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In its final dual meet, UCLA swim and dive seeks underdog upset against USC

Joanie Cash swims. Cash notched fifth place against both Stanford and California and is looking forward to the meet against USC. (Alice Yang/Daily Bruin)

Swim and Dive


No. 14 USC
Friday, 1 p.m.

Uytengsu Aquatics Center
USC Live Stream-3

By Felicia Keller

Feb. 9, 2023 3:36 p.m.

A crosstown showdown will end the Bruins’ regular season.

UCLA swim and dive (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12) will take on No. 14 USC (5-2, 3-2) at Uytengsu Aquatics Center on Friday in its final dual meet of the season.

Over the last decade, the Trojans have won eight of 10 dual meets, while the Bruins pulled off their first crosstown win in 14 years in 2021.

Coach Jordan Wolfrum said the rivalry has been lopsided throughout the years and added that the Bruins can take advantage of the underdog mentality that comes with it.

“We’re going to kind of flip the narrative from ‘home team advantage’ to take advantage of them on their home turf,” said sophomore swimmer Joanie Cash.

Cash finished fifth in UCLA’s most recent dual meets with Stanford and California and is a member of the UCLA B 200-yard IM Relay team and the UCLA B 400-yard freestyle relay team.

Cash emphasized that the Bruins will continue to work on the pride and grit that has assisted them all season, but they will also strive to capitalize on the environment created by the rivalry.

For Wolfrum, it is the energy that sticks out about this meet.

“It’s the best energy that we see in pretty much all year,” Wolfrum said. “It’s always a competitive meet, it’s always a fast meet. It’s just the energy and the camaraderie.”

Cash said she is most excited for the 100 fly after what happened during the blue and gold’s campaign, where senior swimmer Gabby Dang pulled off the victory over her USC opponent by .03 seconds.

“The highlight of the USC meet was Gabby Dang’s 100 fly when USC was kind of talking trash behind the blocks, and she went and won it,” Cash said.

Wolfrum noted that the 2021 victory over the Trojans was particularly sweet because of the team’s scrappy mentality – similar to Dang’s in last season’s rivalry win.

Senior swimmer Kaitlynn Sims, a recent transfer, is looking forward to her first USC rivalry meet after getting a taste of the rivalry earlier this year.

“On my recruiting trip in the fall, I watched women’s volleyball play USC, and I remember it was just very electric,” Sims said. “That’s what I’ve thought about going into this – is how cool that game was – and it will be cool to be on the other side.”

This game will mark the end of the regular season and, according to Wolfrum, is all about setting up the team for the Pac-12 tournament and the NCAA tournament. After this meet, Wolfrum and her coaching staff will have to narrow down their squad to 24 swimmers to head to the Bruins’ first postseason tournament in Washington in two weeks.

Wolfrum said she is proud of the development across the board for the team and that, in particular this season, the team’s speed has been quick since the beginning of the year.

“Last year, it took us quite a bit into the season to really develop our speed both in the short events and in the long events,” Wolfrum said. “This year, we did a much better job of getting our team a little bit sharper and a little bit more ready earlier in the year.”

The team has also benefited from the leadership of its seniors, such as diver Hannah Butler, who has led the way for that group.

“We’ve got some awesome senior leadership in Hannah Butler, who’s qualified for NCAA multiple times and has been a powerhouse for us across her career,” Wolfrum said. “She’s got this squad of a pretty young team of two sophomores and a freshman. She’s helped that group really develop and shine.”

Butler, who earned Pac-12 Diver of the week in early January, is a specialist in the 3-meter springboard but qualified in both the 3-meter and 1-meter dive for the NCAA tournament in the last two years.

Bolstered by the energy from the rivalry, the Bruins are looking to use this weekend as a springboard for the postseason.

“That special energy that we’ll all feel on deck during this meet is going to help build the momentum and confidence going into Pac-12s at the end of the year and NCAAs,” said Cash.

On Friday, the Bruins will face off against the Trojans at Uytengsu Aquatics Center at 1 p.m.

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Felicia Keller
Keller is a 2023-2024 assistant Sports editor on the men’s soccer, swim and dive, women’s water polo, and softball beats. She was previously a contributor on the swim and dive and women’s water polo beats and a contributor in the News and Photo sections. She is also a second-year sociology student.
Keller is a 2023-2024 assistant Sports editor on the men’s soccer, swim and dive, women’s water polo, and softball beats. She was previously a contributor on the swim and dive and women’s water polo beats and a contributor in the News and Photo sections. She is also a second-year sociology student.
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