UCLA dive went into the Air Force Invitational this weekend focused not only on its competition, but also on getting comfortable with the location.
The No. 12 Bruins used the meet to familiarize themselves with the Air Force Academy pool in Colorado Springs, Colo., where they will be returning in early March for the NCAA qualifying meet.
“It was good to be on the tower and try to get comfortable with it since we’re going to be back at this facility in a little over a month,” said sophomore Emma Ivory-Ganja.
The team produced strong results throughout the meet, in which it aimed to get a few dives in before UCLA goes up north next week to face No. 8 Stanford and No. 3 Cal.
Although they are nearing the end of their season, the women are finding many ways in which they can improve, and junior Paulina Guzman is working to get her dives just right.
“I just need to focus on the little details that I need to perfect,” she said. “Things like keeping my shoulders still and just being relaxed on the board.”
Despite a few changes that led to some mistakes, at least two divers placed in the top 10 for every event this weekend.
Ivory-Ganja came away from the weekend with a first-place win on platform, while Guzman came in sixth for the same event.
In the 1-meter dive, Guzman earned fourth place, followed by a fifth-place finish in the 3-meter. Ivory-Ganja earned seventh place in both events.
“All the (preliminary dives) were really solid for her,” said coach Tom Stebbins of Ivory-Ganja. “We put a new dive into her lift for the final, something that she’s not really comfortable with, and I think that affected her through the last six dives on three meter.”
Stebbins worked with Ivory-Ganja on switching up one of her dives for the final 3-meter event, which seemed to have cost her a few points and a possible win.
“That was actually my big mistake. I just made a mistake that was really simple to fix. I did some good dives in the warm up, but the one in the competition was not my best,” Ivory-Ganja said.
These mistakes did not alarm the divers, however, as they have been using these past few meets to perfect all the aspects of their dives.
“We accomplished what we wanted to, which was to come in and get familiar with the facility, to get our feet wet a little bit, and to get into a routine that we’ll replicate when we get to March,” Stebbins said.
Email Patricio at mpatricio@media.ucla.edu.