This post was updated Oct. 21 at 11:45 a.m.
The Bruins will spend their next two weekends at home.
No. 23 UCLA (1-0, 1-0 Pac-12) will return to competition Friday to face off against UC Santa Barbara. The Bruins will host the Gauchos at Spieker Aquatics Center for a 39th competition against one another, with the former holding a 37-1 record against the latter.
Senior Bailey Herbert said the team doesn’t focus on its opponents but instead focuses on putting their best effort forward.
“We practice hard things and then when it comes to racing, we are able to do hard things because it’s not uncomfortable or new for us,” Herbert said. “That definitely contributes to having that consistency.”
This upcoming meet will be the first meet at home for the Bruins in the 2023-2024 season. Last season, UCLA won all three of its dual-home meets.
Junior Eva Carlson said the team definitely feels the home pool advantage.
“We love competing at Spieker, we love our pool,” Carlson said. “I think it will be a fun one.”
Last year, when the Bruins faced off against the Gauchos at the UCSB Campus Pool, the Bruins were victorious with a 38-point win. But the season before that, UCLA defeated UCSB by a substantially larger 75 points at home.
Herbert said the added bonus of competing at home is not having to travel far to get to the meet.
“It’s definitely nice to just be in the area,” Herbert said. “We know our pool. Seeing people in the stands cheering for UCLA, that’s always super exciting.”
The Bruins are entering a stretch of four dual meets, two of which are against conference opponents.
After this weekend’s meet, UCLA will remain at home to compete against Illinois, which the Bruins have a 1-0 all-time record against.
“All of fall, no matter what the dual meet is, no matter what the competition is, our primary focus is on the work we are doing in training,” coach Jordan Wolfrum said about her squad’s upcoming contests. “And the racing that we are doing is a part of that preparation for the second half of the season, so we won’t spend any energy getting particularly ready for any one competition.”
In its final year as a member of the Pac-12, UCLA’s matchup against Illinois will act as a preview of its future in the Big Ten.
Herbert said the meet serves as a reminder to keep practicing new things.
“Even though it is going to be different and new, we’re still going to get there, we’re still going to have our routine, we’re still going to be with our team,” Herbert said. “It’s at a pool in a lane. We know how to swim in that. That’s what we do every day.”
UCLA will compete Friday against UCSB and again the following Friday against Illinois.
Comments are closed.