Swim and dive remains resolute after Stanford, Cal break undefeated streak
Junior Kenisha Liu took home a win in the 100-yard freestyle against Stanford with a time of 49.80. Despite the win, the Bruins were defeated by the Cardinal, marking their first loss of the season. (Andy Bao/Daily Bruin)
By Robert Nevarez
Feb. 3, 2019 2:52 p.m.
The Bruins’ undefeated record came to an end this weekend.
In a weekend trip to the Bay Area filled with Pac-12 championship implications, No. 20 UCLA swim and dive (8-2) suffered back-to-back losses to two-time defending champion No. 3 Stanford (6-0) and two-time runner-up No. 4 California (7-1) by scores of 163-128 and 167-130, respectively.
“There were lots of great races this weekend, and I don’t feel like we were outmanned or outmatched,” said swimming coach Cyndi Gallagher. “The girls did a good job not backing down, even though they were facing former Olympians and national champs on both sides.”
The Stanford meet featured standout performances from juniors Kenisha Liu and Amy Okada, who rattled off victories in the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly at 49.80 and 54.48, respectively.
Okada again claimed first in the 100-yard butterfly the following day at Berkeley with a 54.12 mark. Senior Emma Schanz also won the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:15.40, while freshman Claire Grover grabbed the top time in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:02.20.
But Stanford and Cal’s deep, talent-laden rosters ultimately proved too difficult to handle.
The Bruins’ A Team came close to winning several of their relays, including the 200-yard medley on Friday and Saturday – but were narrowly defeated in both.
Despite dropping both of their meets this weekend, the team remains confident heading into the final stretch of the season.
“Even though we didn’t win, our confidence is definitely boosted moving forward,” Liu said. “Watching how close we were was really exciting. We know we’re right there and that we can compete with the best of them.”
On the diving side, senior Eloise Belanger led the Bruins on Friday with a duo of strong performances, edging Stanford’s Carolina Sculti in the 1-meter springboard championship 314.18 to 313.95, and sweeping the 3-meter with a score of 348.38.
“Since (Belanger) overcame Sculti by just .23 points on the 1-meter, I don’t know that the scoring could have been closer,” said diving coach Tom Stebbins. “It was a great contest. I look forward to them battling through the end of this year.”
Belanger remained consistent throughout Saturday, notching a first-place finish in the 1-meter championship with a 304.88 mark, while finishing in third behind fellow Bruin Alice Yanovsky in the 3-meter.
“(Belanger) is trending up at the right time. There is still so much more available to her, and to our entire group,” Stebbins said. “We have another month before the Pac-12 championship, so we will move them forward inch by inch every day with the postseason goals that we have for ourselves in mind.”
The UCLA swim and dive team will next see action when it travels across town to compete against rival USC over Presidents’ Day weekend.
