A Clean Sweep

Last Friday, in a tri-meet that featured Oregon State (1-3, 0-2 Pac-10) and UC Santa Barbara (2-1), the No. 15 UCLA women’s swim team (3-0, 1-0 Pac-10) fed off each others’ performances to defeat the Beavers, 174-71 and the Gauchos, 161-84.

The Bruins (3-0) have maintained a “no fear” mentality that would cohesively defend their house.

From the opening 200 medley to the closing 400 freestyle relay, the team maintained a level of energy that both the Beavers and Gauchos couldn’t quite match.

“We were all pumped up from the relays, the 1000 freestyle, and we were excited that the freshmen stepped up,” said sophomore Brittany Beauchan, who finished second in the 100 breaststroke. “Everything fell into place. I was pumped up just watching them.”
Freshman Jennifer Lamb began the afternoon by taking the 1000 free in 10:09.85.
The Bruins went on to take the next 9 of 13 events while breaking nine event records and setting an astounding 27 season-best times.

Senior Anna Poteete out-touched UCSB All-American Anne Marie May on the last three strokes to win by five hundredths of a second in the 50 free.

“We won a lot of the close races,” said swim coach Cyndi Gallagher. “It’s huge. It’s always a good sign when you’re not letting anyone pass you.”

Poteete also out-dueled three-time Oregon State’s Saori Haruguchi, who was also an All-American and Olympic qualifier, on the last leg to capture first place in the 200 free.

“Anna showed a lot of heart,” said Gallagher. “She beat a tough NCAA All-American swimmer at the very end.”
This perhaps set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
Freshman Yashi Jahanshahi then went on to set meet records in the 100 (55.83) and 200 (2:00.92) butterfly.
Sophomore 400 IM swimmer Lauren Hall and sophomore 500 free swimmer Emily Bibb also took first place in their respective events.
Senior Madeleine Stanton took both the 100 (56.36) and 200 backstroke (2:01.22).
“The times were great; they were better than last week,” said Gallagher. “Their stroke technique was definitely better.”

Practice is something Gallagher has emphasized throughout the season.

“We are going to have hard practices,” said Gallagher. “We’re never going to back off. This will help us to never back down in a meet.”

Veteran’s Day isn’t a holiday for swimmers.

“We’ve been tougher on them to make sure they pay attention to the details,” said Gallagher. “If they don’t do the drills right, they do it over. I make them do it all the time. I make them pay attention, but they are open to change.”

Tomorrow, the swim team will take to the pool at seven in the morning to begin yet another day of rigorous practice.

“They have to get better coming into every practice,” said Gallagher. “We have to continue to improve.”

The Bruins will be tested on Friday with No. 16 Arizona State and on Saturday with No. 4 Arizona.

“We are going to have to show the same type of determination to get to the wall first,” said Gallagher.

With the seniors leading and the team working hard together, two victories next week may not be a far-fetched idea.

“We train hard day in and day out in the pool, so we can have great arms great legs for those last 25 meters into the wall,” said senior IM swimmer Kristen Fischer. “We’ve improved over the past two weeks, so we are definitely excited to see what we can do next weekend.”

With first-meet jitters out of the way, the No. 19 UCLA women’s swimming team has devoted the past week primarily focusing on the fundamentals in preparation for today’s meet against Oregon State and UC Santa Barbara.

This past week’s practice was a return to the basics and consisted of running, swimming, weights and a lot of repetition.

“Practice is grueling, but at the same time, since all of us are doing it, we all get each other through it,” said freshman individual medley swimmer Paige Treleven. “We have eight freshmen, so having eight people helping each other out is really supportive.”

The team also worked extensively on refining relays, technique and form.

“We want to make swimming as effortless as possible,” coach Cyndi Gallagher said. “All swimmers work hard. We try to work smart. As coaches, we try to make (the swimmers) aware of how to make themselves better.”

Tuesday’s practice focused primarily on the freshmen.

“We’ve thrown a lot of stuff on the freshmen,” Gallagher said.

Although it is still early in the year, the freshmen have contributed immediately. Freshman Yasi Jahanshahi won both the 100 and 200 butterfly races against the San Diego Toreros.

But there were still specific areas Gallagher wanted to address.

“Their technique isn’t quite there yet,” Gallagher said. “Some are hesitant to change (their technique) because they have been so successful at it. However, when they want to go fast, they are actually going slower, because they’re fighting with the water. We don’t want them to do that.”

“She stops me all the time to help me out,” Jahanshahi said.

This year, the freshmen have an opportunity to play a leadership role. For the first time, captains will rotate every meet, which may help team chemistry.

“It affects our performance, because everyone is rooting for each other,” Treleven said.

“Everyone has the same goal, and everyone is doing everything we can to reach that goal. That makes me want to be a better swimmer.”

As for today’s meet, Oregon State (1-1, 0-1 Pac-10) boasts several key individual swimmers, including star freshman and freestyle swimmer Jenni Dole who swam in Olympic trials last summer.

UCSB (1-0) has vastly improved from one season ago. Though UCLA defeated the Gauchos early last season, UCSB eventually captured a Big West Championship and finished its 2008 campaign with a strong performance at NCAAs. UCSB boasts the return of the core of last year’s team, led by junior sprinter Anna May and senior breaststroker Katy Freeman.

When asked if today’s meet is a must-win in the wake of a long Pac-10 season, Gallagher said, “We just want to swim fast. If we don’t win, it’s not the end of the world. It’s going to be a good race. It’s going to come down to who wants it more.”