Capturing a title that had eluded a Bruin swimmer for some time,
Katie Arnold became the 2005 Pac-10 champion in the 100-meter
backstroke, out-touching the competition and breaking her own
school record in the process.
With a time of 53.22 at the Pac-10 Championships in Federal Way,
Wash., three weeks ago, the sophomore is now the second-fastest
swimmer in the nation in the backstroke going into Thursday’s
NCAA Championships in Indiana.
“Winning first place in the Pac-10s is a big deal, and
that hasn’t happened in a while,” UCLA coach Cyndi
Gallagher said. “Arnold is awesome.”
The Bruins are also expected to have strong showings in the
individual events, with opportunities to capture titles from a
number of swimmers.
Junior Kim Vandenberg was narrowly edged out for the Pac-10
title in the 200m butterfly against her rival from Stanford, but
will have the opportunity to face her this weekend in Indiana.
“Kim knows what she has to do to win,” Gallagher
said.
Though Vandenberg is the most experienced member of the team,
swimmers like Arnold also have a strong chance at scoring points
this weekend.
“Vandenberg may be a little more experienced than
Arnold,” Gallagher said, “but Arnold will do great. She
has a lot of talent, knows how to do her job, and she will
certainly swim fast.”
While the Bruins individually had a good outing to secure fourth
place in the conference championships, Gallagher thinks that the
relay team may struggle this weekend.
“Our relays aren’t as good this year as they were
last year,” Gallagher said. “We don’t have high
expectations, but maybe we’ll get lucky, and that would be
awesome.”
Last year at the NCAA Championships, the Bruins placed seventh.
In that meet, all five of the relays swum by the Bruins secured
points.
“You need to have all five relays scoring in the top 10 to
have a chance to win,” Gallagher said. “We don’t
have that this year and that limits us.”