UCLA
UC Santa Barbara
Bruins Head to USA College Challenge, UCSB
October 20, 2017 | Swimming & Diving
LOS ANGELES -- For the second week in a row, No. 21 UCLA will send two contingents out in search of a win and more strong showings at an elite competition. Senior Katie Grover, junior Sandra Soe and sophomore Kenisha Liu will head to the USA College Challenge at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center on the campus of USC, while the remaining swimmers will face off with UC Santa Barbara at the Gauchos' Campus Pool.
Pac-12 Networks will provide live coverage of the USA College Challenge, with Saturday's broadcast running from 6-8 p.m. and Sunday's 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Rich Burk and Rowdy Gaines will be on the call. Tickets for the event are available HERE.
Grover, Soe and Liu recently returned from the SMU Classic in Lewisville, Texas, where the trio helped the Bruins to a fourth place finish. Grover tallied two third-place results over the course of the two-day event, completing the 100 Fly in 52.90 and the 200 Fly in 1:57.10. Liu, meanwhile, tallied a fourth-place finish in the 200 Free (1:48.17). Those two also helped Bruin quartets to fourth-place showings in the 800 Free Relay (7:18.90) and the 400 Medley Relay (3:42.36). Soe also competed as part of the 800 Free Relay and individually tallied a fourth-place finish in the 500 Free (4:49.91).
In its second year, the USA College Challenge features men's and women's competitions between the Pac-12's best swimmers and United States National Team representatives. UCLA is one of four Pac-12 schools with at least three representatives on the conference roster. Grover, Liu and Soe, as well as other athletes in the field, may be entered in up to six races, counting individual events and relays. The first team to reach 306.5 points will be declared the winner. The top five finishers in each individual race will be awarded points on a 9-4-3-2-1 scale, while relay scoring will be spread 11-4-2 across the top three quartets.
UCLA's second contingent of swimmers will be considerably closer to full strength for its dual meet at UCSB. The Bruins will add Isabella Goldsmith, Sarah Kaunitz, Jennifer Lathrop, Amy Okada and Emma Schanz to a group that registered a 160-96 victory at San Diego in the opener. With those five swimmers at last week's SMU Classic, UCLA still racked up wins in 12 of the 14 events at the Sports Center Pool.
Cali Raukar tallied two individual event wins and played a part in a relay victory against the Toreros, while freshmen accounted for four individual wins in their debut meet.
Players Mentioned
