Squad looks to repeat Pac-10 performance at Zone E meet
By Daily Bruin Staff
March 7, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 COURTNEY STEWART Junior Liz Ackerman
hits the water cleanly in a meet last month. Seven Bruin divers
qualified for the NCAA Zone E Championships held in New York this
weekend.
By Errol Erin
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s diving squad begins competition in the
NCAA Zone E Championships this weekend in Federal Way, Wash. Just
several days after officially winning their first ever Pac-10
Conference Championship at the same venue, the divers are
enthusiastic to return to their victorious site.
“We are so confident and excited right now,” said
senior diver Anne Baghramian. “As a team, we have never been
so well-trained and we are expecting an outstanding
performance.”
“My kids are charged and ready,” Diving Head Coach
Tom Stebbins added.
Considered the Pac-10 underdogs, the UCLA swimming and diving
team initially placed second behind Arizona at the Championships
Feb. 24-27. However, due to a computer glitch, the ninth through
24th places in the three diving events were not counted. After
re-tallying the scores, UCLA edged out Arizona 1,338 to
1,289.5.
“It was an unfortunate mistake, but it can’t take
away from our amazing weekend,” said Stebbins.
Although the competition from two weeks ago gave the divers
further insight, they have been training for this all year.
“We kind of trained through the Pac-10 championships to
peak at the NCAA’s,” said sophomore diver Heidi
Prosser.
Divers individually qualify for the Zone E meet by hitting
qualifying marks during the regular season. While UCLA has
traditionally sends no more than three divers, this year seven
qualified.
WOMEN’S DIVING NCAA Zone E
Championships Friday and Saturday Federal Way, Wash.
“The NCAA’s are much more individual than the
Pac-10’s so we are going to be even more aggressive,”
added sophomore diver Regan Gosnell.
In trying to reproduce their Pac-10 performances, the divers
will try to stay focused on themselves and force the competition to
keep up.
“We have the same approach (as the Pac-10’s),”
said Stebbins. “We are going to do what we can do and make
them (try to) beat us.”
The NCAA Zone E meet has been their objective from the beginning
of the season. Despite their recent success, the Bruins aim to
maintain their focus.
“We haven’t let down one bit and have been training
better since the Pac-10’s,” said Prosser.
“This whole time our attitude was we are in it to win
it,” added Baghramian.
The Bruins are comfortable with diving in the same facility that
hosted the Pac-10 championships and have some degree of a home
court advantage. Prosser who is from Washington, trained at the
facility during club meets and will have her parents there for
support.
“I always dive a little better when my parents are there
and I am comfortable there from past training,” said
Prosser.
The squad returns three of its seven divers from last
year’s competition and the experience gives them an edge. The
Bruins are again considered the underdogs, but plan to use that to
their advantage.
“Other teams like Stanford and Arizona see their divers as
better, but this is what we have trained for the whole year, and we
are ready,” added Gosnell.
