UCLA swimmers gathered along the side of the pool on Saturday afternoon, facing the stands. They called out to their family and friends, inviting them to join in for a series of eight-claps.
The UCLA swim and dive team came together for its first combined Pac-12 meets last weekend at the Spieker Aquatics Center. Although the team had its first home meet in early October against Washington State, the meet didn’t include diving events.
Recovering from Friday’s defeat by Arizona, the team showed dominance in Saturday’s win over Arizona State.
Coach Cyndi Gallagher said she didn’t want the team to think too much about the defeat after the Friday meet.
“When we walk out the pool, we walk out the pool,” Gallagher said. “Leave everything at the pool.”
The swimmers didn’t know what events they were going to compete in until Saturday morning when they came in to practice.
The result was certainly successful, as the Bruins showed confidence and consistency at Saturday’s meet against the Sun Devils, winning 15 out of 16 events.
In retrospect, Gallagher said she didn’t consider Friday’s performance a poor one at all, especially not in the second part of the meet. She discussed how she directed the team’s focus away from the final score.
“Before the relay, I knew that we couldn’t win the meet,” Gallagher said. “So I said to them, ‘Go out there and have fun. Let’s just race hard, swim as fast as you can.’”
The UCLA swimmers didn’t let Gallagher down, pulling off a massive comeback in the 400-Yard Freestyle Relay, the last race of Saturday’s meet.
On the other side of the pool, the dive team was also approaching the competition with a relaxed spirit. Dive coach Tom Stebbins praised the progress of freshman Ciara Monahan, who had been struggling with a stress reaction in her shin for three weeks.
“Ciara is learning how the ebb and flow of these meets go,” Stebbins said. “So for her, it’s just about experience and getting comfortable.”
Monahan said she was happy with her performance in the 1-Meter event on Saturday that qualified her for the NCAA Zone E Diving Championships in Colorado. She also talked about her rehab process.
“I spent two weeks in an air cast. My feet couldn’t leave the floor. In the third week, I was just doing standing and double bouncing,” Monahan said. “But now I’m actually doing a hurdle. So it’s feeling really good right now. We’re on the right track.”
Monahan is not the only one who is on the right track. The whole swim and dive team is working its way to improvement by learning from mistakes, according to Gallagher.
“People make mistakes, but then they changed the mistake for the next race, which is what you’re trying to do,” Gallagher said. “To learn, try new things, and go out faster, go out easier.”