This year’s UCLA women’s swim team is loaded with some of the top freshmen in the country, but on Saturday in Santa Barbara, the returning swimmers showed the youngsters how to win a swim meet.
In their season-opening meet at UC Santa Barbara, the Bruins picked up a pair of wins, defeating UCSB 165-94 and Oregon State 182-77. The Bruins were led by juniors Brittany Beauchan, Lauren Hall and Sam Vanden Berge, who each posted double event wins.
Beauchan’s performance was the highlight of the day. She easily won both the 100-yard (1:02.66) by 3.34 seconds and 200-yard (2:13.89) breaststroke by 4.05 seconds, setting a personal record in the 200. She also swam the breaststroke leg in 25.19 seconds for the Bruins’ first-place 200-yard medley relay team.
“From last year I’ve made some changes,” said Beauchan, who competed in the U.S. Open Championships with Team Bruin over the summer. “I’ve been training very hard, and I have the confidence in myself to do well.”
Hall finished with wins in the 400 individual medley and 200 freestyle, and Vanden Berge won the 500 free and 1000 free.
In addition, four other Bruins won events on Saturday: Senior Isabell Fischer won the 100 backstroke, sophomore Yasi Jahanshahi won the 200 butterfly, freshman Laurence Delisle won the 200 backstroke, and freshman Lindsey Marchand won the 100 fly.
This year’s team includes 11 freshmen comprising the No. 3 recruiting class in the country, all competing in their first collegiate swim meet Saturday. But coach Cyndi Gallagher was most pleased with her returners.
“They’re very disciplined,” Gallagher said. “They are great leaders, great mentors, and they have a lot of talent. They’ve decided this is going to be their year.”
“We know the freshmen are a really strong class,” Beauchan said. “It’s a great dynamic. They carried themselves well, and they all had a good time, cheering after every race.”
With one Pac-10 win in hand from their defeat of Oregon State, the Bruins now have plenty of time to prepare for their future.
In three weeks, the team will head off to face Arizona and Arizona State, both perennial conference powers, according to Beauchan and Gallagher.
“This was a good starter meet for us,” Gallagher said. “No doubt, they’re going to improve.”