Swimming off to Speedo Cup
Bruins will gain vital experience in Long Beach
By Ross Bersot
The first opportunity for UCLA swimming to compete as a team in
an environment similar to the postseason will be this Thursday
through Saturday at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach, where UC Irvine is
hosting the Speedo Cup. Over 40 teams will enter swimmers in the
meet, making it the largest competition of the season for the
Bruins.
"It’s kind of a pre-meet to the (Pacific 10 conference meet) and
the NCAA (championships)," head coach Cyndi Gallagher said. "Jill
Jenkins and Annette Salmeen will swim in 14 events, seven
preliminaries and seven finals. That is three individual events and
four relays. A lot of people will do that, so they have to be in
great shape and they have to get used to doing that because they
will do it at the Pac-10s and at the NCAAs."
The coaching staff has granted the team a few days of rest
before the meet so each swimmer will be able to race as fast as
possible in both the preliminary and final heats.
"They went home for Thanksgiving, which is different than some
teams, but I think it’s ridiculous not to let them go," Gallagher
said. "With all of the traveling over the holiday, it has been hard
to get in the pool as much as we normally do, so their rest started
when they went home. It worked out well. I wanted them to rest a
little bit, not fully rest, which is all they need to go fast in
December."
UCLA’s sprint relay team will have to compensate for the loss of
Michelle Perry, who broke her thumb during the Thanksgiving
vacation. Other injured Bruins are Christa Thomas, who has a bone
chip in her ankle, and Suzanne Steres who is undergoing shoulder
surgery.