They’ve trained for this all year, and today, they’re going to be the first of the UCLA women’s swim and dive team to represent the Bruins.
The divers of the No. 16 Bruins will be the first to get their feet in the Pac-10 Tournament this year. The Bruins head north to Federal Way, Wash., in hopes of getting UCLA off to an early lead in the tournament.
“The divers have been doing just a spectacular job,” swimming coach Cyndi Gallagher said. “They’re always solid and give us that extra boost we need.”
The Diving Championships will kick off today with the 3-meter competition, followed by the 1-meter and tower events on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Seniors Amanda Blong and Sara Clark, along with sophomores Brittany Hill, Shannon Pirozzi, Marisa Samaniego and Tess Schofield, will compete.
“It’s really about our effort as a team,” Samaniego said. “All of us have the potential to get to the finals. Everyone just has to do their part.”
As they have done all season, the Bruins will look to their seniors to lead the pack. Clark has firmly established herself as the leader of the team by posting seven wins throughout the year. Three times this season, when Clark finished in second place, it was because fellow senior Blong edged her out for first.
“We’ve definitely got a powerful lineup,” diving coach Tom Stebbins said. “I hope it shows this weekend.”
The Bruins are coming off a sweep of the Trojans in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events. They hope to take the momentum of that emotional win into the tournament today.
In fact, the Bruins have been gaining momentum all season with each meet teaching them something new and allowing them to tighten the techniques of their dives.
“We’ve had a really good year,” Stebbins said. “At this point, everything takes care of itself because you know your hard work is going to pay off.”
But the Bruins can’t simply rely on the hard work they’ve already put in to be successful in the tournament. They’re also going to have to actively fight a psychological battle when they’re up on the boards.
“We’re confident right now, but the hard part is keeping that confidence throughout the tournament,” Samaniego said.
A confident spirit working in tandem with techniques that have been perfected throughout the season should equal a Bruin force that will make a big splash in the pool this weekend.
However, the Bruins know they need to set reasonable goals they can accomplish.
“We want two to three people in each final,” Stebbins said. “The top eight are going to be extremely competitive, so as long as we get two or three in, we’ll be in good shape.”
When the Bruin divers wrap up competition on Sunday, they’ll leave the hunt for the Pac-10 title up to the swimmers, who will head to Long Beach on Feb. 14 to finish off the tournament.