The Bruins have the opportunity to repeat history with a win this weekend.

UCLA swim and dive will head to the Fresno State Invite in Fresno to compete in a two-day invitational. Last year at this same meet, the Bruins took home gold, defeating second-place San Diego State by 168.5 points. This year’s lineup will feature Pac-12 foe Washington State in addition to last year’s silver medalist SDSU.

Coach Jordan Wolfrum said the invitational format of this meet will allow the team to compete and win in a full lineup of events.

“This meet, we get to do all six relays,” Wolfrum said. “We get to do the three-day format in a day and a half. So, we just get a lot of opportunity. It’s a big, enjoyable, high-energy way for us to set the tone and kind of start off the season.”

The Bruins held their own intrasquad meet – the Blue and Gold meet – in mid-September, but this weekend’s meet will kick off their intercollegiate slate.

UCLA has a slew of new faces on the team – from incoming freshmen to graduate transfers, including graduate student swimmer Aislinn Walsh.

Walsh previously competed for Ohio State, and the invite will serve as her Bruin debut.

“This is training like I haven’t ever done before,” Walsh said. “It’s different in a really, really good way. Everyone is really prepared to do well, and we are set up for a great meet.”

On the other hand, there are also a lot of athletes who have solidified their place on the team through previous experience. Junior swimmer Eva Carlson, who raced at the NCAA championships last year, is one of them.

Carlson said her first two years on the team have helped her learn how to build in-race strategies.

“I’ve learned how to mostly plan out my season, like what to focus on at certain meets and what to really emphasize in my training and my mindset going into meets, especially Fresno because it’s very early in the season,” Carlson said.

With the invitational format this weekend, the swimmers and divers can compete in events that usually are not on the docket for dual meets. For example, Walsh said she will most likely be competing in the 100-yard individual medley, which is not a typical collegiate event.

“It’s super fun because it’s really fast,” Walsh said. “The 200 IM (individual medley) is a sprint, but the 100 IM is just go. It’s so fast and so quick. You have to be really versatile and agile to pop a good one of those out.”

Last year, the invitational did not feature the 100-yard individual medley, so the Bruins will have a chance to commence their season with a different event lineup Friday at Fresno State Aquatics Center.

Wolfrum said the meet will serve as a foundation for the rest of the season.

“In the end, our focus is still not going to be on those points,” Wolfrum said. “But it gives us some specific racing focus in terms of who we want to beat and who’s got a target and starting to feel out how we can perform on the national stage.”