UCLA head swim coach Cyndi Gallagher said it’s one of the
hardest transitions you can make.
“Going from a meet in December, to hard training over the
winter vacation and not racing for over a month, then jumping back
into a pool to race, is always a hard transition to make,”
she said.
The Bruin swimmers (5-1, 2-1 Pac-10) handled the transition
exceptionally well Saturday, defeating the UCSD Tritons (2-2)
139-94 at the Sunset Recreation Center.
It was the first time No. 12 UCLA had raced since they spent the
winter vacation in training.
“The winter training is really intense,” junior
backstroker Taylor Spivey said. “Swim is your life during
winter training, you eat and sleep swim.”
“We have been training really hard,” agreed NCAA
qualifier Kristen Lewis. “But it was really fun to race
again.”
The Bruins appeared to be having fun in the pool, not only
racing again, but clearly dominating the visiting Tritons. UCLA
swept the meet, finishing first in every one of the 14 events.
Junior Brooke Winkler posted a 2:21.8 in the 200 backstroke to
take the event and 2:06.46 in the 200 individual medley to win her
second race of the day.
“I feel pretty good,” Winkler said after the second
win. “I am a little tired and a little beat up, but I feel
like my speed is finally coming around, and I am ready to go up
north.”
The Bruins now prepare to depart on a daunting road trip which
will include conference rivals No. 4 Stanford, No. 9 Cal and No. 5
USC. These are also the last meets before the Pac-10
Championships.
“I am really excited,” Lewis said of the upcoming
meets. “There is a lot of competition up north, but I think
we have a good shot at winning some of those meets.
“I think we are more prepared than we have ever been, with
all of our winter training workouts, to go up there and swim our
best.”