Swimmers head north to face top-10 teams

The UCLA women’s swim and dive team has been down this
path before.

But this time, they want it to be different.

For the second time this season, the No. 14 Bruins will compete
in a meet against top-10 teams when they head north to face No. 1
Stanford today and No. 4 California on Saturday.

The last time the Bruins faced a team ranked in the top 10 this
season was when they fell to Arizona on Nov. 11. The 170-127 loss
to the Wildcats gave the Bruins their only loss of the season.

“We came out intimidated,” coach Cyndi Gallagher
said. “We weren’t swimming our best because we were
focusing on how good they were instead of how good we
are.”

Arizona was able to dominate the Bruins because they faced a
younger, more timid squad. The Bruins said that since then, they
have grown to be mentally strong and refuse to cower away from
swimming their best even when facing daunting opposition.

“Intimidation won’t be a factor this time
around,” senior Katie Arnold said. “We could be facing
the best team or the worst; either way, we’re going to swim
our races the same.”

With both the Cardinal (5-0) and the Golden Bears (6-0) having
tremendously successful seasons, the Bruins hope to depend on
mental toughness and to leave the Bay Area with two wins.

“We’re going to go in there with confidence, passion
and intensity,” Gallagher said. “We may even make a few
mistakes, but that’s what happens when you take
risks.”

Looking to give the Bruins an early boost in points are the
divers. Seniors Sara Clark and Amanda Blong and sophomore Marisa
Samaniego have swept both the 1 meter and 3 meter diving events
multiple times this season. Pac-10 Women’s Diver of the Month
for December Tess Schofield will also compete.

The last time UCLA and Stanford met, the Bruins rolled over the
Cardinal, defeating them 180-120. The Bruins hope to repeat their
success and are confident they can do so.

“Whenever you face a team who is much better than you on
paper, you want to prove what you’ve got,” Gallagher
said. “Even though they’re No. 1, you never know what
can happen.”

When the Bruins meet in Berkeley to face the Golden Bears on
Saturday, they will have revenge on the forefront of their minds.
Last season, the Bruins suffered a heart-wrenching defeat to Cal,
154.5-145.5.

“Historically, Cal has been tough for us to beat,”
Arnold said. “If anything, that should make us more motivated
to beat them.”

The Bruins have come a long way since the beginning of the
season, and they know it. They’ve overcome their issues with
timidity, making them faster swimmers against tough teams.

“Every meet for us is a stepping stone,” senior
Jeana Fuccillo said. “We’ve had a lot of meets ““
a lot of stepping stones ““ so we’re going to go out
there knowing we’ve been improving this whole
time.”

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