In an introduction to a conference full of fierce competition, the Bruins held their own.

No. 24 UCLA swim and dive took home fourth place at the Ohio State Invitational from Nov. 21 to Nov. 23, marking the team’s first taste of Big Ten competition since joining the conference. UCLA finished with 1,503 points, trailing behind No. 7 Louisville, No. 15 Ohio State and No. 3 Indiana, respectively. The Bruins earned 41 NCAA B cuts and 16 top-eight finishes across the three-day meet.

“It was a really good all-around meet for us,” said coach Jordan Cordry. “We had some great swims for the season.”

Graduate student Emma Harvey set the tone for the weekend, bringing home the Bruins’ first podium finish of the meet after placing second in the 100-yard butterfly with a 51.89 mark – a personal best for the Penn State transfer. Harvey also recorded NCAA B cuts to place in the top 12 in three other events, including a pair of fifth place finishes in the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard backstroke.

Senior Paige MacEachern clinched the Bruins’ only other swimming podium finish, dropping nearly three seconds on her preliminary round time to notch a second place finish in the 400-yard individual medley with a 4:09:31 mark.

Harvey and MacEachern contributed to UCLA’s production of more than 40 NCAA B cut times, a step forward to qualifying to the national championships in March.

“B cuts are good, just checkpoints that we’re on track, but there is more we need to do,” Cordry said. “Again, it’s only November.”

The team’s divers recorded accolades of their own.

Sophomore Molly Brascia brought home a top-10 finish, securing eighth in the 1-meter dive with 283.85 points. Junior Eden Cheng made her mark on the platform dive event by placing second with a score of 3:01.50.

“Her (Cheng’s) quality of performance is so high right now that even if she does have little mistakes or something gets away from her, she’s up there with the best of them,” Cordry said. “That’s really fun to see her really executing at this high level.”

UCLA remained solid during the relays, earning three NCAA B cuts in as many relays alone. The Bruins placed fourth with a 1:36:69 mark in the 200-medley relay – just half a second off the school record. The squad also took fourth in the 400 medley relay and fifth in the 200 freestyle relay, though it added time in both events from its Nov. 9 victory over Arizona.

Coming off a three-event victory against the Wildcats, senior Anna Jih-Schiff placed in the top eight in four individual events.

Cordry said the team had to acclimate to the schedule of a three-day invitational and the Bruins’ farthest travel meet of the season thus far.

“I think it showed us that there’s a lot of depth in the Big Ten,” she added. “The energy is really high – it’s deep, high-energy competition.”

With seven top-25 teams in its conference, Cordry said more competition will be key for the Bruins moving forward.

“We just need reps, and a lot of those things will get cleaned up,” she said.

Contributing reports by Aaron Doyle, assistant Sports editor.