IRVINE, CA—On Saturday, January 25, the seven athletes representing UCLA Artistic Swimming braved the cold, Southern California winter weather for their first competition of the season. A dual meet against Texas Women's University, the Bruins faced several hurdles: their competitors have drastically more money, time, and resources as a varsity team; UCLA had been out of the water two weeks prior due to the devastating California wildfires; and the three-week winter break meant that not all of UCLA's routines were finished. On top of that, this season has once again seen a shift in scoring rules, shaking up the difficulty chart such that the athletes had to learn and train new skills in addition to choreographing the most difficult routines possible. Aware of these challenges, the Bruins focused on re-introducing themselves to the competition pool and learning what they could to make improvements for the next meet. And, they still made an impressive showing, setting the tone for the upcoming season.
First to enter the water were freshman Celeste Acosta, junior Rose Anderson, senior Nadia Grishanina, and newcomer and graduate student Olivia LeVine for the C technical competition. This would be Acosta's and LeVine's first collegiate technical competition and Anderson's first time in the C category after winning the silver medal in D at last year's Collegiate Nationals. Grishanina improved her own Nationals score to secure third place, and she was followed in close succession by Acosta, LeVine, and Anderson, their scores combining to net them a win for UCLA in the C category.
Next was the duet event, where the Bruins debuted two all-new combinations. UCLA Artistic Swimming's two longest-serving members, Katie MacDonald and Ariel Peterson, formed one pair, and the freshman-senior combination of Acosta and Grishanina formed the second. With only half a routine and after receiving just two basemarks, MacDonald and Peterson proudly took third, with Acosta and Grishanina close behind.
Grishanina then joined MacDonald and Peterson for the trio event, marking Peterson's and Grishanina's first entrances into the category in their collegiate careers. They took home a second bronze for the team despite sustaining basemarks, especially because the judges took note of their artistic impression in their music and choreography choices.
Saturday's last event was team. Freshman Karen Wang joined Acosta, Grishanina, MacDonald, and Peterson, and despite swimming only the first half of their routine, the Bruins once again took third, showing off their high lifts and inspired choreography.
By the time they left the competition pool Saturday evening, the Bruins had learned a lot about their performances and how they had strategized their declared difficulty, and they were ready to take on day 2 of the competition.
Sunday, January 26th started early with the A and B technical competitions. Wang made her debut in the category alongside MacDonald and Peterson, and their combined scores helped UCLA take the B category as well.
Sunday also included another team competition, giving the Bruins and the athletes at Texas Women's University a second chance to receive scores and feedback from the judges. With Grishanina out for the day, Acosta, MacDonald, Peterson, and Wang chose to swim the second half of their routine. After receiving one fewer basemark than their competition, the Bruins once again took third.
Finally, it was LeVine's time to shine, making her debut in the collegiate solo competition. Swimming all but her last hybrid, LeVine swam clean and was rewarded with only a single basemark, an incredible feat and impressive start to the season. Her efforts put her in third, just above one of Texas Women's University's soloists.
This first meet of the season posed a challenge for UCLA Artistic Swimming, but they still gave their best efforts and were able to succeed. With fewer basemarks sustained overall compared to last year's first meet, the Bruins demonstrated their commitment to hard work and constant improvement. And, because this meet was held in conjunction with the Southern California Association, the team built up a strong reputation with a number of club teams, inspiring younger generations to follow in their collegiate artistic swimming footsteps.
The Bruins would like to thank Armada Artistic Swimming Team and the Meraquas of Irvine for hosting and organizing this meet, and Texas Women's University for making the trip over.
UCLA Artistic Swimming will return to the competition pool on March 1st for Western Regionals, the meet that will qualify them for Nationals!
