After a disappointing 20th-place finish on the 2005-2006 season,
the UCLA women’s swim and dive team made some impressive
strides last weekend. The Bruin divers competed at the Senior
Diving Zone D Championships in Pasadena, where three athletes
qualified for the National Championships, which begin August 2.
With a mediocre season, the Bruins were finally able to see the
results of their training. “I didn’t think the college
year was demonstrative of our capabilities,” dive coach Tom
Stebbins said. “We have been building up to this all year and
right now we are in a really good spot. I am excited to see what we
do at nationals.” The team is led by seniors Amanda Blong and
Sara Clark, who qualified for the National Championships in the
3-meter synchronized diving competition by placing second in the
finals. Synchronized diving is not typically practiced at the
collegiate level, and UCLA does not even have the facilities to
practice synchronization, so the divers must travel to the Rose
Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena to get practice time in. “It
is mostly a spectator event,” Clark said. “We do it at
meets that qualify for the Olympics. Our individual dives were
strong and that’s what helped us. Now we are working to get
our timing down.” Blong also qualified in the 1-meter,
posting a second-place finish (218.35), while Clark narrowly missed
the cutoff in both the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions.
“Honestly, I am a little disappointed with the
results,” Clark said. “It has made me stronger though,
because I don’t want it to happen again.” Along with
the senior qualifiers, sophomore Marisa Samaniego qualified in the
3-meter, posting a 233.80 third-place finish on the first day of
competition. Sophomore Tess Schofield placed sixth on the platform,
but had previously qualified during the regular season and will
join her teammates in nationals competition. “We are in a
great spot right now,” Stebbins said. “Now we are
finally really going, and it’s a tribute to the focus of the
team and the trust they put into me.”
SWIMMING SUCCES: Also competing the same weekend, the UCLA
swimmers travelled across town to USC for the annual Janet Evans
Invitational. The team had some impressive finishes as the athletes
competed against a slew of Olympians and international competitors.
“Overall I was really pleased with how we swam and how we
raced,” swim coach Cyndi Gallagher said. “We had some
impressive times and lifetime bests.” Recent graduate Kim
Vandenberg captured the 200-meter butterfly title (2:12.18),
marking her second win at a major meet this summer. Senior Isabel
Miesner qualified for nationals as the only other Bruin to compete
in the championships of a race, finishing eighth in the 200m fly
(2:17.41). The ConocoPhillips Swimming National Championships will
be held in Irvine August 1-5. The meet is the qualifier for an
array of international meets held across the country soon
afterward. “This is a great opportunity for all of
them,” Gallagher said. Eight Bruins will head down to Irvine:
Vandenberg, Miesner, Jeana Fuccillo, Jane Imagane, Anna Poteete,
Katie Nelson, Madeleine Stanton and incoming freshman Julie
Imagane.