This past weekend, the UCLA swim and dive team traveled to USC and faced more challenges than just the No. 1 team in the country, experiencing a 167.5-132.5 defeat at the hands of the Women of Troy.
“It was hard because the men’s team was sitting right behind the starting block and before every race they would be shouting names so it was hard to focus,” junior swimmer Ting Quah said.
Despite this, Quah found success this weekend as she swam the 200-meter freestyle in 1:46:36, less than one second off the fastest mark in UCLA history.
Quah came down with the cold just last week, but said the spirit of the rivalry meet helped motivate her to push through.
“Now it is all about swimming. Everything I do right now is with the intent of swimming at 100 percent,” Quah said.
On top of her career-best performance in the 200m free, Quah also swam the 100m butterfly with the third-fastest time in UCLA history.
Though the Bruins were going up against the top-ranked team in the nation, they managed to earn a 2-3-4 placing in many of the events. Still, this was not enough to win them the meet.
Sophomore diver Emma Ivory-Ganja posted another win for the Bruins by placing first in the three-meter dive, but did not find the same success in the one-meter, giving the Trojans yet another win.
“This was the first jumping off point into the post-season, so it’s important that we make a statement, do things the right way and that we hold our discipline,” diving coach Tom Stebbins said.
The Bruins ended the meet with a win in the 200m free relay, finishing the race in 1:30:16, adding another change atop the UCLA record books.
Swimming coach Cyndi Gallagher said, despite the weekend’s loss, she is satisfied with the progress she has seen in the team. The Bruins are done with the regular season meets and have only Pac-12 Championships, Zone E Championships for diving and NCAA championships to go.
With the postseason looming, the team will be turning its focus toward preparing for a different style of competition.
“The next meet will be a four-day competition and that is what we need to prepare for,” Gallaher said.
While the team has been preparing for the Pac-12 Championships in Washington all year in the pool, the psychological aspect of swimming looks to play a major role in determining the team’s achievements this postseason.
“This sport can be very psychological. This season we’ve just focused on not over-thinking the races, not letting our emotions get to us … and that has helped us a lot. It certainly helped me get to Washington,” Quah said.