Some may think that standing alone on a springboard or crouching down solo on a diving block couldn’t be farther from a team sport. But in the case of the women’s swimming and diving team, every individual’s performance is crucial to the finish of the team as a whole.
“The thing that’s really cool to me about NCAA swimming and diving is it’s really the only place you get either of our sports to be focused on the team concept, and that’s what makes it so special and so great,” diving coach Tom Stebbins said.
The diving and swimming events are scored with the same value; for example, 1-meter and 3-meter diving is worth the same amount of points as any swimming event, like the 100-yard backstroke or 50-yard freestyle.
On Oct. 5, the Bruins open up their regular season with a home meet against Idaho, kick-starting a season that will stretch all the way through March with the Pac-10 and NCAA championships.
But the training doesn’t stop there for the swimmers.
“It’s a year-round sport,” swim coach Cyndi Gallagher said. “It’s not a question because they’ve been doing that their whole lives. It’s just second nature for them. They don’t have an offseason, and if they do have an offseason, they’re not at a high level of swimming.”
The final dual meet against USC in February 2008 will mark the beginning of the postseason.
“Our focus is always on March,” Stebbins said.
In addition to lifting weights and strength training, Stebbins mixes up regular diving practice with out-of-water training, including a “dry board” set out over a soft mat and a trampoline for targeting specific movements in somersaulting.
Stebbins also credits the level of physical fitness of his six divers but said that in terms of cross-training, “the more diving-specific it is, the better.”
This season, the biggest challenge for both the swimming and diving teams will be coping with the loss of last year’s senior class. Stebbins lost two divers, while Gallagher lost eight swimmers.
While the swim team may be lacking in seniors, Gallagher said that the incoming freshman class is the greatest strength of the program.
“They were a very highly recruited class and they’re very excited about UCLA,” Gallagher said. “They’re very competitive, very hardworking. … They’re filled with a lot of potential.”
The same might be said for the diving squad, which flourishes with the presence of sophomore divers Marisa Samaniego and Tess Schofield, both of whom placed at the NCAAs as freshmen last March.
“Both of them have been the rock of our program,” said Stebbins. “I’ve felt like we can really rely on them to carry the load.”
As for the new members of the diving team, Stebbins thinks they will adapt quickly to the new level of intense competition.
“I think they’re a little bit green,” Stebbins said. “But it doesn’t mean they’re not going to step into the roles that we need them to.”