Squad fails to splash victory in faces of Stanford, Cal

  ROSETTE GONZALES Sophomore Cathy Coler
swims the breaststroke during the 400-meter individual medley
against Cal on Saturday.

By Regina Yeh
Daily Bruin Contributor

This weekend the UCLA swimmers and divers proved they can
compete against two top-10 nationally ranked teams, and are almost
ready for the NCAAs and Pac-10s.

The Bruins held meets on both Friday and Saturday with Stanford
and Cal, respectively. Having trained all week, and even under the
rare occurrence of rainfall, the teams persevered over cold weather
and apprehension toward the Cardinals and the Golden Bears.

At the conclusion of Friday’s meet, with the Cardinals
taking home the win against UCLA with a score of 142 to 101, the
Bruins looked at the experience with confidence.

“We did a great job; even though Stanford is ranked No. 1
nationally, we weren’t afraid,” head coach Cyndi
Gallagher said. “We’re just swimming smarter, and
competing against Stanford is definitely upping the level of our
performance out there.”

Within the combined efforts of the spirited team, Gallagher
singles out the two Olympians on the team, senior Elvira Fischer
and freshman Malin Svahnstrom, who push the entire team to a higher
level, and the first place finishes of the day.

The performances of sophomore Sara Platzer winning the 50-yard
free, as well as sophomore Naoko Watanabe taking first in the 200m
backstroke, indicate strength in the upcoming NCAA and Pac-10
competitions.

In the diving events, junior Emily Prosser took third place in
both the 1-meter and the 3-meter dives against Stanford. The
Bruins, diving against the nationally ranked Cardinals, showed
their mettle.

“All our players have qualified for the NCAA Zone, and
I’m proud of that,” sophomore diver Kasey Reinhard
said. “My teammates have given me good support all year, and
at this point we’re a strong team.”

Saturday’s meet finished with Cal defeating UCLA by a
narrow margin of 159.5 to 140.5.

Fischer took first in the events of the 100m and 200m breast,
while Svahnstrom won the 100m fly. The 200m free relay team also
captured first place, while in the diving events Prosser placed
first in the 1-meter and 3-meter.

“I’m very proud of the team. We went in without
being afraid, and just did our best,” Fischer said.
“The team being out there competing is awesome, and it makes
swimming fun; it creates a nice atmosphere for the
meets.”

In the few weeks ahead, the Bruins look forward to going against
hometown rival USC on Feb. 16, the last meet before the Pac-10
Championships.

“It’s extremely exciting at this point. We’re
rested now, and we’re trained and in good condition,”
sophomore Kristen Tinney said. “Everything is now up to doing
our best, and having positive thinking and swimming.”