Monday, February 2, 1998
Individuals shine against powerful Stanford, Cal
W.SWIMMING Though divers overwhelm, team lacked the depth to
win
By Steve Kim
Daily Bruin Contributor
UCLA swimming and diving were outscored by both Stanford and Cal
for two days in a row. Yet nobody’s too disappointed. Where the
team lacked depth, it made up in individual talents.
Stanford has long been the elite team in women’s swimming. Most
of Friday’s races and diving events were won by the Cardinal.
But the Bruins didn’t roll over and play dead. Senior
breaststroker Lindsay Etter broke the Cardinal streak with her win
over her longtime rival Elin Austoval in the 100 breast with
1:03.00. Etter and senior Lara Potter repeated a fast swim in the
200 breast coming in one and three, respectively.
Etter said, "I’m pumped! I had great times. We’re really into it
and everyone’s excited."
And then there was Keiko Price, who dominated the sprints with
wins on both the 50 and 100 free. Price, along with teammates Becky
Thompson, Jackie Castellano (who swam with a broken finger) and
Jill Jenkins, came back to end the meet with a victory in the 200
freestyle relay.
UCLA head coach Cyndi Gallagher said, "These girls have the
right attitude. It’s been a while since we last competed but they
weren’t afraid to race."
The next day Cal brought numerous foreign talents, but the Bruin
400 medley relay team (Jenkins, Etter, Beth Goodwin and Price)
started the meet with a victory.
Senior backstroker Jill Jenkins was all smiles as she said,
"Everybody came together and did their part. I wasn’t as fast as I
wanted to be, but Lindsay was great on her breaststroke leg and
Beth really kicked it in her fly."
Etter proved herself again to be the best breaststroker. She and
her teammate, Amber Wines got the audience worked up by winning one
and two in the 100 breaststroke.
Senior distance swimmer Cindy Bertelink dominated the 1,000 and
500 freestyle events.
Bertelink said, "I felt stronger as the race went on. When I
swim my best, that’s how I feel."
Price commanded her events once again. With the time of 1:50.02
on the 200 free, she beat the next swimmer by three seconds.
Price said, "My 200 was relaxed, and I did a lot better than
yesterday in the 100. I thought the whole team did really well
today."
There’s also UCLA diving, which overwhelmed Cal. Seniors Tracy
Wilcox and Rose Huelskamp and freshman Anne Baghramian placed
first, second and third, respectively, in the 3-meter spring. In
the 1-meter spring, Huelskamp took first while Wilcox placed
second. The diving scores helped the Bruins tremendously, but they
still came up short in total points.
Gallagher said, "We swam awesome, but we just didn’t have the
depth. We raced them all the way through and we did a great
job."