It seemed like just another meet, another event where she came up just a little short.
But well after the meet was over, when the results of the three-meter diving competition Saturday against Cal were finally corrected, senior Janine Strack had her first win of her UCLA career.
“Janine’s win really is a testament to all the work and things she has done since she started here,” UCLA diving coach Tom Stebbins said. “It came at a good time.”
Strack’s parents came from San Mateo to watch the meet but, like the rest of the fans, were not able to immediately relish their daughter’s effort. The athletic department still does not even have the correct score posted on its Web site.
“The win was a little anti-climatic because of the scoring,” Strack said. “But regardless of the final outcome, I was really proud of my scores.”
Strack’s first-place performance highlighted an impressive day for UCLA divers. The Bruins collected the top three spots in both the one- and three-meter competitions against the Bears. But it was not enough to bag the win since the swimmers play a much larger role in the final score.
“We missed some opportunities with swimmers when looking at the results,” Stebbins said. “But (coach) Cyndi (Gallagher) is pretty proud of the kids because they didn’t walk away, they put up a fight.”
The divers’ results were a marked improvement from a day earlier, when they struggled against Stanford. Although the Cardinal boasts an All-American diving roster, Stebbins maintained that the Bruins were not up to par on Friday.
“They are much better than that,” Stebbins said of his squad. “It is difficult to watch when they aren’t at their best.”
As a response to the highs and lows of this weekend, Stebbins said practices will be very detail-oriented.
“We’re going to work diligently over the next two weeks on correcting the mistakes made in Palo Alto,” Stebbins said. “We are going to be fine-tuning some of the things we need to get a hold of in terms of movement.”
According to Stebbins, the divers’ strength is not in question, but their mechanics need to be fine-tuned.
“If we have any intention of achieving our goals, we have a lot of work to do between now and the end of the year,” Stebbins said. “It will come up quick.”