Coach Cyndi Gallagher reached into her bag and pulled out a UCLA vs. UCSB meet record sheet from a folder.
“We tell (our swimmers) the meet records,” Gallagher said. “That’s really what they go for.”
As the UCLA swim team prepares for its meet this weekend against UCSB and BYU, much of the attention is on itself, not the other teams in the pool.
Gallagher scanned through the list of records and spotted two records from 2004 and 2005 that have stood the test of time.
“Those are the ones we should try to knock off,” she said. “Some of the kids from high school don’t know how to swim fast, but we want to swim fast all the time.”
While the first meet of the season against Washington State on Oct. 10 was just a chance for the freshmen to start racing in a collegiate setting, this weekend poses another first for the group of freshman Bruins.
“It’s going to be different,” said junior Katy Campbell. “This is our first time traveling for a lot of freshmen, and I think we all are going to come together.”
The team will take a bus up to Santa Barbara on Saturday, so that means a whole different routine to get accustomed to.
The Bruins will wake up early for a morning swim. Then they’ll get breakfast, jump on the bus and head off to Santa Barbara. Just the act of taking a bus up as a team will add a different vibe to the whole meet, Gallagher said.
Last meet, many UCLA swimmers swam their off events, just to try it out and shake things up a bit. This weekend, most of the Bruins will be swimming their best events, allowing the coaching staff to try to identify where the freshmen – and the returning swimmers – can best help the team.
“I think people are excited and ready to jump into the season because from here, we hit the ground running,” said senior Ally Loper. “So I think it will be a good marker to see where everyone is, and it will be a good atmosphere for people to race another California team and see where they’re at compared to us.”
So with a lot to keep in mind this weekend – from meet records to higher expectations to their first away meet – at least the Bruins won’t be alone up in Santa Barbara.
With Santa Barbara not too far away, Gallagher said a lot of parents are planning on making the drive up.
If all goes according to plan, perhaps the parents will get to witness a new meet record set.