Traveling to Santa Barbara this weekend, the UCLA women’s
swim team (2-0) opened their 2005-2006 season with wins over both
UC Santa Barbara (150.5-109.5) and Oregon State (184-76) on
Saturday. The victories extend the Bruins’ overall undefeated
record against both UCSB (22-0) and OSU (5-0).
“The meet was a great rehearsal for the team,” UCLA
swim coach Cyndi Gallagher said. “Like most first meets, it
gave the freshmen a taste of what to expect in collegiate
competition.”
The Bruins had impressive showings from an array of swimmers,
capturing first place in nine out of 14 events.
“They were excited, enthusiastic and they really raced
well,” Gallagher said. “It was a good first
meet.”
Junior Katie Arnold led the Bruins with three first-place
finishes in the 100-yard backstroke (55.36), 100-yard freestyle
(51.54) and 100-yard butterfly (55.36).
After missing summer competition in 2004 from shoulder surgery,
Arnold, a native of Moraga, returned last season and claimed the
Pac-10 champion title in the 100 backstroke.
“Katie Arnold did great,” Gallagher said. “She
was on and had very impressive times.”
Two other Bruins claimed multiple victories on Saturday. Senior
Kim Vandenberg and sophomore Nicolette Teo won two races apiece.
Vandenberg finished first in both the 200-yard and 500-yard
freestyle while Teo claimed victory in the 100-yard and 200-yard
breaststroke.
“Kim did very well and she swam events she does not always
swim,” Gallagher said. “Nicolette swam fast times as
well.”
“I made all of the girls swim a lot and they reacted very
well to it with a lot of fast times.”
Junior Jane Imagane also had a victory in Santa Barbara, winning
the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:08:47.
UCLA also finished first in the 200-yard medley relay.
“Our relays have so much more depth this year,”
Gallagher said. “Last year we were a little younger and less
experienced. It’s nice to have those back on
track.”
Hoping to gain valuable experience for the rest of the season,
eight of the swimmers and one diver will travel to Houston, Texas
next weekend for the Southern Methodist University invitational
where they will face teams not typically on the Bruin swim
schedule.
The rest of the team will travel to La Jolla to take on UC San
Diego.
“Next weekend will be a great opportunity for our
team,” Gallagher said. “With eight swimmers gone to
Texas, it will be the rest of the swimmers’ jobs to step up
and swim fast.”