Although the UCLA swim and dive team finished its collegiate season early in the year, competition has not ended for many Bruins, who continue to swim in elite meets this summer.
Thirteen Bruins competed in the 2013 U.S. Open last week at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, Calif. Among swimmers from around the world, several Bruins earned top 25 finishes.
Rising senior Anna Senko finished 23rd in the 100-meter butterfly and rising senior Lauren Baker finished 21st in the 800-meter freestyle, 25th in the 400m free and ninth in the 1500m free.
Rising sophomores Katy Campbell and Katie Kinnear and rising junior Noelle Tarazona placed in the top 15 in at least one of their respective events.
Campbell set personal-bests in her three events, the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle.
“I thought my performance went really well. I did everything me and my coaches had been working on all year and summer,” Campbell said.
Campbell finished in the top eight of her events twice, with a seventh place finish in the 800m free with a time of 8:35.83 and an eighth place finish in the 400m free with a time of 4:15.42.
“Katie had goals, committed and surpassed them,” said coach Cyndi Gallagher of Campbell’s improvements.
Gallagher said summer is the time the athletes should be making these major improvements by not just practicing, but competing as well.
“Summer swimming is the basis for how you do (during the regular season). What you’re doing now is going to help you next March at NCAAs. Swimming is an honest sport,” Gallagher said.
Another Bruin capitalizing on this summer’s competitive season is Tarazona, who placed 13th in the 200m fly and 20th in the 400m individual medley.
Although she said she was not completely satisfied with her performance, wishing she had placed top eight in the 200m fly, Tarazona said it was still a solid meet.
“(Summer racing) just helps to keep your competitive spirit up, getting in the pool and keeping that race energy up,” Tarazona said.
Even though the competitions were more individualized, the swimmers said having their teammates there helped them on race day.
“It’s really nice having their support as well as supporting them. It’s a great atmosphere,” Campbell said.