Titans in the pool clash at UCLA for final time

This past Friday in the Student Activities Center pool, swimming
heavyweights Stanford and UCLA met in a battle for Pac-10
supremacy.

Usually, the meeting of those teams would be enough to catch
headlines, but there was also a subplot that developed among the
two teams’ star senior swimmers.

Celebrated Stanford swimmer and 2004 U.S. Olympian Dana Kirk met
UCLA’s Kim Vandenberg, her main rival in the 200-meter
butterfly, during a meet Kirk described as not holding “any
importance to (her) at all.”

That would be of little significance, if it were not for the
fact that Kirk and Vandenberg have been battling for the supremacy
of Pac-10 women’s swimming for the last four years.

“They have been two of the best swimmers in the
Pac-10,” UCLA coach Cyndi Gallagher said. “And they
have set the standard for swimming at both schools.”

Kirk’s rivalry with Vandenberg came to a head back at the
2004 Pac-10 Championships, when Kirk barely beat out Vandenberg by
0.1 seconds for second place in the 200-meter butterfly meet.

Vandenberg considers that to be her toughest loss.

“I don’t think anybody likes to get touched
out,” Gallagher said. “Its hard to lose by that small
of a margin.”

Since that meet, the two rivals have met five or six times,
butting heads in the 2005 NCAA Championships and the 2004 U.S.
Olympic Trials.

At the 2005 NCAA Championships, Vandenberg barely beat out Kirk
in the 200-meter butterfly.

Thus, it is hard to believe that Kirk would not be swayed by
losing to Vandenberg by a 2.76 second margin (Kirk’s 1:59.4.
to Vandenberg’s 1:56.66) during this past weekend’s
meet. Kirk finished ninth in this event during the 2004 Olympics.
And to put 2.76 seconds into perspective, if Kirk had been 2.76
seconds faster in the 2004 Olympics she would be wearing a bronze
medal.

“It’s always exciting to race against Dana,”
Vandenberg said. “This was our last dual meet against each
other until Pac-10s and NCAAs, but I don’t take it too
seriously.”

Kirk candidly admitted that during the race “she just got
tired” and could not maintain her pace when Vandenberg
exploded during the last 50 meters. Vandenberg paced herself in the
beginning of the race and was able to save some energy and finish
the race strong.

“I paced it out and she kind of died toward the
end,” Vandenberg said of Kirk.

This kind of loss to a division rival will at least have Kirk
re-evaluating her conditioning and strategy for the 2006
championships.

Besides her recent success against Kirk, Vandenberg has a lot
more under her belt. She came in third in the 200-meter butterfly
during the 2005 NCAA Championships. In 2004, she was the U.S.
National Champion in the same event. Since her freshman year, she
has been among the nation’s top-10 swimmers in the 100 and
200-meter butterfly.

During last Friday’s dominating win against Stanford (UCLA
180, Stanford 120) Vandenberg showed her greatness by winning every
individual and relay event she swam. In addition, she accomplished
this against a higher ranked Stanford team that boasts an
impressive 22-2 record in dual meets against UCLA.

“UCLA and Stanford is always a big meet between two great
teams,” Gallagher said. “For her to accomplish that is
great.”

Last Friday, Vandenberg proved that she could win against the
toughest competition. But even so, winning one race won’t
change the pecking order of the Kirk v. Vandenberg rivalry, as Kirk
is still the reigning queen of the 200-meter butterfly after
winning the 2004 Olympic trials. Kirk’s loss is also somewhat
mitigated because she has already qualified for the March
championships, meaning she can treat the regular season as a
training ground for her bid at an NCAA title.

Vandenberg had also qualified for the championships in the
200-meter butterfly and three other events prior to racing Stanford
last Friday.

“Right now, it’s all about what happens in the
end,” Vandenberg said. “This is just a stepping stone
to Pac-10s and NCAAs, it’s just a good opportunity to
race.”

Though both swimmers have already made their championship times,
it is the rivalry and intense competition ““ which naturally
comes when two of the top swimmers in the country race ““ that
makes these dual meets worth watching.

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