For the UCLA women’s swim and dive team, the Pac-10 tournament is anything but over. In fact, it’s just begun. But after completing the diving portion of the tournament, the Bruins have jumped out to a commanding early lead.
The No. 16 Bruins found themselves in first place with 331 points after three days of diving competition in Federal Way, Wash. Stanford finished in second with 250 points followed by Arizona and USC with 179 and 123 points respectively.
“This could very possibly be the greatest weekend in our history,” coach Tom Stebbins said. “All of the athletes did an outstanding job.”
The highlight of the tournament came on the last day of competition when sophomore Tess Schofield captured the Pac-10 platform diving title by edging out USC’s Kimberly Popp.
“Tess was supremely confident up there,” Stebbins said. “Her win is really a testament to her work ethic and talent.”
Schofield’s first-place finish in the platform event was the first individual Pac-10 title of her career. Schofield, however, wasn’t the only Bruin putting up big scores. On the first two days of competition, fellow sophomore Marisa Samaniego posted two second-place finishes in the 1-meter and 3-meter events. In 1m competition, Samaniego, who finished with 287.40 points, fell just short of overtaking Stanford’s Cassidy Krug, who ended up with a score of 293.45.
“Marissa’s performance was absolutely huge for us,” Stebbins said. “I’ve known from the beginning that she would do great things for UCLA.”
Seniors Sara Clark and Amanda Blong also had solid performances. Clark and Blong finished third and fourth respectively in both the 1m and 3m events.
“It all comes down to putting in a team effort,” Samaniego said. “When we all do our part and all step up, we can do great things.”
In the tournament, the Bruins were spectacular, but they weren’t perfect. Their success was largely based on their ability to minimize mistakes.
“We were able to manage the areas that we struggled with,” Stebbins said. “We never made any huge errors.”
With nearly perfect dives all weekend, the Bruins displayed how their talent has been polished throughout the season.
“They made it look really easy out there,” Stebbins said. “But the reality is that nothing ever came easy for us. We represented everything we were trying to do and all the hard work we put in.”
With the diving portion of the Pac-10 tournament completed, the Bruin swimmers hope to mirror the success that the divers enjoyed as they head to Long Beach on Feb. 14.