The UCLA women’s dive team went as far as its seniors led them in 2009.
After a physically and emotionally taxing 2007-2008 campaign, it seemed as if the divers carried that burden in their routines early this season.
Inconsistency dominated, and frustration set in at times.
But backed by seniors, the Bruins stabilized, figured that process out nearing the postseason and posted results that would have been far-fetched at the beginning of the year.
“When you’re so senior-heavy, and when you have a bunch of classy kids, you can lean on as leaders, you are able to deflect the negatives and keep going with positives,” diving coach Tom Stebbins said.
When the opportunities came up to lead, Stebbins said the seniors did a good job ““ whether it was maintaining their composure or guiding the underclassmen.
The most memorable senior performance that stood out to Stebbins was not Tess Schofield’s or Marisa Samaniego’s performance at the NCAA Championships but rather Brittany Hill’s performance at the Zone meet, where Hill was 10.5 points short of qualifying for NCAAs.
“Quite honestly it wasn’t something we had planned on going into it, but for her to end her career the right way at the Zone was very exceptional,” Stebbins said.
Without these seniors, the 2009-2010 squad’s team dynamic will be very different thanks to the challenges that come with the team’s youthfulness.
“I’m looking forward to it ““ I think that the challenges are going to be very different than the ones that we had this year,” Stebbins said.
Stebbins is particularly encouraged by sophomore Laura Winn’s breakout performances this year.
It’s not just Winn’s athletic potential that has impressed Stebbins but her mental toughness as well.
“I think that the kid will be a natural leader,” Stebbins said.
On that note, though Schofield and Hill will be graduating in June, Samaniego will remain for another quarter, and her presence should ease the transition process the team will have to undergo next year.
Incoming freshmen Margaret Boyd and Michelle Vale will round out the team of five, yet Stebbins is still scouring for talent until the signing period for recruits ends mid-April.
“I think that we are going to start on probably a little bit of a lower rung on the ladder than we have been able to start on the past couple of years, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t get to the same place that we’ve been,” Stebbins said.
It’ll just be a different process.
The UCLA swim team, on the other hand, came in with high expectations.
Key swimmers returned, the team was ranked in the top 15 and the Bruins looked poised to make a larger statement on the national scale.
Four meets into the season, the team was riding the wave of four consecutive victories.
Then came five consecutive losses ““ none more painful than the last-second loss in the final home meet against Washington.
“Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of athletes have some sort of self-doubt, but those who are able to conquer that mindset will reach their potential,” swim coach Cyndi Gallagher said.
Though the losses stung, the team made improvements toward the end of the season.
“It’s hard to complain when everyone had a best time this year,” Gallagher said.
That doesn’t mean that the expectation level has been lowered, however.
The Bruins will return some strong swimmers such as junior Isabell Fischer and sophomores Lauren Hall, Dani Milligan and Sam Vanden Berge.
“I’m looking forward to a more experienced team next year,” Gallagher said.
The Bruins will have another quarter of training and all summer to build on that experience and prepare for 2010.