Swimming and diving team competes in first dual-meet
By Daily Bruin Staff
Nov. 12, 2009 10:10 p.m.
UCLA’s swimming and diving team faces two very different challenges in Pac-10 competition today and tomorrow as it heads to the desert to face Arizona State and Arizona.
Arizona State finished with just one dual-meet win last year and did not place at the NCAA Championships. Its coach resigned at the end of last year, and new coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker comes to the program with a solid background as a coach, bringing hope to a squad looking to reach the top of the Pac-10 once again.
Arizona, on the other hand, has been riding a wave of success for the past few years that has established it as a force in the conference. The Wildcats finished second in the Pac-10 and third overall at the NCAA Championships last year, following a three-year run that saw them finish with three straight Pac-10 Championships and an NCAA Championship in 2008.
But to UCLA’s swim coach Cyndi Gallagher, the key to doing well this weekend is very simple.
“They have to swim fast,” Gallagher said. “If you’re going up against national champions, you’ve got to swim fast.”
The swim team last competed three weeks ago in Santa Barbara, where it defeated UCSB and Oregon State in its first meet of the year to start off the season 2-0.
Although the team came out with two wins, its performance in sprint freestyle events was noticeably subpar.
No Bruin finished in the top three of the 50-yard free, 100-yard free or 400-yard free relay, leaving that a big question mark for the rest of the year.
“It has been (a point of concern) for two years now,” Gallagher said. “We’re pretty well-balanced, but our sprint will come eventually.”
This weekend, the swimming team will also look for more NCAA qualifying times, which guarantee spots at the NCAA Championships in March. Junior Brittany Beauchan was the only swimmer to pick up qualifying marks in the first meet, with her times in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.66, standard: 1:02.98) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:13.89, standard: 2:16.83).
For the first time this season, diving and swimming will compete together in a dual-meet. It will be the second competition of the year for dive as well, following the Trojan Diving Invitational this past weekend.
Dive coach Tom Stebbins was pleased with the performance of his team at USC but said he wants to see them have more confidence in the dual-meets this weekend in the face of stiff competition.
“Both programs are very well-coached,” Stebbins said. “I’d like to see us be more aggressive and attack the diving board.”
The action in the pool for UCLA gets started at 1 p.m. today in Tempe, Ariz. against ASU, and shifts to Tucsan, Ariz. for the meet against Arizona, Saturday at noon. Fourteen swimming events will be contested, along with two diving events.
For Gallagher, an opportunity to face top competition this early in the year should be a good test.
“I’m expecting great races, a competition, and everyone, including myself, to learn a lot about this team,” Gallagher said.
