Los Angeles may be known for glitz and glamour, but the trip to Southern California has been anything but glamorous for the ASU swim and dive teams.
In 2004 the ASU women tied USC, but neither the men nor the women have won in Los Angeles this decade, a trend they will be trying to reverse as they compete against both USC and UCLA this weekend.
Despite recent struggles, ASU coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker is looking forward to the trip.
“I’m real excited; I think it’ll be a good competition,” Tierney-Walker said. “Our women’s team has a higher level of focus than I noticed last year.”
While the ASU women swimmers and divers are at UCLA (6-0) on Friday, the male swimmers and divers will compete against Cal State Bakersfield (4-0) because UCLA does not have a men’s team.
Bakersfield, led by senior Matt Parsonage who was a Conference USA finalist in three events last year, is off to an undefeated start despite being in its first Division I season.
The women will not have it any easier than the men, as they are also up against an undefeated foe in UCLA.
“UCLA had a great women’s team last year and they have a couple of good freshman sprinters [this year],” Tierney-Walker said.
ASU diving coach Mark Bradshaw has also been impressed with the UCLA team.
“The women at UCLA are always a good challenge because they always seem to raise their game a little bit,” Bradshaw said.
UCLA’s dive team may be talented, but Bradshaw is confident in his team.
“I think we have better talent,” Bradshaw said. “But, it’s a matter of going out there and competing.”
The Bruin swim team is coming off a meet in which they broke four records, while the divers are led by freshman Haley McNamara who is coming off a personal-best score her last time out.
Saturday, both the men and the women will compete against USC.
The USC men are ranked 14th, while the women (4-0) are ranked 6th in the CSCAA poll.
It will no doubt be a tough meet, but ASU feels they are ready.
“I think we’ll do pretty well,” ASU senior Chris Pasanella said. “We are all pretty prepared.”
USC is a team on the rise and Tierney-Walker has noticed the recent improvement of the Trojan swim teams.
Seniors Dillon Connolly and Emmett Walling are the captains and leaders of USC. Connolly holds the school record in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes and Walling swam at the NCAA Championships a year ago.
The USC dive teams pose a similar challenge for the Sun Devils, as they consistently put together tough teams.
“USC will be a huge challenge for us because they have equal talent,” Bradshaw said.
The meets will be the first conference meets of the season for the teams. Tierney-Walker said they do not prepare any differently for conference play, but she expects the team to be more excited than usual.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
