The Big Ten’s expansion manifested opportunities for big-time competition and travel.

And for the Bruins, this weekend will be their first taste of both.

No. 24 UCLA swim and dive (1-0) will venture to the Ohio State Invitational, marking its first appearance at the competition since 2022. Across the three-day event, the Bruins will be joined by seven other teams on the pool deck – including No. 3 Indiana, No. 7 Louisville and No. 15 Ohio State – and eight other teams on the diving boards.

“We’re ready to make our mark,” said junior Ashley Kolessar. “Sometimes we are a little bit underestimated, and I feel like they (the other Big Ten teams) probably aren’t looking out for us.”

It’s still early in the season for the Bruins, with the squad boasting only two meets and an intrasquad under its belt. But while UCLA has just started to put it together, nationally ranked programs like Ohio State are entering the competition undefeated, with over twice the competition experience this season.

“We have had a little less practice racing, but I don’t think that is necessarily going to be a disadvantage,” said senior Eva Carlson. “It is something that we have to remember going into this meet – that we are still learning a lot about this season.”

Despite coming in as one of the lowest-ranked Big Ten schools at the meet, UCLA is coming off a hot performance at home against Arizona. Less than two weeks ago, the Bruins denied the Wildcats of all but a single racing event victory, winning by 83 points – the largest margin of triumph between the two programs since at least 1997.

Coach Jordan Cordry said the team’s win is just practice for what is to come.

“What does it take? How do we finish races? How do we get our hand on the hall? How do we put together a whole competition?“ Cordry said. “That was a really great meet for us to practice doing the things that it takes to be great.”

To adjust to the travel demands, the team left half a day earlier than it usually does for away meets – giving the Bruins time to adjust to the new time zone, catch up on schoolwork and recover before they tackle the invitational head-on.

The Bruins will only host a single diving invitational at home for the rest of the season, with the meet in Columbus, Ohio, signifying the true start to a travel-intensive season – and the squad’s first time leaving California this year.

“This is a really helpful opportunity for us to know what is coming in the championship stretch and what we can expect in terms of the other members in the conference – and especially in the events that we are really strong in, and where we can potentially pick up some Big Ten titles,” Cordry said.

UCLA’s upcoming meet will mark the beginning of an era. For the first time, UCLA players will match their opponents with “B1G” logos on their suits.

But don’t be confused – only one program can take the win.

Competition in Columbus will kick off at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday.