By Regina Yeh
DAILY BRUIN CONTRIBUTOR
ryeh@media.ucla.edu
With goggles and sunglasses, their vision obscured by both the intense sun over USC McDonald’s Swim Stadium and the steadily churning waters of the Olympic-sized pools, swimmers and coaches alike remained resolute.
UCLA head coach Cyndi Gallagher and assistant coach Greg Meehan eyed their stopwatches and simultaneously scrutinized each of the seven Bruins participating in the ninth annual Janet Evans Invitational presented by Speedo, one of the largest meets in the nation.
While over 600 swimmers, many of them world-class athletes, attended the four-day meet beginning July 18, the UCLA contingent treated the event as an introductory meet to an anticipated season.
“This is a practice event, not our focus meet. Our focus is on Nationals in a month,” Gallagher said.
Between the leap off the block and the stretch of the final lap, each swimmer sought to compete faster and stronger.
“Each of us has our own goals this summer,” senior Stacy Kearney said. “It’s a small but united group here, and we’re cheering each other on in our sets and on our blocks.”
Nevertheless, the Bruins placed high in the competition. Junior Sara Platzer and senior Erica Shugart were among the top ten in the 50-meter freestyle, and the rest of the Bruins also set personal bests.
“This meet is an opportunity for them to swim faster, and the rest of them are swimming faster than they had been before,” Gallagher continued. “We’re not exactly where we want to be, but we’re getting there.”
The advent of the National Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has spurred intense practice and training as well as some yoga in preparation for the swimming and competitions, scheduled to begin in August.
With so many strong swimmers at the meet, recently transferred junior swimmer Taylor Spivey immediately identified with the experience of competing at the Janet Evans Invitational.
“It’s just a really good competition, and it’s exciting to be here,” Spivey said.
Kearney looks forward to competing in the 200- and 400-meter individual medley at Nationals, and enjoyed the Invitational as one of her last experiences to swim at such an intense competitive level with her teammates.
“It’s kind of nostalgic, and these are some of my last meets as a Bruin swimmer,” Kearney said. “In this meet I’ve seen people that I’ve always been with, and it’s definitely one of the marking points in my life.”