UCSB swim and dive will look to rebound from a recent rough patch with a return to their home pool this Saturday. Both the men and women will compete against the University of the Pacific, while the women will also compete against Loyola Marymount.

Both the men and the women are looking for their first victory since Dec. 15 against Cal State Bakersfield. The women especially should benefit from a return home after two long road trips in January.

“We had a tough challenge driving all the way to Vegas two weeks ago and driving to Fresno last week [for a meet against UC Davis],” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said. “Fatigue took a toll on us, but now we’re more prepared for the end of the year.”

With a return home and the men having had two weeks off, UCSB is hoping to get their season back on track after the recent skid. A home meet might be exactly what the doctor ordered after a recent stretch of exhaustion, injury and illness.

“Our men and women are expecting to bounce back this weekend,” Wilson said. “It’s senior weekend and our last home meet of the year. We’re expecting to perform very well.”

The women’s team will continue to lean on junior captain Sophia Yamauchi to lead the way and pick up significant points. Yamauchi was the most successful swimmer in UCSB’s last meet against UC Davis, picking up two wins and a second place finish.

“Sophie is clearly the best medley swimmer in the conference, and she performs well in the relays as well,” Wilson said. “She even compensates for weaknesses on our team to keep us more competitive. She’s primarily an IM and breaststroke athlete, but [last weekend] we needed help in the freestyle and she filled in to get a big win for us.”

Junior Lucas Norman will look to continue his hot streak for the men’s team. Norman won the 200 and 500 yard freestyles two weeks ago against University of Nevada, Las Vegas and is being counted on to pick up important wins this weekend.

In addition, sophomore Erich Brodbeck will likely be the favorite in the diving events after a very successful meet in Las Vegas. Brodbeck swept both the one meter and three meter board events, which allowed UCSB to stay close when trying to gain ground against UNLV.

Seniors Paige Bradley, Emma Hunt, Andrew Latimer and Tim Freeman will be honored this senior weekend, as it will be the last home meet of their impressive Gaucho careers.

Saturday’s meet will begin at 11 a.m. at Campus Pool.

 A version of this article appeared on page 5 of February 1st, 2013’s print edition of the Nexus.