Coming off a conference title and a fourth-place finish in the Division II national championships last year, the UCSD women’s swimming and diving team is looking for another strong finish to its season this year. Led by captain Jennifer Watanabe and star breaststroke swimmers junior Denise Bogard and sophomore Rosanna Delurgio, it seems like this goal won’t be too hard to achieve.
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The swim team isn’t just about championships and recording the best time though, and for being an individual sport, the swimmers describe their team as a very tightly knit community.
“”Swimming is unique because you spend so much time together with your teammates, they really become your family,”” said Watanabe, who holds 10 school speed records.
Despite placing first or second in six events at last year’s nationals, Watanabe never loses sight of the team’s overall success being the ultimate end.
“”Our goal right now is to beat USD and win conference again this year,”” Watanabe said.
Bogard, part of the team’s one-two punch in the 100 breaststroke, is currently ranked No. 36 nationally. She is also coming off excellent finishes both in last year’s nationals, where she placed sixth, and this year’s Speedo Cup, where she placed second behind teammate Delurgio in the 100 breaststroke.
“”Rosanna and I are pretty good teammates; we practice together, and it’s usually not too competitive,”” Bogard said. “”I would like to win the next race, but either way I hope we finish one-two.””
Delurgio, who is ranked No. 23 out of all collegiate swimmers, is also looking ahead to bigger and better things, such as this summer when she will head to Maryland in hopes of earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic swim team. She is also preparing for the season’s conference championships and feels the team has a very strong chance of winning them again this year.
“”We try to make it as much a team sport as possible out of an individual sport,”” Delurgio said. “”When we show up at meets, we’re all very supportive of all our swimmers, and it really makes an impression on the other teams.””
Currently, the women’s swim team has a record of 2-1 and recently placed fifth in the Speedo Cup, improving from its sixth-place finish last year.
The swim team’s motto this year is, “”Heart, Courage, Will,”” and Bogard, Delurgio and Watanabe, as well as the rest of the team, are certainly operating under that principle, as evidenced in both team spirit and impressive results thus far this season.
