Bruins begin season with confidence

By Calley Prezzano
Daily Bruin Contributor

The parkas are out of the closet. New bathing suits are soaking
in vinegar. Chlorine is in the air. It’s swim season.

UCLA women’s swimming and diving team closed out the
2000-2001 season with a Pac-10 Championship and 15th place at
NCAAs.

The squad is anticipating another winning season with a fresh
and confident attitude.

“This year could be a breakthrough year, getting us back
in the top six (nationally),” head coach Cyndi Gallagher
said. “It comes down to a little luck and a lot of Bruin
pride to help us achieve our goal.”

Senior Erin Thomas agreed: “The team has progressed so
much over the past three years. We’ve made so many
improvements. The confidence level has changed this year after the
Pac-10 win.”

True, the team lost some of the best swimmers in UCLA history
over the past few years; however, those gone may not soon be
forgotten.

Both Brighid Dwyer and Beth Goodwin, who graduated last year,
are now helping the team as coaches.

“It’s great to have them around because they are
both so experienced,” sophomore Chelsea Murray said.
“They know how the team needs to look at different points in
the season.”

With nine seniors competing this year, the Bruins will have
experience on its side as the season begins. Not only do seniors at
UCLA tend to swim at their highest level, but Gallagher counts on
their enthusiasm and ability to be role models for the younger
swimmers.

This leadership will be needed as the team has 11 freshmen ready
to get wet for the first time.

Joining Gallagher in the coaching staff this year will be
assistant coach Greg Meehan.

“I’m looking forward to being part of a Pac-10
Championship team and helping them continue to be a top contender
at the NCAA level,” Meehan said.

Before his move to California, Meehan was an assistant coach at
Princeton. He helped lead the Tigers to the Ivy League crown in
2000 and 2001 and a 25th place finish at NCAAs.

“He’s brought (training) to a whole new
level,” junior Erin Zehntner said.

The team not only has dedicated coaches, but also has star
swimmers in every event. UCLA will be headed by sophomore Sara
Platzer, freshman Malin Svanstrom and sophomore Jackie Lobdell in
the freestyle events, sophomore Brooke Winkler in the individual
medley and Naoko Watanabe and LeAnne Cadag in the backstroke.

“The breaststroke is one of our strongest events because
we have two returning NCAA All-Americans, Lyndee Hovsepian and Jen
Noddle, and the addition of transfer Elvira Fischer,”
Gallagher said.

Fischer competed in both the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, and also
was a three-time All-American at the University of Nebraska.

In the butterfly, senior Katie Younglove, who has been an NCAA
All-American in the past, will have her work cut out for her.

She will try to fill in for the departed trio of Beth Goodwin,
Julia Voitovitsch and Brighid Dwyer ““ a group Gallagher calls
“three of the top six flyers in school history.”

The Bruins will face their share of competition this year,
including such strong teams as Stanford, Berkeley and Arizona. And
as always, the last meet before the Pac-10 Championships will have
the Bruins facing crosstown rival USC on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2002 in
Westwood.