CATHY JUN Julie Madden competes in the
500-yard freestyle at a meet earlier this year. UCLA took the
Pac-10 title, but placed 15th in the NCAAs.
By Scott Schultz
Daily Bruin Reporter
The UCLA women’s swim team’s season had a series of
extreme highs and lows this year, unlike any previous season in the
history of the program.
It began with a dual-meet winning streak, which was unusual for
the Bruin swimmers who usually reserve their energies for the
larger meets at the end of the season.
“We don’t judge our season by our record at the dual
meets,” senior Beth Goodwin said. “We judge our season
according to how we perform at the end of the season.”
After defeating the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats at a home dual
meet in December, the Bruins found themselves with a No. 1 ranking
for the first time in school history.
They followed that up with victories at both the Northwestern
Invite and the Texas Invitational, where they competed against some
of the top teams in the country.
UCLA finished the regular season with a series of difficult
defeats at the hands of Pac-10 rivals who had an extra incentive to
beat the Bruins due to their top ranking.
“After we got to No. 1, that was a great feeling, but it
was something we had to get used to,” Head Coach Cyndi
Gallagher said. “After being the hunter for so long, it was
hard getting used to being the hunted.”
Then came the Pac-10 Championships in March, where UCLA
officially won its first-ever conference title ““ a week after
the meet.
The Bruins originally thought they had finished in second place
at the Pac-10s, but due to a scoring error, not all of the diving
totals were included in the final scores. It took more than a week
for the scoring adjustments to be determined and for the UCLA
victory to be made official.
“At the meet, nobody knew we won, so we couldn’t
celebrate at the pool,” sophomore Erica Shugart said.
“We were sat down in a room where we were told, and we
cheered by the Bruin Bear. It was exciting.”
“Winning the Pac-10 championship was definitely the
highlight of our season,” senior co-captain Brighid Dwyer
added. “Although it didn’t happen the way we would have
liked it to, it’s something that we will all always
cherish.”
Because of the conference win, the Bruins headed to the NCAAs
with a bull’s-eye on their backs. There, UCLA was given
inflated expectations by the swimming media due to the strength of
its big-meet performances during the season.
However, a lack of their trademark depth and the emotional
burnout from the Pac-10 meet resulted in a disappointing 15th place
finish.
Although the NCAA results were not what the team was hoping for,
Gallagher was pleased with the performances of her senior swimmers,
who leave the program at the peak of their careers.
Dwyer swam a personal best in the 100-yard backstroke at the
NCAAs, and Goodwin shaved over a half second off her personal best
time in the 100-meter butterfly at the Nationals in Texas, which
qualified her for the World University games to be held in Beijing,
China in August.
“As a team, the Pac-10 Championships was definitely the
highlight of our season,” Goodwin said. “As an
individual, I would say making the World University Games was my
best moment this season.”
Goodwin will be joined in Beijing by Bruin freshman Sara
Platzer, who qualified in the 50m freestyle and Gallagher, who was
asked to be an assistant coach on the international squad.
“As a team we had a lot of ups and downs during the
season,” Dwyer said. “A lot of people (peaked) at one
time during the season, and that’s important to look
at.”
She added, “We really stuck together as a team through all
the emotional peaks and valleys.”