University of California - Los Angeles - UCLA Women's Swimming

Stebbins served as head coach at Fordham University, where he coached two-time senior national qualifier Paul Delo, who won two Atlantic 10 titles each on the 1-meter and 3-meter. Stebbins also helped coach Delo to an undefeated record in the 1996-97 season.  Coach Stebbins' Background Stebbins was a four-year letterwinner at Yale University, a three-time NCAA Zone qualifier and a four-time All-Ivy League selection. While diving at Yale, he helped lead his team to the 1993 Ivy League co-title. In 1996, he won the Heaton High Point Award and was named the recipient of the Phil Moriarty MVP Prize. Stebbins graduated from Yale in 1996 with a degree in psychology. A native of Connecticut, he now resides in Playa del Rey with his wife Erika, daughter Reilly and son Owen. The Stebbins Philosophy "Luck sits squarely at the intersection of hard work and opportunity." Coach Stebbins believes that each person is in total control of creating her own luck. The UCLA Diving program stresses the need for the individual to be accountable to herself, her teammates, her sport, and her studies. With all of the wonderful opportunities presented to student athletes at UCLA, it is important that each person know that she is responsible for the decisions and directions that she chooses. This is the beginning of a lifelong process in which the student-athlete learns how to maximize herself academically, athletically, and socially. While the coaching staff hopes to steer this direction, it is the student-athlete herself that will determine how quickly she will achieve her goals. Coach Stebbins believes, "We are all very fortunate to be part of the greatest athletic program in the country. How we choose to give back to that tradition should go well beyond the few moments each individual will spend competing in the Bruin Blue. Becoming a Bruin is just the beginning of a lifelong commitment to creating excellence in every facet of your life. As coaches, we are all here to enhance the early stages of that process, through our passion, dedication, and enthusiasm for the people whose lives we have the opportunity to touch." The Last Decade Stebbins and the Bruin divers had a successful year in the 05-06 season highlighted by Marisa Samaniego's inclusion in the NCAA Championships. Samaniego earned Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year award (the second consecutive season a Bruin diver earned the honor) after an impressive first campaign at UCLA. Sara Clark and Tess Schofield were also named alternates for the NCAA Championships after a strong showing at the NCAA Zone E Championships. The group's victory at the Pac-10 Diving Championships was the second in the program's history (2001), helping swimming finish second in the overall championship and capping a very exciting NCAA season. The hot streak continued in the spring and summer as Schofield placed 7th in the Platform event at the U.S. Open Championships in April. In August 2006, the Bruins were represented in four out of five events at the Senior National Championships. Blong and Clark finishing third in the 3-Meter Synchronized Springboard event highlighted the meet for the Bruins. Blong also finished 10th on 1-Meter, Schofield finished 15th on Platform and Samaniego finished 17th on 1-Meter and 24th on 3-Meter to help the Bruins to a ninth-place team finish at the meet. In 2006-2007, the Bruin divers thrived with incredible success as Samaniego earned All-American honors on 1-meter (sixth) and Schofield notched Honorable Mention All-American accolades with her 13th-place finish on Platform. Clark (13th on 3M) and Blong rounded out the group of four athletes who represented UCLA at the NCAA Championships. This was quite a feat for UCLA and put on display the depth and talent of this squad. The Bruins went 2-3-4 on 1-Meter and 2-3-4-6 on 3M at the Zone meet. Schofield was the NCAA Zone E Platform champion, as well as the Pac-10 winner and was the Pac-10 Diver of the Month in December. During the summer of 2007, the divers were on point again, as Schofield won the Senior Zone D Platform title and was 15th at U.S. Nationals. Samaniego won the Senior Zone 1-Meter crown and finished seventh at U.S. Nationals. During the 2007-2008 season, the Bruin divers continued their success, as Samaniego led the way, advancing to the NCAA Championships on 1M and 3M. She was the NCAA Zone E Champion on 3-Meter and tallied seven dual meet wins during the year. Schofield won every invitational Platform competition she was entered in and the Bruins saw much success and improvement from Brittany Hill, Shannon Pirozzi, Laura Winn and Morgan Erpenbeck. The 2008-2009 campaign was another great year for the diving squad, as Samaniego and Schofield competed at NCAA's, earning All-America Honorable Mention accolades. Winn had a huge year, narrowly missing the Pac-10 title on Platform with a runner-up finish. Samaniego won the Pac-10 1-meter crown, was the NCAA Zone E champion on 3-meter and tallied seven dual meet wins during the year. Schofield won every invitational Platform event in which she entered and was the NCAA Zone E Champion in the event. The 2009-2010 season saw a small squad of four divers represent the Bruins. Winn and Karina Silva led the way as all four competed at the NCAA Zone E Championships. Silva set a new school record on Platform during the prelims at Pac-10's and ended up finishing second overall, while both her and Winn were finalists on Platform at the Zone meet. The summer of 2010 saw Silva earn a bronze medal on 1M and a gold medal on Platform in her Spanish National Championships, qualifying her to the European Championships. Winn qualified to her second Senior National Championship on Platform, where she finished 22nd overall and Michelle Vale made her debut at the Senior meet in the 3M synchro and 3M springboard events. During the 2010-2011 season, Winn finished third on Platform at the Pac-10 Championships and competed at the NCAA Zone E Championships. Winn also competed at her first Senior National Meet and qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials on Platform. Paulina Guzman had a solid first year with the Bruins as she also competed at Zones. Guzman also represented Guatemala at the Canada Cup meet in May of 2011. The 2011-2012 season was keyed by Emma Ivory-Ganja, who was named Pac-12 Conference Newcomer of the Year for diving after a very successful freshman campaign which saw her finish third on both 3M and Platform at the conference meet. Ivory-Ganja also set a new meet record on 3M at the Pac-12 Championships and narrowly miss a spot at the NCAA Championships after placing fourth on Platform at the Zone E meet. Ivory-Ganja and 2011 graduate Winn also competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials. In 2012-2013, the UCLA diving team sent its first Bruin to the NCAA Championships since 2009 when Ivory-Ganja qualified by virtue of her fourth-place finish in the 3-Meter at the NCAA Zone E Championships. At NCAA's, Ivory-Ganja won the B Final of the 3-Meter event and was also seventh in the Platform, to earn her First Team All-America status, and 29th in the 1-Meter. Ivory-Ganja, the only diver to post three Top 5 finishes at last year's NCAA Zones (fourth in Platform, fifth in 1M), was one of three Bruins to participate in the event. Vale's best showing was 21st in the 3-Meter, while Guzman's top performance was 24th in the 3M. Montana Monahan qualified for the Senior Nationals, finishing 21st in the Platform event. In 2013-2014, three Bruins qualified for the NCAA Zones in Guzman, Monahan and freshman Annika Lenz. Lenz was fourth in the Platform event, ninth in the 3-Meter and 14th in the 1-Meter at Zones, setting a personal best (329.80) in the 3-M at the Pac-12 Championships. Lenz won four dual meet events and was named Pac-12 Diver of the Month for November. Monahan was 15th in the Platform at NCAA Zones, while Guzman was 16th in the 1-Meter.  In the summer of 2014, Lenz won a silver medal in the Platform at the AT&T USA Diving National Championships with a personal-best and National Meet-best score of 312.60. She was the seventh-highest women's point scorer, also competing in the 1-Meter (15th), 3-Meter (22nd) and Synchronized 3-Meter (4th). Incoming freshman Maria Polyakova won a pair of silver medals at the FINA World Junior Diving Championships in September in the 1-M and 3-M, also placing third in the Synchro 3-M. Two seasons ago, Maria Polyakova was named the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year after an historic initial season in Westwood, which culminated in a fourth-place finish in the 3-Meter at the NCAA Championships. She became the first Bruin to qualify for a championship final since 2013, posting the best showing ever for a UCLA diver at NCAAs and the best Bruin finish at Championships since 2006.  During her historic performance in the 3-Meter, Polyakova broke her own school record twice with a 380.60 in the preliminaries and a 392.00 in the championship. Sophomore Annika Lenz, who set a UCLA school record in the Platform at the Pac-12 Championships (323.15), finished fourth at the NCAA Zone E Diving Championships in March. In the summer of 2015, Polyakova won gold in the 1-Meter, while also finishing second in the Synchronized 3-Meter and fifth in the 3-Meter, in the inaugural European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.  Polyakova also won the Women's 1-Meter at her 2015 Summer National Championships in Russia and finished ninth in the 1-Meter finals at the FINA World Championships.  Ciara Monahan qualified for August's AT&T USA Diving Senior National Championships after her fifth-place finish in the 1-Meter at the USA Diving Zone F Championships. Last season, Eloise Belanger was named the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year after posting a runner-up finish in the platform event at the Pac-12 Championships. She also placed third in the 1-meter and fourth in the 3-meter. The freshmans standout debut season culminated in a second-place finish in the 1-meter event at the NCAA Championships. Her score of 336.00 in the finals set a new UCLA record in the event, previously held by Marisa Samaniego. Once again, Maria Polyakova had a stellar season, twice earning Pac-12 Diver of the Month honors and winning 12 of 14 regular season diving competitions. The Bruin sophomore captured the 1-meter crown at Pac-12s and went on to post two top-five finishes in the springboard events at the NCAA Championships. Junior Annika Lenz placed fourth in the platform event at Pac-12s. During the summer season, all three Bruins went on to compete at the Olympic Trials for their respective nations.     

Gallagher had an illustrious career both as a school record holder for the Bruins and as a USA National Team member. Representing the U.S.A. National Team in Europe, Japan and Australia, she competed at the Olympic Trials in 1976 and 1980 and was a bronze medalist in the 800-meter Freestyle at the 1979 World University Games in Mexico City. Gallagher is one of the few coaches in the nation who coaches at her alma mater. A highly successful student-athlete for UCLA, she garnered All-American honors, set several school records and earned recognition as the university's "Most Valuable Athlete." As a coach, she has attained an even higher level, coaching Olympians, Olympic medalists, NCAA and USA national champions and national team members. She was recognized again by Team USA when she was named to the 2014-2015 U.S. National Team coaching staff. Over the years, Gallagher has compiled an enviable record of success. In nine of her 28 years at the helm of UCLA womens swimming, her Bruins have finished among the nations Top 10 teams. Theyve been among the Top 15 teams in 15 of her years. Gallagher and her first-rate coaching staff have high expectations of their athletes, both in and out of the pool. These expectations, in turn, attract elite, intelligent, dedicated, goal-oriented and well-rounded student-athletes. Known for her strong work ethic and positive attitude, Gallagher leads by example. She inspires her athletes to believe in themselves and to follow their dreams, teaching them to be attentive to detail and to find a way to improve their swimming at every practice session. Gallagher also understands the importance of enjoying swimming and competing, and to embrace the process of becoming a great athlete. Part of being a successful collegiate athlete is learning how to balance all the requirements of being a student-athlete. Part of being a successful person once outside of the swimming world, is learning to do the same. Gallagher believes you can achieve anything you set your mind to, as long as you have the preparation and perspective, and have confidence in your abilities. She also believes that teamwork and team unity are essential elements for success, citing them as key ingredients in the team's Pac-10 Championship seasons of 2001 and 2003. Producing Olympians is always among Gallagher's highest priorities. In 1996, she became one of the first female coaches to place an athlete on the U.S. Olympic team when Annette Salmeen qualified for the Atlanta Games in two events - the 200 Butterfly, which she won at the Olympic Trials, and the 800 Freestyle Relay. Salmeen, who had already become Gallagher's first national collegiate champion when she won the 200 Fly at the NCAA's, went on to win Olympic gold as a member of the triumphant USA 800 Free Relay. Four years later, Gallagher placed another Bruin in the Olympics when Marilyn Chua, representing Malaysia, swam the 50 Free at the Sydney Games. In 2000 and 2004, the Bruins' Malin Svahnstrom represented her native Sweden at the Games, swimming in the 800 Free Relay both times and coming away with a silver medal. During the summer of 2008, Gallagher guided three athletes to Olympic teams - 2006 graduate Kim Vandenberg, 2009 graduate Nicolette Teo (competing for Singapore in her third Olympic Games) and four-time Olympian Amanda Beard. Vandenberg won a bronze medal as a member of the 800 Free relay, while Beard and Teo competed in the Breaststroke. In addition to the Olympics, Gallagher has also placed many UCLA swimmers on international teams, including the World Championships, Pan-Pacific Games, World University Games, Goodwill Games and the Pan-American Games. More than a dozen U.S. and foreign National A and B teams have also featured swimmers coached by Gallagher. All told, Gallagher has coached 88 All-Americans who have earned a total of 194 All-American awards in her 28 years as head coach, and she has made her mark on national and international U.S. coaching staffs as well. She served on the advisory coaching staff for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and was selected as assistant coach at the 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2006 World University Games. She also served as assistant coach for the 1995 U.S. National Junior Team that competed in Paris, the 1994 U.S. National Distance Camp, the assistant coach for the Japan International Grand Prix and the 1993 US Olympic Festival. All of that international coaching experience paid off when she was selected to serve as USAs Head Coach at the 2007 World University Games. During Gallagher's tenure at UCLA, her swimmers have completely rewritten the school record book and 21 different Bruins have won at least one event at the Pac-10/12 Championships. But it's not just the crème de la crème who thrive under Gallagher's guidance. Gallagher is also proud of the composition of the team that qualifies for the NCAA's, a team that, more often than not, includes several "walk-ons" who have gone on to be NCAA All-Americans. Bethany Goodwin scored in the 100 Fly and Kristen Lewis was in both the 100 and 200 Fly. Also, Lewis was a semi-finalist at the 2004 Olympic Trials in the 100 and 200 Fly and Goodwin went on to make several U.S. National teams and set a World University Games record while winning the 50 Fly. Gallagher's commitment to excellence in the classroom is shown in her student-athletes' many academic achievements. Exhibit A, of course, is NCAA Champion and Olympic gold medalist Salmeen, who was named a Rhodes Scholar - UCLA's eighth-ever and first since 1973 - and also earned an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. Even while she was working on advanced graduate work at Oxford, Salmeen stayed involved in swimming as an elected Athlete Representative for USA Swimming. During her magical senior year in 1996, Salmeen won two Pac-10 titles (100 and 200 Fly) and was named UCLA Female Athlete of the Year and Alumni Association Outstanding Senior. She also received the NCAA Top VIII Award, presented to only eight NCAA student-athletes annually for excellence in academics and athletics. In addition, Salmeen was an NCAA Woman of the Year finalist. During her Bruin career, she was a two-time team MVP, named the team's hardest worker on three occasions, voted most inspirational twice and graduated with UCLA records in the 200 Butterfly, 200 Free and 500 Free. Salmeen graduated from UCLA with honors in chemistry (3.94 GPA) in 1997 and earned her PhD in biochemistry at Oxford in 2001. In October 2006, Salmeen was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame. Along with Salmeen and Lewis, Keiko Price, Brighed Dwyer and Katie Younglove were also honored with coveted NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships. Younglove was named a Verizon Academic All-American and numerous Bruins have received Pac-10/12 All-Academic recognition. It's no accident that the Bruin swimmers are consistently represented on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll. Gallagher's ultimate goal in coaching is to have each athlete reach her full potential, both as an athlete and as a person. She is most proud of her former athletes for their accomplishments and contributions to society after graduating from UCLA. Gallagher's swimmers have gone on to earn Masters degrees and PhD's, and to become successful teachers, lawyers, scientists, doctors, engineers, businesswomen, ministers and mothers. The Bruins set three school records at the NCAA Championships en route to a 17th-place finish. Linnea Mack broke her own records in the 50 Free and 100 Back at NCAAs, while Pac-12 Freshman Diver of the Year Eloise Belanger set a new record in the 1-Meter.  At the Pac-12 Championships, Mack broke her own school record in the 100 Back twice in one day--first in the championship final of the 100 Back and again as the lead-off leg in the 400 Medley Relay. The junior also broke her school record in the 100 Free to finish fifth overall.         A total of eight Bruins were named to the CSCAA Scholar All-America Team (Marie-Pierre Delisle, Katie Grover, Katie Kinnear, Annika Lenz, Ciara Monahan, Maria Polyakova, Sandra Soe, and Arlyn Upshaw).  Grover, Kinnear, Lenz, and Polyakova earned first team honors.  At the Texas Invitational, Caroline McTaggart broke one of the oldest UCLA freshman records in the 200 Free and Grover swam a career-best to win the 200 Fly, moving her to fourth on UCLAs All-Time list. The Bruins set five school records at the Pac-12 Championships and broke two of those records while setting new ones at the NCAA Championships en route to a 23rd-place finish.  At Pac-12s, UCLA set records in the 200 IM Relay (Madison White, Allison Wine, Noelle Tarazona, Mack), 100 Breaststroke (Wine), 400 IM Relay (White, Wine, Tarazona, Mack), 400 Free Relay (White, Mack, Grover, Monica Dornick), and 1650 Free (Katy Campbell).   In the very first heat of the very first race of the NCAA Championships, Mack, Grover, White, and Dornick bettered the Bruins season-best time (1:30.03) by nearly a second with a 1:29.05 to set a school record in the 200 Free Relay.  In the 400 IM Relay, White, Wine, Tarazona, and Mack bested their previous school record of 3:34.54 set at Pac-12s with a 3:34.25.  On the final day of NCAAs, Dornick, Mack, Gover, and White set a new school record in the 400 Free Relay with a 3:15.83.   A total of eight Bruins were named to the CSCAA Scholar All-America Team (Tarazona, Lenz, Grover, Taylor Carlson, Jessica Khojasteh, Kinnear, Upshaw, and Anna Quinn).  Tarazona, Lenz, and Grover earned first-team honors.  During the summer swim season, Grover, Mack, White, and Tarazona took home the bronze medal in the 400 Free Relay at the Phillips 66 National Championships.          Nine Bruins were named to the CSCAA All-America Teams, as UCLA posted its best NCAA finish (17th) since 2007. The 11 dual meet wins, including victories over Arizona and Arizona State, were the most in program history for a single season. UCLA had a pair of First Team All-Americans, as Quah finished seventh in the 100 Fly at the NCAA Championships and Emma Ivory-Ganja placed seventh in the Platform diving event. The Bruins broke seven school records (100, 200, 1000 and 1650 Free, 100 Fly and 200 and 400 Free Relays). UCLA was fifth at the Pac-12 Championships. Gallagher had 13 current UCLA swimmers who were 2012 Olympic Trials participants. During the season, the Bruin swimmers broke six school records (50 and 100 Free, 100 Fly, 200 Medley Relay and 200 and 400 Free Relays), two freshmen records (100 Breast and 400 IM) and two facility records (50 Free and 200 Free Relay). Yasi Jahanshahi was the top Bruin at the NCAA Championships, finishing 12th in the 200 Fly and 15th in the 100 Fly. The Bruins tied for 37th at the NCAA's and were fifth at the Pac-12 Championships. Numerous All-American honors were garnered at the NCAA Championships, highlighted by Lauren Hall's record-breaking swims in the 200 IM (7th) and 400 IM (10th), Brittany Beauchan's 200 Breaststroke (10th), Jahanshahi's 200 Butterfly (11th) and Sam Vanden Berge's 12th-place school record swim in the 1650 Free. The 800 Free Relay (13th) also earned All-American honors. The season was also highlighted by multiple school-record swims: Cynthia Fascella (100 Free), Alex Sullivan (200 Free), Vanden Berge (500, 1650 Free), Hall (200 and 400 IM) and the 400 Medley and 400 Free Relay and 800 Free Relay. UCLA finished 20th at the NCAA Championships and fourth at the Pac-10 meet. The Bruins had one of the best meets for individual performances during Gallagher's tenure as head coach. At NCAA's, Beauchan was a double All-American performer in the Breaststroke events (ninth in both), while Bianca Casciari (7th, 200 Fly), Hall (13th, 400 IM) and Vanden Berge (13th, 1650 Free) also earned honors along with the 400 Medley (16th) and 800 Free Relay (14th) teams. Multiple school records fell in the pool behind a talented group swimmers ranging from freshmen to juniors. The Bruins finished 19th at the NCAA Championships. The Bruins had a young team, but saw much success and improvement throughout the year. Several swimmers achieved marks on UCLA's all-time top-eight, while Madeleine Stanton (100/200 Back) and Hall (400 IM) set new school records. Numerous NCAA qualifying marks were achieved, but another unbelievably fast swim season saw only Stanton and Hall advance to the NCAA Championships. Gallagher had 11 athletes qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials, while four qualified for International Trials. She coached three Beijing Olympians - Vandenberg, who earned bronze with the 800 Freestyle Relay; Teo, who competed for Singapore in the Breaststroke; and Beard, who competed for Team Bruin in the 200 Breaststroke. Gallagher had three swimmers compete at NCAA's with Teo earning All-American honors in the 100/200 Breaststroke. Anna Poteete broke the 50 and 100 Freestyle records during the year as a young team represented UCLA throughout the season. Katie Nelson won back-to-back 1650 Freestyle Pac-10 titles and culminated her career with a fifth-place All-American finish in the mile race at the NCAA Championships. Katie Arnold also had a fine finish to her career with a sixth-place finish in the 100 Back at NCAA's. Teo (100 Breast, 15th) and the 200 Medley Relay team of Arnold, Teo, Amy Thurman and Poteete earned All-American honors with their 14th-place finish at NCAA's as the Bruins finished 15th overall. Led by 16-time All-American Vandenberg, the Bruins finished second at the Pac-10 Championships, their highest finish since the 2003-04 season. Vandenberg was the NCAA runner-up in the 200 Fly, and placed eighth in the 100 Fly at NCAA's. Nelson, who finished eighth in the 1650 Free at the NCAA Championships, cruised to the Pac-10 title in that event by a margin of nearly eight seconds. During the dual meet season, UCLA posted a record of 7-3 (3-3 Pac-10), losing just one meet at home. Vandenberg blossomed in the summer of 2006, winning the 200-meter Butterfly at the U.S. National Championships, and chopping nearly two seconds off her previous lifetime best with a brilliant 2:08.51. The performance, which ranked her first in the U.S. and sixth in the world for 2006, placed Vandenberg on the U.S. National A Team and earned her a spot on the USA's Pan Pacific team, as well as a berth on the U.S. roster for the 2007 FINA World Championships. During the spring and summer, Vandenberg earned a silver medal in the 200 Fly at the FINA World Championships in Sydney, Australia. Her time of 2:06.87 ranked second in the world behind world record-holder Jessica Schipper of Australia. Coach Gallagher's life away from the pool revolves around her family and friends. She has a daughter, Tori, a 2008 graduate of the University of Colorado in Boulder. Gallagher resides on the beautiful beach of Marina del Rey.

Higashijima set five individual and one relay record during her career, and two of those individual records still stand to this day. In 2002, as a junior, she finished 10th at NCAA's in the 200 Fly, and the following season she scored a First Team All-American honor by touching eighth in the same event. As a coach at UCSB, Higashijima worked primarily with sprinters and recruited for both the men's and women's teams. She helped coach 13 men and women to 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying marks, which was the most in school history at that time. UCSB had seven All-Americans and All-Academic honorees for the women's team during her time, as well as two scholar-athletes of the year and seven Big West Conference team titles. She also helped the women's team to a Top 25 showing at the NCAA's for the first time since 1988. Higashijima's father, Shinji, was a national record holder in the individual medley and currently works for FINA. Her mother, Kaoru, was a national champion swimmer in college in the middle distance events and currently is a swim coach. Her brother, Issei, was a national record holder in the 5k and the team manager at Michigan for the men's team in 2005 and 2006, while her youngest brother, Sho, helped the men's basketball team at Pima Community College in Tucson advance to the national championships in the 2009-2010 season.