For UCLA swim and dive, this was it – a three-day culmination of the entire season that only seven swimmers and one diver earned the right to experience.
But to junior freestyle swimmer Ting Quah, NCAA Championships felt more like a giant high school meet than a high-pressure competition featuring the nation’s best.
By experiencing an atypical competition format with schools like Georgia, Tennessee and Texas, NCAAs provided UCLA with a welcome change from traditional Pac-12 opponents.
“I have the most fun racing when I don’t know the person next to me,” Quah said.
This enjoyment translated into results, as UCLA ended the meet 17th overall, the program’s best finish since earning the No. 15 spot during the 2006-2007 season.
In addition, the athletes broke a variety of school records, including those for the 200 freestyle relay on day one, the 100 butterfly and the 800 freestyle relay on day two, and the 1650 freestyle on day three.
“It got me really excited to be there … people were just dropping times and having fast swims and it made me really want to go out and do the same,” said junior distance swimmer Lauren Baker, who broke the 1650 freestyle school record.
Sophomore Emma Ivory-Ganja, the team’s lone diver at the meet, said that she saw improvement in her performances as the weekend went on – from placing 29th in the one-meter on the first day of competition to seventh place in the platform championship final on the third day.
“I definitely improved as the days went on. I think I just settled more into the meet. The first day I was a little more nervous, but as the days went on I got more comfortable,” Ivory-Ganja said.
Dive coach Tom Stebbins said that he was happy that the hard work of the team translated into success at NCAAs.
“It’s high quality, and it’s incredibly difficult and tough. To be successful (at NCAAs) is really saying something about what (the team has) accomplished,” Stebbins said.
As a result of this toughness, the returning athletes have learned some valuable lessons that they said the team will put into practice in upcoming seasons.
And as for Quah, the “giant, giant high school meet” of NCAAs wasn’t as intimidating as expected.
“I shouldn’t make (this) meet out to be bigger than it is … it’s possible to actually go and make an impact,” Quah said. “I want to do it again next year.”