ONLINE EXTRA: Swimmers lose first two conference meets

By Calley Prezzano
Daily Bruin Contributor

The UCLA swimming and diving team, reigning Pac-10 Champion, had
its confidence shaken after losing its first two conference meets
of the season.

UCLA slipped to a 4-2 record (0-2 in conference) after being
defeated by both Arizona and Arizona State this weekend.

The Bruins swam well, but were at a disadvantage from the start,
as only about half the team traveled. UCLA had over 25 season-best
times, but both Arizona and ASU had faster swimmers and more
depth.

“We knew it would be hard to win,” sophomore Kristen
Lewis said. “We’ve never been a really good “˜dual
meet team.'”

The weekend started with a loss to ASU on Friday (166-134). The
Sun Devils won 11 of the 14 swimming events. The only individual
event winners for UCLA were sophomores Sara Platzer, who finished
first in both the 100 (50.37) and 50-yard freestyle (23.31), and
Naoko Watanabe, who won the 200 backstroke (2:02.85).

“We had a great second half,” Lewis said. “We
may have been able to win, but we didn’t get as pumped for
the first half of the meet.”

Freshman Agnes Kovacs led ASU to victory by winning three
individual events. She placed first in both the 100 and 200 breast
with NCAA “A” qualifying times of 1:10.41 and 2:11.07,
respectively. Kovacs also won the 200 individual medley (2:01.87).
UCLA freshman Malin Svahnstrom placed top 3 in her events,
finishing second in both the 200 I.M. and the 200 free, and third
in the 100 free.

UCLA diving performed well, as junior Heidi Prosser finished
first, followed by fellow Bruin junior Regan Gosnell, who came in
third on the one-meter. In the three-meter event, Gosnell earned
first place, while Prosser got third.

Arizona defeated UCLA with a score of 138-99 on Saturday. The
Bruins again won only three out of 13 events.

“We swam fast, there was nothing more we could do,”
Lewis said. “We can’t control how they swim.”

Platzer won the 50 free with a 23.18 and placed second in the
100 free. The UCLA 200 free relay also came in first.

“Our team swam hard when tired,” sophomore Krissy
Tinney said. “We did well. They were just better.”

In diving, the Bruins again placed admirably. UCLA won first
through third place on the three-meter. Prosser won the event,
followed by Gosnell and freshman Janine Strack. In the one-meter,
Prosser’s score (192.30) was bumped to second by
Arizona’s Kelley Persinger. Persinger won the event with a
score of 192.70, not even half a point edge over Prosser.

Though UCLA lost the meets, the season has only begun. The team
plans to take this past weekend in stride and concentrate on its
goals.

“We’ll just keep training hard,” Tinney said.
“It’s (two) dual meets. We can get them in the end (at
Pac-10 Championships).”