Four days. Two competitions. One team.
This past weekend, the No. 13 UCLA swim and dive team competed in two separate meets. While the swimmers traveled to Oregon State, the divers remained on campus to host the Bruin Diving Invitational at the Spieker Aquatics Center from Saturday to Monday.
In Corvallis, Ore., the Bruins produced a dominating performance over the Beavers, winning 12 out of 14 events for a final score of 151-102. These are familiar results for the team, which has had equally successful meets against Oregon State in recent years.
Along with two relays, the team received top finishes from senior Jessica Khojasteh, as well as juniors Katie Kinnear and Arlyn Upshaw who received two first place finishes each in individual events.
Other top finishes for the Bruins came from sophomore Madison White and freshmen Marie-Pierre Delisle and Sarah Kaunitz.
Khojasteh, who took first in the 50-Yard Freestyle and the 200-Yard Breaststroke, credits her winning performance to the light and friendly atmosphere of the meet.
“I thought all of us had fun this meet,” Khojasteh said. “We see (Oregon State) at a lot of meets and we hang out with them at a lot of meets, so it wasn’t like we were two teams competing. No one was pressured or stressed, it was more just to practice racing.”
Coach Cyndi Gallagher agreed with her swimmer’s impression of the meet.
“Sometimes when you travel you’re emotionally exhausted,” Gallagher said. “But this meet was more energizing.”
According to Gallagher, keeping that energy up is crucial for the remainder of the season’s success. What the team also must focus on is fine-tuning its technique, focusing on the strategy of racing.
“To transfer the energy we had into the next meet is really important,” Gallagher said. “If they do well in the small stuff, the end result is great.”
Bruin Diving Invitational
The other half of the team also finished out the weekend with standout performances.
Four UCLA divers competed against nine other schools in the three-day meet. The weekend began with the 3-Meter event on Saturday, followed by the 1-Meter on Sunday and finished off with the Platform on Monday.
The Bruins started off strong with all four divers making the finals on Saturday. Sophomore Annika Lenz led the team in fourth place, followed by freshman Maria Polyakova who finished in fifth. Freshman Ciara Monahan finished seventh with a score of 280.70, which was good enough for a NCAA Zones qualifying mark. Sophomore Danni Repper improved three spots from the preliminary round to finish in 15th.
Lenz says having the Invitational at home aided in the team’s success.
“It’s nice because you are used to the boards,” Lenz said. “Everything is a comfortable environment and your teammates are here to cheer you on.”
The at-home success continued into Sunday’s competition when three Bruins made it to the finals of the 1-Meter. Lenz finished in fourth place while Polyakova held the lead up until the final round of dives where Hawai’i’s Aimee Harrison came out with a final score of 595.90 to defeat Polyakova by seven-tenths of a point.
On the final day of competition, Lenz finished second in the Platform with a season best of 559.80, giving her three top-four finishes for the weekend.
“I was consistent,” Lenz said. “I stuck with everything I needed to do. I didn’t let the pressure get to me and I stayed on top of my performance.”
The Bruins don’t compete again until Friday, Jan. 30 when they travel to Stanford to take on the Cardinal.