindy Bertelink placing fifth in the 500 freestyle, Beth Goodwin
breaking the school freshman record with a third place finish in
the 100 butterfly and Keiko Price placing third in the 50
freestyle.

The biggest moment for the Bruins came on the second day when
Lindsay Etter tied the Pac-10 conference record in the 100
breaststroke. She clocked-in at 1:01.28 to match USC’s Kristine
Quance’s 1994 record.

"I was so surprised," Etter said. "I set goals before the meet
and usually, I make them harder than I think I can do. But this
meet I surpassed them, which is just amazing. The energy of the
team and cheering pulled me through."

Another Bruin, Amber Wines, placed third that race after a poor
preliminary swim.

"In the prelim, I felt slow, so my coaches told me what I should
do to fix my stroke to get it better," Wines said.

And better she got. Wines and Etter, along with Price, Goodwin,
Bertelink and multi-talented Jill Jenkins have qualified for the
NCAAs.

UCLA head coach Cyndi Gallagher says although their relays will
suffer in the championships because two of their much needed
sprinters haven’t qualified, the Bruins will do well in the
individual events.

"You know, we want to beat everybody just like everyone else,"
Gallagher said. "But we just don’t have the depth this year. Even
then, we had great swims and the people that made the NCAAs are
potential top-eight placers."

UCLA divers showed solid results that added to the combined
scoring this weekend. In the platform event Delilah Moore, Anne
Baghramian and Tracy Wilcox consecutively occupied the fourth,
fifth and sixth places.

Rose Huelskamp turned in the highest performance by placing
third in the three meter spring board.

"I had fun and, basically, when I have fun I dive well,"
Huelskamp said. "The pressure didn’t impact me as much as it could
have considering this year was the most competitive Pac-10 diving
meet I’ve experienced in four years. We all had a great time."

Despite several sparkling performances by Bruins, there was no
question Stanford took the spotlight in these championships.

The Cardinal dominated and continued its Pac-10 winning streak
to make this meet its 10th consecutive victory.

Stanford won most of the relay events, which have added point
value. Misty Hyman, a world champion swimmer, took first in the 100
and 200 flies as well as the 200 backstroke.

Her teammate, Olympic gold medalist Catherine Fox, won the 50
and 100 freestyles and 100 backstroke.

"I feel really good about this weekend because it’s been a
pretty rough year for me," Hyman said. "Transitions like going to
college and being a freshman, being gone from school for a month
for the world championships – I don’t think I’ve slept in the same
bed for 10 nights in a row. I’m really pleased with my time
considering the ups and downs with my training. It’s nice to come
through and help the team."

For veteran competitor Fox, approaching the championships with a
focused mind has helped her with multiple victories.

"It’s never just another race," Fox said. "It’s always a new
experience, honestly. You have to get ready for each race, prepare
for it mentally and individually. It’s sometimes easier to get
there when the crowd’s behind you."

Even after 10 consecutive Pac-10 victories, Cardinal head coach
Richard Quick still finds this sport challenging and exciting. For
the next few weeks, he is keeping an eye on redeeming his team
against defending national champion USC in the upcoming NCAA
championships.

"Every year we have a new group, and we work really hard," Quick
said. "I’m pleased with how we swam, and we’re looking to build off
this for the NCAAs."