Bruins place eighth in tough finals meet with strong individual showings

By Nick Taylor Daily Bruin Contributor

INDIANAPOLIS – The final heats at the NCAA Swimming
Championships in Indianapolis last month were so fast you could
break records and still finish fourth.

That’s why No. 12 UCLA was satisfied with their eighth- place
finish.

"We did amazing. We’ve been the underdog all year. It’s good to
show people we can compete with the best," said freshman Erin
Zehntner, who finished 13th in the 1500 meter freestyle.

Georgia won the NCAA title with 490.5 points, finishing 18
points ahead of Arizona. Stanford, who the Bruins defeated for the
first time in school history in January, took third at 397.
Crosstown rival USC finished just ahead of the Bruins in seventh
place at 185 points.

UCLA finished with 163 points, though that total may have been
higher had breaststroker Jen Noddle been completely healthy. She
suffered a shoulder injury at the Pac-10 Championships in
February.

"I can’t be disappointed with being able to swim," Noddle said.
"There was a good chance I wouldn’t swim at all."

The ifs notwithstanding, the Bruins improved eight spots from
their 16th-place finish in last year’s Championships.

"Our goal was to make top 10, so we’re way ahead of last year,"
junior Beth Goodwin said.

Keiko Price, Katie Younglove, Julia Voitovitsch and Lyndee
Hovsepian led the Bruins. Price placed second in the 100 free and
sixth in the 50 free. She finished just seven- tenths of a second
behind Georgia’s Courtney Sheely.

For Price, her finish in the 100 was very rewarding.

"I was locking up the last 50 meters," she said. "I looked up
(at the scoreboard) and I was shocked. I made finals as a
sophomore, but I disqualified. It took four years and patience and
hard work to get this."

Younglove finished fourth in the 200 butterfly, matching her
performance in last year’s NCAAs, and finished fifth in the 100
fly. She joined Voitovitsch, who finished fourth in the 100 fly, on
the awards platform.

"It’s great that I can share that, especially with Julia up
there," Younglove said.

Hovsepian won both consolation finals in the 100 and 200
breaststroke, finishing ninth overall.

"The finals are always your goal, but I did the best I could in
my race," Hovsepian said.

Nicole Beck also helped the Bruins in the relays. She swam the
first leg of the 200 and 400 medley relays that took sixth and
seventh place.

"I wanted to go faster, but I couldn’t breathe (because of
asthma)," Beck said. "We’ve never had a meet with short course
meters, so we don’t know how we’re doing. You have to take it out
easier."

Goodwin also didn’t swim exceptionally well individually, but
she teamed with Price, Leanne Cadag and Brighid Dwyer to place 12th
in the 200 free relay.

"It was exciting moving up places in the 200 free relay," said
Dwyer, who was swimming her first-ever freestyle relay. "I think I
did well. I just came to do my best. You always think you can do
better, but to be apart of the excitement, it’s great."

Sheely and Kristy Kowal led the Bulldogs to the national title.
Limited to competing in three individual events and four relay
races, Sheely won the 50 and 100 freestyle and the 100 backstroke.
In addition, her 400 free relay team set an American record and the
400 medley relay team set a world record.

Kowal won three individual races also, in the 200 IM, and the
100 and 200 breaststroke. She set an American record in the 100
breaststroke and a world record in the 200 breaststroke.

"I was just trying to go as fast as I can. There’s more
excitement in finals so it’s easier to go faster at night," Kowal
said.

Three Pac-10 schools – Arizona, Stanford and California – took
second, third and fourth place. USC, with only six swimmers and a
diver competing, finished seventh. That was only a spot lower than
USC’s sixth-place finish last year.

"I’m really happy," Trojan Kristin MacGregor said. "Last year we
were sixth with a lot more people. With a small team this year,
seventh is encouraging."

UCLA felt similarly encouraged by their performance.