The Utah Swimming and Diving teams have been invited to one of the most prestigious swim meets in the NCAA, as they make the trip this weekend to Long Beach, Calif. for the Toshiba Classic, formerly known as the Nike Cup.
The timing for this meet is near-perfect for the women’s team, as their confidence is soaring after beating a tough UNLV team and dominating the entire field at the quad meet two weeks ago. After proving they can match up against two exceptional teams in UNLV and Boise State, this opportunity to compete in the Toshiba Classic is one that the women are glad to accept.
However, the women have their work cut out for them this weekend. Among the competition are three of the best teams in the Nation8212;Hawaii, Stanford and the reigning NCAA Division 1 National Champions, California. The Cal Bears are also undefeated this year, coming off a pair of wins against Fresno State and San Diego State. As for Stanford, they finished in fourth place in the National Championships last year, and are undefeated this year as well, topping San Jose State, Michigan and most recently, Florida.
To go along with their winning streak, the women will have another confidence booster that they will wear on their shoulders this weekend. Junior diver Kwan Ling Yu was named the Mountain West Diver of the Week for the week of November 10th while also qualifying for the highly competitive 2010 NCAA Zone Regional meet. Yu earned the recognition for both feats after her stellar performance in the dual meet, where she finished first in the 3-meter dive with a score of 308.35 and second in the 1-meter dive with the score of 273.70. On top of the recognition Yu has received from the conference and the NCAA, she will also represent Hong Kong in the 2010 East Asia games this summer. “I’m excited about where (Yu) is at right now so early in the season,” said head coach Greg Winslow. “She’s progressed a lot since last year. You have to attribute that to her hard work and the work of our diving coach, Kelsey Patterson. We’re excited for her to represent Hong Kong this summer.”
Just like the women, the men have a very competitive field to swim against this weekend. The men and women look to scout the opposition in very similar ways, as they have their eye on both California and Stanford.
“Stanford is one of the best teams in the country for both men and women.” Winslow said. “The California women’s team is top 10 as well.”
When approaching heavy competition as both teams will this weekend, teams usually look to experienced athletes to lead the team, but with such a young roster the Utes will have to rely on their underclassmen as well. However, both teams are very confident with their young talent, along with their experienced junior and seniors.
“We’ll watch to see how our younger athletes do against tough competition in so many events in what is the first big championship meet for many of them,” Winslow said.