Friday, November 15, 1996
SWIMMING:
Weekend to include stiff competition from Arizona WildcatsBy
Kristina L. Wilcox
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s swimming and diving teams will face Pac-10
competition for the first time this season when they host Arizona
State and the University of Arizona this weekend.
The swimmers, who hold a 2-0 record after sweeping the dual meet
last weekend against Nevada and UC Santa Barbara, are in for a
tough battle today at the Men’s Gym pool.
In addition to taking on the Sun Devils (1-0), the Bruins will
also challenge the Florida Gators for the first time in school
history.
"Their strengths are our weaknesses," head coach Cyndi Gallagher
said of the Gators. "They have a lot of depth in freestyle and the
(individual medley), whereas we are strong in sprints and
relays."
Gallagher also expects Arizona State to pose a challenge to her
team. "They are always tough in dual meets and are even better this
year," Gallagher said.
This weekend’s toughest opponent, however, will be the
University of Arizona (3-0), which comes to Westwood on
Saturday.
After beating UCLA last season, Gallagher expects the Wildcats
to be top contenders for this year’s national title. "They are
awesome and are possibly fighting for the NCAA championship,"
Gallagher said.
One Arizona swimmer in particular is expected to give the Bruins
some problems on Saturday. That swimmer is Trina Jackson, who won a
medal at the Atlanta Olympics.
Regardless of Arizona’s potential, the Bruin swimmers believe
this weekend will be an ideal way to start off the Pac-10
season.
"This will be a great experience for everyone," team co-captain
Kiley Ames-Klein said."We will be swimming against extremely fast
teams, and it should be a lot of fun."
The other co-captain, Lindsay Etter, said that the Bruins have
"a lot of potential waiting to come out and are ready to go."
Across campus, at the Sunset Recreation Center, the Bruin diving
team will be competing against the same schools as the
swimmers.
Head coach Andy Kwan, in his first season at UCLA, is
optimistic. "We are a really talented team and we are facing really
good competition," Kwan said.
The team’s goal is to put at least two divers in the NCAA
finals, one of whom is bound to be Rose Huelskamp. Last weekend
against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos and the Nevada Wolfpack, she
swept both the 1 meter and 3 meter board events.
With the help of Huelskamp’s efforts thus far, the divers seem
well on their way toward a great season. However, Kwan stressed the
importance of fans.
"Diving is exciting to watch, and with the talent we have, we
can (make it to the NCAA championships). But we need everybody’s
support along the way."