As soon as their post-meet pep talk ended, the focus of the UCLA women’s swim team changed.
After falling to Cal in a dual meet two weeks ago, the Bruins immediately began zoning in on the new task ahead of them. When coach Cyndi Gallagher finished her talk, the team huddled together and ended the meeting with a passionate scream.
“Beat ‘SC!”
After two weeks of focused practice, locker room decorations, and inspirational readings about special moments in USC/UCLA swim history, the Bruins’ goal remains the same.
“I definitely wrote this (meet against USC) down on my calendar right when I got it at the beginning of last year,” junior Anna Poteete said. “I’m very excited about it and looking forward to it. It’s just a really fun meet because no matter how good they are or how good we are, it’s going to come down to the wire. We both have that rivalry and both teams will swim fast.”
Historically speaking, Poteete is right. When the No. 15 Bruins (5-3, 2-3 Pac-10) hit the pool at home Friday against the No. 25 Trojans (3-4, 1-5 Pac-10) they will add yet another chapter to the extremely competitive history of the two squads. USC holds a 17-16 edge over UCLA since 1974, and in the last six years, the teams have split the series 3-3. Last year’s meet at USC epitomized the competitive nature of the rivalry. The Bruins squeaked out a 152-148 victory over the women of Troy with a win in the final event, the 200 Free Relay.
Junior diver Marisa Samaniego said last year’s meet was something she will never forget.
“After last year, having beaten them at their own pool, it was just so much fun,” Samaniego said. “It was a close meet and so it was super exciting. I’m really excited to have that again at our own pool, where I think we’ll be even more pumped up.”
Both Gallagher and Dive coach Tom Stebbins acknowledged that extra emotion will be present when the two rivals battle it out, but said the team will do it’s best to remain focused and treat this as they would any other meet.
“You can have great emotional swims that are really fast and great emotional swims that are really bad,” Gallagher said. “We try to make it still the same race it was yesterday. It’s a fun, big deal, but we realize that we have a job to do, and everyone knows what that is. We really can’t let it be an emotional swim. It takes a lot of energy, and this isn’t the end-all for us.”
Stebbins said that representing the school well and helping to win the Lexus Gauntlet Trophy are very important. Yet both coaches said getting those five points won’t be easy.
“We’re going to have our hands full, but I look forward to us challenging (USC) and just seeing what happens,” Stebbins said. “There’s an added level of pride when you’re in your own pool. You have to step in and own that. Nobody wants to lose at home, not to anybody, even more specifically to USC.”
The dual meet is also the last of the season for the team, and as such, Samaniego said it will serve as a final benchmark for the team’s progress before it enters Pac-10 and NCAA tournaments. Like the rest of her team, Samaniego anticipates a very close final score, but she’s sure that the team is ready for the challenge.
“I know we’ll be big when the time comes,” she said.