The UCLA swim and dive team has left the comfort of its own pool.
After hosting every meet this season at Spieker Aquatics Center, excluding the dive team’s participation at the Trojan Invitational two weeks ago, the No. 12 Bruins will head to Long Beach today for the Arena Invitational.
The meet is hosted by UC San Diego and will give UCLA an important opportunity to compete against Pac-12 power Cal. The Bruins will get a chance to gauge the competition before their upcoming meet against the Bears in January.
The dive team will travel east to the Phill Hansel Invitational to compete against No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Texas, and No. 19 LSU, among other schools.
UCLA is ranked in the top 20 in eight different events and will have a chance to add more individuals to the top rankings this weekend.
Among the leaders, junior Ting Quah is ranked No. 18 in the 50-meter freestyle, No. 17 in the 100m free and No. 20 in the 200 free, according to the most recent College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) rankings.
The Bruin relay team is ranked No. 6 in the country and will have a chance to improve its times this weekend, before it jumps into upcoming Pac-12 meets.
Last year, the Bruins placed 5th at the Arena Invitational with a strong performance by many individuals. This time around, they are on their way to performing well if they keep the momentum going from their undefeated season thus far.
Compiled by Marion Patricio, Bruin Sports contributor