UCSD women’s
swimming and diving team tied for third at the NCAA Division II
national championships last year and returned with high hopes in
the fall.
Led by sophomore Rosanna Delurgio, UCSD has a talented
core of swimmers. Last year, Delurgio won national titles in the
100- and 200-yard
breaststroke and on the way broke her own NCAA Division II record
times in both events. Those performances helped win her a spot in
the Sports Illustrated “Faces in the Crowd” section,
last May. Sophomore Sophie Levy, who was an All-American in three
events last season, has returned looking to build on her success.
Senior Denise Bogard is another standout, earning All-American honors
twice last year.
The team lost three members to graduation last spring,
including co-captains Jennifer Watanabe and Samantha Wong. However,
they have
had an infusion of new blood with Emily Harlan, a sprinter from
Yucaipa, California, and Susan Bell, a backstroker from La Jolla.
In
the fall, the Tritons defeated UC Davis in a dual meet and both
teams defeated UC Santa Cruz. The UCSD women currently have five
automatic and seven provisional Division II Championship qualifiers,
and the men have six provisional qualifiers.
In February, the
team will meet up with familiar foes at the Pacific Collegiate
Swimming Conference Championships (PCSC) at
Long Beach,
when Cal State Bakersfield, UC Davis and cross-town rival University
of San Diego compete against them for the PCSC title. Although
they face great challenges, this strong returning cast and youthful
additions are looking to make 2003-04 a season to remember.
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