UCLA swim and dive had a tough weekend. A bone-chilling outdoor breeze left athletes huddled in parkas or in a perpetual warm-up set during the first meet of the new year – a competition that, for the most part, the team excelled in.
Swim, which defeated both Kansas (218-81) and San Diego State (185-114) in Saturday’s tri-meet, kept UCLA undefeated (10-0) in dual meets this season.
The weekend’s events broke a month-long dry spell of competition for the Bruins, who last competed at the AT&T Winter Nationals in December.
“We’re pretty rusty from just training, training, training, training, so they were kind of ready to have a meet,” said swim coach Cyndi Gallagher.
The weekend gave the swimmers a chance to put into action the fruits of their labors – namely, a recently modified workout regimen involving heavier weights.
“They’re gonna be sore for a while. But once they get off the weights, they’re gonna see how strong they are. It’s just an adjustment,” Gallagher said.
The divers, who haven’t competed since November’s Texas invitational, haven’t taken it easy, either. Like the swim team, the dive team has been training since late December, incorporating more difficult weight training in its routine.
“We didn’t take any rest – in fact we were heavy in weights last week, so they’ve been challenged,” said diving coach Tom Stebbins. “We’ve had pretty full workouts this week even though it was the first week of class. We didn’t really back down on anything.”
Similarly, the dive team did well at the three-day Bruin Diving Invitational this past weekend. Sophomore Emma Ivory-Ganja placed second in Friday’s 3-meter dive, fifth in Saturday’s 1-meter competition and fifth in Sunday’s platform. The slight inconsistency in day-to-day results, however, does not cause Stebbins much concern.
“What’s really good to see with (Ivory-Ganja) is when she’s not perfect, when she’s not great, she’s still very competitive,” Stebbins said. “(Saturday) was a little bit of a struggle; I thought we were tougher (Friday), tougher minded, and I know (Friday) was really long and really cold and I think (the athletes) were a little bit worn out from that.”
The divers, who spent long hours at the pool over the course of the three-day invitational, were especially affected by the winter weather.
“It’s a lot harder to get moving and my body feels really stiff, but it’s just something you have to deal with,” Ivory-Ganja said.
Despite the external trials, Ivory-Ganja has stayed focused. Stebbins said she has been committed and internally confident.
“The mental side of it – that’s a different beast,” Stebbins said. “It’s tough to toss yourself off a 30-foot building. But (Ivory-Ganja) does it really well.”
Difficulties aside, Gallagher notes that the team has reached a common stride.
“I was happy with how everyone competed across the board. I mean everyone, I thought, did a good job. It wasn’t just two or three people,” Gallagher said.
“We’re on our way; this is the fun part of the season. As long as we keep people healthy, we’re in good shape.”
Email Zureiqat at szureiqat@media.ucla.edu