This post was updated June 4 at 10:09 p.m.

UCLA swim and dive did not have its easiest season in 2022-2023. Consistently popping in and out of the rankings, failing to conquer their crosstown rivals by four points and staying well outside of the top 10 for the 19th year in a row, the Bruins need a little change come 2023-2024. And three commits are set to make a splash.

Sarah Bennetts
Notable times: 1.00.11 in the 100-yard breaststroke, 49.74 in the 100-yard freestyle

Sarah Bennetts – the reigning California Interscholastic Federation title-holder in the 100-yard breaststroke – will come in touting a personal best of 1.00.11. That time would have put her third on the squad had she competed at the Pac-12 championships last year and qualified her for the NCAA championships race at the B standard.

Earlier in 2023, she became a back-to-back champion in the Speedo Sectionals in both the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard breaststroke, in addition to finals appearances in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard individual medley.

Her personal-best time of 49.74 in the 100-yard freestyle lands just 0.3 seconds off an NCAA championships berth. She finished fourth in the event at the CIF State championships in May, and with a season ahead of her, she has a good chance at securing herself an opportunity to be yet another swimmer donning blue and gold on the national stage.

Bennetts is currently ranked eighth in the state and 89th in the class of 2023, proving the Bruins’ highest-ranked recruit of the cycle, according to Swimcloud.

Throughout the 2022-2023 season, the freestyle events were strong for UCLA, with coach Jordan Wolfrum pointing to them as the events to watch during big meets. With an array of talent departing the program at the close of the season – including five-time NCAA qualifier Claire Grover – a swimmer like Bennetts could prove integral to UCLA retaining its strength in the event.

Alexis Schaffer
Notable times: 23.46 in the 50-yard freestyle, 56.47 in the 100-yard butterfly

Fellow Californian and freestyle swimmer Alexis Schaffer is also joining UCLA as a 2023 commit. Ranked 40th in the state for the class of 2023 and primarily a freestyle specialist, she also secured a 56.47 in the 100-yard butterfly at the 2023 Speedo Sectionals in March.

Schaffer will be joining her sisters, senior Brooke Schaffer – who will be taking a fifth year of eligibility to return next year – and sophomore Taylor Schaffer as UCLA swimmers.

[Related: Sister duos from UCLA swim and dive strengthen bonds with shared experiences]

Lauren Hallaselkä

Notable scores: 279.7 in the 3-meter

On the other side of Spieker Aquatics Center, Lauren Hallaselkä will join fellow international diver Eden Cheng on the springboard come fall. Hallaselkä, a primarily 1-meter and 3-meter diver, doubles as a member of the Finnish national team.

The Finnish Olympic committee selected Hallaselkä to compete for the team at the European games in Poland from June 22 to June 28. Hallaselkä hopes to expand upon her performance from last year, in which she jumped seventh in the finals. She took home first place in the 3-meter dive at the Finnish championships.

With four-time NCAA and Zone-E qualifier senior Hannah Butler departing from UCLA, the Bruins will need some fresh talent to step up. Despite being injured through most of the season, Cheng – who secured seventh place in the 10-meter synchronized diving at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – became a triple qualifier for both zones and the NCAA championships. She went on to become the school record-holder in platform diving and picked up the Pac-12 Freshman Diver of the Year title along the way.

Next Season

With the steady underclassman talent and veteran leadership of sophomore Zoe Jespersgaard – who double-qualified for zones in both her freshman and sophomore campaigns – Bruin diving should evenly improve next season under diving coach Tom Stebbins.

Meanwhile, on the swim side, while UCLA will likely not find itself at the top of the rankings, Bennetts and Schaffer – in addition to the other members of their class – joining the squad should help shore up a swim program losing seven key contributors.