Domination was the recurring theme during the No. 11 UCLA swim
and dive meet this weekend against UC San Diego. Records were
broken. In fact, eight of them fell victim during the meet.
Despite not competing for the last five weeks, UCLA (5-1, 2-1
Pac-10) came out blazing, improving its record to 10-0 all-time
over the Tritons with a 165-80 win Saturday.
“After a month of not competing, teams are usually a bit
rusty,” UCLA coach Cyndi Gallagher said. “They
certainly weren’t today. A lot of fast swims today.
We’re in great shape.”
And on a day that was meant to celebrate the seniors’
final home meet, the underclassmen proved that the future of the
team is in good hands.
In the individual meet, freshman Chiemi Yamamoto took first
place in the 200-yard individual medley and the 200-yd
breaststroke, setting a meet record in both swims.
“Chiemi did great today,” Gallagher said of the
swimmer, who hails from Fukuoka, Japan. “The start of the
season was more of a transitional period for her, with studying
constantly to learn the language and succeed in her
classes.”
Junior Kim Vandenberg also had a strong meet, setting an
individual meet record in the 200-yard butterfly and also an
individual record for fastest leg in the 800-yard freestyle relay.
Sophomore Katie Arnold, freshman Shannon Hackett and sophomore Jane
Imagane joined Vandeberg to finish with a time of 7:21.64 in the
race.
“Vandenberg makes it look so easy,” said Gallagher,
who picked up her 105th career win as UCLA’s coach.
“She’s fast. What can I say?”
The Tritons did not provide much competition for the nearly
flawless Bruins.
Other single event winners for UCLA on Saturday included Lindsey
Smart in the 200-yard backstroke, Arnold in the 100-yard
backstroke, Liz Keating in the 1000-yard freestyle, Shannon Hackett
in the 500-yard freestyle and Luisa Los-Santos in the 100-yard
breaststroke and 100-yard freestyle. Another meet record was set by
Arnold, Eileen Seissen, Amy Thurman and Kendall Butler in the 200
IM relay with a time of 1:45.35.
The domination continued at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center
pool, with UCLA divers claiming the top five spots in both the
3-meter and 1-meter competitions. Junior Paige Thompson won the
1-meter (271.80) and junior Amanda Blong took home the 3-meter
(283.85).
In two weeks, the Bruins will travel up north to face Cal and
Stanford.