The No. 7 UCLA swimming and diving team will part ways for the
week as it heads into the Pac-10 Championships. The swimming event
will take place in Long Beach while the diving competition is up
north in Federal Way, Wash.
Starting tonight at 6 and continuing on through Saturday, the
Bruin swimmers and divers will compete against eight other teams
for the 2006 Pac-10 conference title.
The racing will take place in Long Beach at the Belmont Plaza
Olympic Pool with daily preliminary races beginning at 11 a.m. and
finals starting at 6 p.m.
Out of the eight other Pac-10 schools, four are ranked among the
top 25 teams in the nation.
Stanford, Arizona, California, USC, Arizona State, Oregon State,
Washington and Washington State will all vie with the Bruins for
the coveted Pac-10 title.
Last year, the Bruins took fourth place at the Pac-10
Championships with a single individual championship snagged by
junior Katie Arnold in the 100-yard backstroke.
Arnold looks to defend that title this time as well as take a
stab at claiming others.
Along with Arnold, senior Kim Vandenberg is among the favorites
for the 200-yard butterfly.
Late in the summer of 2005, Vandenberg competed at the World
University Games where she claimed silver in the event.
On the boards, senior Paige Thompson will be a top contender in
both the 1- and 3-meter competitions. Thompson became the first
Pac-10 diver in history to receive the honor of Pac-10 diver of the
month for both December 2005 and January 2006.
The Bruins are coming off of a difficult loss to No. 11 USC on
Feb. 11, when they were upset by the lower-ranked Trojans at their
home pool.