UCLA
Stanford
UCLA Prepares to Host No. 5 Stanford, No. 2 Cal
January 30, 2020 | Swimming & Diving
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA swim and dive returns to action this week, hosting Pac-12 rivals Stanford and Cal in a pair of dual meets at Spieker Aquatics Center.
Both meets have been pushed back an hour from their originally-scheduled start times. The Bruins will take on the Cardinal at 2:00 p.m. on Friday (diving starts at 1:00 p.m.) before tangling with the Golden Bears at 12:00 p.m. (diving at 11:00 a.m.) on Saturday afternoon.
As always, admission is free to both meets.
Friday will also serve as the program's Centennial Meet, celebrating UCLA's 100th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the Bruins will wear special Centennial caps, while commemorative Centennial pins will be available to the first 150 fans to enter the venue.
UCLA enters the weekend with an unblemished 7-0 record in dual meets, including a 4-0 mark in conference action.
Most recently, the Bruins nailed down a 145-109 win on the road at Washington State on Jan. 11. UCLA freshmen shone in that dual meet, capturing seven of the Bruins' 10 event wins in the swim-only competition. Gabby Dang (100 fly, 100 back) and Daniella Hawkins (500 free, 1000 free) each captured multiple wins to pace the Bruins.
UCLA divers are coming off a solid performance at the 2020 Bruin Diving Invitational earlier this month, placing a top-10 finisher in all three events. Saturday was a standout day for the Bruin divers as a trio of competitors were finalists in the 3M championships. Junior Ruby Neave was the fourth-place finisher while freshman Katie Shaheen set a new PR and qualified for NCAA Zones with a ninth-place result (she tallied a 286.30 in the prelims to grab her Zones score).
Stanford, the defending national champion, is 4-0 on the year so far, and is coming off dual meet wins at home against the Arizona schools last weekend. The Cardinal is ranked No. 5 in the latest CSCAA poll.
Cal, the runner-up at the 2019 NCAA Championships, is ranked No. 2 in the nation and is 5-0 on the campaign. They also downed the Arizona schools at home last week. Cal boasts both the reigning Pac-12 Swimmer and Diver of the Week in Abbey Weitzeil and Briana Thai, respectively. Weitzeil is also the reigning Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year and is the American record-holder in the 50 free.
Stay tuned to @UCLASwimAndDive on Twitter for live updates during both meets.
Players Mentioned
