University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
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Stanford
UCLA Welcomes Stanford, Cal for Dual Meets
January 25, 2018 | Swimming & Diving
LOS ANGELES โ After nearly three months away from the Spieker Aquatics Center, the UCLA swimming and diving team is home this week for dual meets against No. 3 Stanford and No. 5 California. It will also represent a reunion of sorts for Bruin swimmers and divers, who have not competed alongside each other since Nov. 4.
The Bruins (5-3) will host the Cardinal Friday (1 p.m.), before taking on the Golden Bears Saturday (12 p.m.).
UCLA swimmers will look to build off a successful trip to Corvallis, Ore., where they tallied their 13th straight win against Oregon State on Jan. 12. The Bruins topped the Beavers by a 150-88 score, capturing the first 12 events of the meet before posting exhibition swims down the stretch.
Individually, Kenisha Liu, Amy Okada and Emma Schanz shined with two wins apiece. Liu captured victories in the 200 Fly (2:01.97) and 200 Breast (2:17.23), Okada took the 50 Free (23.49) and 100 Fly (55.89) and Schanz registered victories in the 100 Breast 1:05.20 and 100 Free (52.32). Schanz also set a pair of UCLA-Oregon State dual-meet records, posting times of 54.82 in the 100 Back (as part of 400 Medley Relay) and 2:02.52 in the 200 IM.
Back home, UCLA divers played host to 13 other schools for the annual Bruin Diving Invitational (Jan. 12-14). Bruin Eloise Belanger stole the show, winning the 1-Meter (636.00) and 3-Meter (650.25) competitions before finishing second in the Platform (539.35) event. For her efforts, the reigning Pac-12 Diver of the Month was named the conference's first Diver of the Week.
Belanger is currently in Saskatoon, SK, Canada, taking part in her home country's Winter National Diving Championships. Hosted by the Shaw Centre, the event represents a qualifier for April 2018's Commonwealth Games in Australia.
Stanford brings a 5-0 record in dual meets to Los Angeles, most recently topping Arizona and Arizona State on Jan. 19 and 20. Against the Sun Devils, the Cardinal won every swimming event en route to a 176-113 win. Janet Hu, Grace Zhao, Katie Ledecky, Ella Eastin and Simone Manuel each won multiple events on the afternoon.
In the teams' last meeting, No. 2 Stanford defeated No. 19 UCLA, 127-104, at Avery Aquatic Center in Stanford, Calif. Senior Madison White picked up a win in the 200 Back, posting a time of 1:55.77 to barely edge Eastin.
California is also coming off a successful desert trip, as it tallied impressive wins over Arizona State and Arizona at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Bears registered a 195-96 victory over the Wildcats in their final home meet, with four swimmers and one diver tallying multiple wins on the day. Cal is 7-0.
Liu posted the top time in the 200 Breast (2:15.46) against Cal in 2017, while senior Linnea Mack captured the 100 Back (53.22). The Bears went on to pick up the home win by a 165-128 margin.
Players Mentioned
