The superstar of the class is diver Lester Wright, the son of diving coach Ann Wright. The local product from Goleta was ranked No. 5 in the CIF 1-A Southern Conference and promises to change the entire makeup of the team.

“Lester is going to be a game-changer,” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said. “We expect him to break records and be a major player. He’s going to be one of the best divers we’ve ever had and will ever have.”

Wright will come in with four years of eligibility. The team expects him to compete for the Pac-12 Championship starting in his first year.

“Since his best event is the 10-meter platform, an event he didn’t even get to compete in during high school, competing at the college level is going to highlight his strengths,” Wilson said. “It’s great that his best event is the most difficult one. He will compete in every event and be a star. One of our goals is for him to win a national championship.”

The composition of the men’s recruiting class consists of three middle-distance swimmers, who can also compete in the long distance events: one butterfly swimmer who Coach Wilson calls “a hidden talent” and two breaststrokers. Because of the current strength of the men’s team, Wilson did not recruit any pure sprinters.

“We’re so deep already in the sprints that we’re having to deny one of our middle-distance swimmers the chance to run sprints,” Wilson said. “As a whole, the men’s class is a bit stronger than the women’s, but they both feature several solid contributors.”

On the women’s side, the class features two sprinters, one diver, one middle-distance swimmer and four utility swimmers who can compete in multiple events. Not included in the eight present commitments is one swimmer who graduated high school early and is currently enrolled at a city college. She is awaiting acceptance upon completion of her classes. Because she is not a commitment, her name will remain unreleased.

“She’s a very talented sprinter and an excellent, bright student,” Wilson said. “But it’s a unique case. She only practices [[SPORTS: there has been a word omitted here, can you find out what it is?]] a week due to her commute. We’ll have to bring her along slowly, but she’s ready for the transition to a more vigorous training regimen.”

The one weakness of the women’s team that was not addressed was the middle-distance swims.

“We went for some girls for middle distance and came up short this time,” Wilson said. “But we’ll have some excellent performers. I think five of them will start on the supporting team, but we always have surprises and someone might come along.”

This article is an online exclusive and did not appear in the print edition of The Daily Nexus.

Photo by Adam Lugowski of The Daily Nexus.

Nowhere is leadership more necessary than in Division I college athletics. Being a college athlete requires sacrifice, dedication, commitment and perseverance. A constant eye for the prize and a team-first mentality are imperative skills when one is looked up to by an entire group.

Senior swimmer Emma Hunt fulfills every criteria of great leadership, and has been as inspirational a student-athlete as anyone to step on campus over her four years on the UCSB swimming and diving team. Even in the face of a tragedy that ended her career, Hunt’s leadership and inspirational example was the glue that held the women’s swimming and diving team together.

“She’s been an amazing team captain and overall teammate in general for the past four years that she’s been on the team,” co-captain and roommate Sophia Yamauchi said. “She always knows how to be there for her teammates and she backed up her dedication by putting her all into the pool every time she got in to race.”

As far as athletes go, Hunt was born to be a leader. She was captain of her high school team for her last three years and led her team to a league championship every year she competed. She was a four-time MVP, four-time CIF qualifier and Monterey County Swimmer of the Year in 2008 and 2009. However, despite massive success in high school, Hunt was not a top recruit.

“I remember her coming here as a freshman,” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said. “She wasn’t the fastest swimmer in the world at first, and she joined the team as a walk-on. But she had incredible character, intelligence and work ethic and quickly established herself as a key member and positive influence on the team.”

Hunt found herself a spot on the team as a freshman competing in the freestyle races and relays. She enjoyed success and showed promise in her practice and competition times early on. Hunt surpassed expectations and established herself as a regular on the team by the end of her freshman year. She continued to learn and be a supportive teammate throughout her first two years.

“I was mostly a vocal leader my first year or two,” Hunt said. “I wanted to support my teammates but I didn’t want to take a veteran’s spot on the team.”

Hunt broke out with her best season in her third year at UCSB. After numerous top-10 finishes throughout the season, Hunt made her mark in the record books at the MPSF Swimming Championships. She was the anchor for the 800-yard freestyle relay that set a school record and propelled the Gauchos to an upset victory.

“Emma was unreal that day. I had never seen her swim that fast before,” Wilson said. “She just exploded onto the scene and upset a much better UC Davis team in an event that we never win.”

Her performance in the conference championships and her leadership skills prompted Wilson to name her team captain for her senior season. With Hunt leading the way, everyone had high hopes for 2012-2013.

“She always set a good example, in training, in the pool, in the classroom, and out in Isla Vista,” Wilson said. “It was almost like having an extra coach, but someone who could be a go-between for the players and coaches. We felt great going forward knowing we had Emma on our team.”

A horrible shoulder injury has unfortunately limited Hunt’s athletic ability during her senior year. In January, she was restricted to out-of-the-pool activities with an eye on championships in March.

“We knew we needed her, especially for the relays,” Wilson said. “She wanted to be in the pool so bad, and she kept working hard and training to recover from her injury and stay in shape. She was an incredible team captain the whole time.”

But when the time came for a decision to be made, the medical results were not as they had hoped. The liquid filling up her bones was causing so much stress and tension on her arm and shoulder that Hunt could have suffered a devastating injury just from bumping up against a wall. Two days before conference championships, Hunt could not raise her arm out of the pool, and her swimming career had ended prematurely.

“Her true character came to form in many ways, especially up to and during championships,” Wilson said. “At the meet, her arm was in a sling and she was grimacing with every movement. But she still cheered as loud as anyone and supported the team with a smile on her face the whole time. Despite bitter disappointment that she couldn’t compete, she still stepped up and energized her team with her uplifting energy.”

Despite a heartbreaking end to an impressive career, and an arm that cannot yet rotate 360 degrees, Hunt remains ever-positive and inspiring. She has taken her experience as team captain and will apply it while continuing to be a leader and a positive example. Hunt is currently a junior varsity coach at Dos Pueblos High School in Santa Barbara, and after graduation she will be moving to Dallas to take part in the prestigious Teach For America program.

“Even after I leave, I’ll never forget how much I loved this place,” Hunt said. “My team is like my family, and my time in Santa Barbara has been some of the best years of my life.”

 A version of this article appeared on page 9 of April 3rd, 2013′s print edition of the Nexus

Freeman set a UCSB school record in the 100 meter breaststroke with his qualifying time of 53.08, good for the 17th seed on the national stage. He did not fare quite as well in the preliminary stages, recording a time of 54.23 and placing 36th out of 41 swimmers.

Allen also set a school record with his qualifying time. His recorded 46.65 in the 100 butterfly put him atop the UCSB all-time best list and garnered him the 23rd seed at the NCAA championships. However, Allen’s preliminary time of 47.41 was short of expectations, and he placed 33rd out of 42.

“Both of our guys were seeded very well and they had been doing very well in practice leading up to their events,” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said on Friday. “They’re both disappointed right now but we’ll look to get back at it tomorrow.”

After failing to make the cut in his first event, Allen came back Saturday to compete in the 100 freestyle. Again the competition was too steep and Allen could not match his qualifying time. After seeding well with a 43.35, he recorded a 44.01 in preliminaries and placed 39th out of 45.

As the last Gaucho standing at nationals, Freeman turned to his second event as well on Saturday, competing in the 200 breaststroke. His 1:56.66 gave him solid standing to compete in the preliminaries but the senior came up short in his last race. Freeman recorded a 1:58.77 and placed 35th out of 40.

With NCAA competition wrapping up and without any swimmers left to compete, UCSB swimming and diving wraps up their 2012-2013 season.

This article is an online exclusive and did not appear in the print edition of the Daily Nexus.

Meanwhile, the men’s side began competition in their conference championships yesterday in Federal Way, Washington. The Pac-12 Diving Championships began yesterday and continue through Mar. 2, with swimming championships beginning immediately after on the 3rd.

“Of course we want to finish on a high note,” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said. “The men were very inspired by the women last weekend, and they want to go out and compete just as hard.”

The women performed well last weekend, but ended up in fourth place after finishing in second place last year. UC Davis took first place in last weekend’s competition.

“We’re all very proud of the way they swam, and the girls supported each other with enthusiasm beyond compare,” Wilson said. “The conference is just a lot deeper and a lot faster than it was last year, and [Davis, Hawaii, BYU] just beat us out.”

Junior Sophia Yamauchi (with three events), sophomore Carissa Metcalf (with two events), junior Andrea Ward, senior Paige Bradley and sophomore Heren Alanis all posted times worthy of consideration for NCAA competition. Their qualification status will depend on the times of other ‘B’ cut qualifiers around the country.

Yamauchi in particular was notably dominant, picking up two individual wins in the 200 IM and 200 breaststroke, as well as contributing to two team wins in the 200 and 400 medley relays. After the meet, she was named MPSF Swimmer of the Year, keeping the title at UCSB after Ward won the honor last season.

UCSB’s men’s team hopes to emulate some of the women’s success headed into the toughest conference championships in the nation.

“We have to compete against four of the top five teams in the entire nation [Cal, Stanford, Arizona and USC] this weekend, and that’s just our conference,” Wilson said. “We can edge out Arizona State, Utah and Cal Poly, so I think fifth place is a realistic goal.”

Senior Tim Freeman is the Gauchos’ highest ranked swimmer with his performance in the 100 breaststroke. Another senior, Andrew Latimer, also looks to have a successful weekend, as Wilson says he is in the best condition of his career.

“Our whole team has worked and worked and worked all year long, and now they’re rested and ready to go,” Wilson said. “Our guys shaved their traditional pre-meet beards and are focused enough to end the season on a high note.”

 A version of this article appeared on page 4 of March 1st, 2013′s print edition of the Nexus.

The UCSB women’s swim and dive team hung in there with the competition but could not overcome what was a 41-point deficit after Friday’s events. After the final day of competition Saturday, the Gauchos finished with a final score of 591.5, enough for fourth place in the field of eight teams.

“We didn’t finish as well as we did last year, but we’re proud of how we competed,” Yamauchi said. “We worked so hard preparing in practice and in dual meets, and we swam hard this weekend. We feel good about things even if we didn’t end up where we wanted.”

UC Davis came away with the championship, finishing with a final score of 673.5. BYU took second place, and Hawaii edged out UCSB to take third.

Meanwhile, Yamauchi was dominant. The captain picked up wins in the 200 individual medley and 200 breaststroke and contributed to relay wins in the 200 and 400 medley. Her time of 2:12.29 in the 200 breaststroke was a season-best and good enough for an NCAA ‘B’ cut, which gives her national championship consideration.

“It was so gratifying coming away with a win in the breaststroke after getting touched out by a fraction of a second last year,” Yamauchi said. “I’m honored to be named Swimmer of the Year and I’m proud to keep the award at UCSB.”

Junior Andrea Ward won the award last season and followed with an impressive encore season of her own. Ward finished eighth in the 200 butterfly finals after placing third with her qualifying time.

Sophomore Heren Alanis was also impressive, earning a third-place finish in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 16:50.99, a season best. Freshman Marissa Neel took third place in the 200 backstroke, with junior Allie Knight right behind her in fourth place.

Team competition is now over for the women’s swim and dive team. NCAA national championships begin March 21 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

This article appeared on page 6 of February 25th, 2013′s print edition of the Nexus.

“We’ve been competing under some tough conditions on the road over the last several weeks,” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said. “We’re planning on being even more prepared for conference after this quarter’s challenges.”

The first event of the Championships is the 200 Medley Relay finals beginning at 6:00 PM on Wednesday. The 800 Freestyle Relay is also on Wednesday, setting the stage for competition on a majority of events to get underway on Thursday. UCSB expects to be competitive in all events and has a shot at first place as a team.

Junior Andrea Ward is the reigning MPSF Athlete of the Year, and is coming off a dominant Senior Weekend performance in which she won three events and set the top conference time in the 100 butterfly (54.08).

Another junior, Sophia Yamauchi also looks to take home some victories this week. Yamauchi holds the top MPSF times for the 200 Individual Medley (1:59.29) and 200 Breaststroke (2:12.78), putting her in a position to win conference and compete in nationals.

“The mood of the whole team is positive, and we’re really excited to start competition with the relays tonight,” Yamauchi said. “We’re looking out for all teams, especially Davis, Poly and Hawaii, but we’re ready for all of our hard work to pay off.”

Sophomore Heren Alanis is another swimmer to watch out for, boasting top school times for the 200 freestyle (1:49.48), 500 freestyle (4:51.88), 1000 freestyle (10:18.04), 1650 freestyle (17:29.18) and 400 IM (4:20.07).

In the backstroke, look for junior Allie Knight to lead the way and compete for wins. Knight holds the top school time in the 100 (55.62), and her time of 1:59.19 in the 200 has put her in the conversation for national consideration.

Freshman Hannah Tomp will lead the way for the diving team, after recording a season high score of 235.00 to lead the team in the one-meter dive competition.

Senior Emma Hunt will not compete after suffering a torn rotator cuff on Monday. It is a disappointing end to an impressive UCSB career, but Hunt will continue to be a leader for this team during championships.

“Hawaii is strong where we’re weak, but we have the depth to beat them. BYU has good divers but we can outswim them. And as usual, Davis seems to be our toughest competition,” Hunt said. “The past year of training comes down to this meet, and I know we will do great things. I am so excited to cheer on this team.”

In addition, men’s Pac-12 Diving Championships begin Feb. 28.

A version of this article appeared on page 10 of February 21st 2013′s print edition of the Daily Nexus.

Photo by Adam Lugowski/Daily Nexus.

“We thought it was over and we lost on both the men and women’s side,” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said. “About 15 to 20 minutes later, after [officials] scored diving, we found out we had won.”

On the men’s side, UCSB was trailing until the A and B relay teams finished first and second in the 200-yard freestyle, the last event of the day. Senior Tim Freeman led the way for the A team with a 50-yard leg of 20.90, while sophomore Wade Allen paced the B squad with a time of 20.59.

The victory was as close as it could be, with the two-second double wins being the difference in the day.

“Had it not been for the outstanding performance of our divers, we would not have walked away with this win,” senior Andrew Latimer said. “We most definitely owe Saturday’s victory to them.”

Gauchos finished first, second and third in the men’s one-meter board to give UCSB a big boost. Sophomore Erich Brodbeck won the event with a score of 262.95 and sophomore Ryan Gerard finished right behind him with a 261.22.

For the women, the day started very well. A victory in the 200-medley relay, a strong five-second win in the 1000 freestyle by sophomore Heren Alanis and a win in the 200 freestyle by junior Sophia Yamauchi had the women’s team feeling good after the first three races.

Yamauchi also won the 200 breaststroke, making her a multiple winner on the day. Alanis joined her as a multi-winner after securing a win in the 400-individual medley.

Junior Andrea Ward won the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:06.72 and freshman Monika Terry won the three-meter dive with 253.80 to keep the women in contention. Other than that, however, the women’s team struggled on the day and was beaten soundly by a prepared Cal Poly team.

“Our main focus now is to come home with the MPSF championship title,” Yamauchi said. “We have worked very hard all season and if we come together as a group, we will be able to feed off of each other’s energy in order to create something spectacular.”

The men’s team finished the season 5-2 in dual meets, while the women’s record stands at 7-4.

The women will compete in the MPSF Swimming and Diving Championships on Feb. 20. After that, the men compete in the Pac-12 Diving Championships on Feb. 28 and Swimming Championships on March 3.

A version of this article appeared on page 6 of February 11th, 2013′s print edition of the Nexus.

It will be both the men’s and women’s final head to head dual meet before the Pac-12 swimming and diving championships that begin on Feb. 28th.

“We are looking forward to conference championships at the end of February,” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said. “We’ve done well in dual meets this season, but we’ve competed under tough conditions and we feel prepared.”

The Gaucho men are 4-2 in dual meets this season and have already registered a 191-107 win against Cal Poly at home on November 3rd. The women stand at 7-3 in head to heads and were victorious 167-133 against Cal Poly at the same meet.

Meanwhile, the Mustangs are coming off an important sweep of UC Santa Cruz, in which both their men and women won on the road. Poly also beat UC Davis before UCSB fell to the Aggies up in Fresno.

“[The Poly meet] is our last dual meet of the year so it will be a good time to fine tune our races before we head to Pac-12’s,” senior Andrew Latimer said. “Coming off last weekend’s wins, everyone is in good spirits, and we are confident we will finish the regular season strong with a win.”

In their most recent meet, UCSB’s men and women both won against The University of the Pacific. The Gauchos took advantage of the energy provided by Senior Weekend to claim two decisive victories at homes last weekend.

Junior Sophia Yamauchi will look to continue her impressive season after claiming two wins and a close second place finish against Pacific. Yamauchi has been dominant in the individual medley and freestyle, her specialty events. Even more impressive, she has filled a need for the team by picking up victories in the breaststroke as well.

“We’ve relied on Sophia so much all year,” Wilson said. “And after our recent injury and illness troubles, it’s good to know we can count on her to step up and win outside her usual events.”

Sophomore Andrew Barmann looks to continue his hot streak for the men after winning the 500 freestyle (4:40.14) and the 200 freestyle (1:44.09) against Pacific. He also set a career high in the 200 IM (2:00.06).

Cal Poly is currently winning in the “blue-green rivalry matchup” for 2012-2013, by a score of 6-5. The tally includes all sports, with swimming and diving standing at 2-0 so far this season.

Santa Barbara will hit the pool in San Luis Obispo at noon this Saturday, hoping to end their regular season with a victory.

 A version of this article appeared on page 5 of the February 8th 2013′s print edition of the Daily Nexus.

After long road trips to Las Vegas and Fresno the last two weekends, a home meet on senior weekend proved to be just what UCSB needed to get their conference season back on track.

“It was a really fun weekend to be a part of,” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said. “Everyone was feeling very festive and competed with great energy.”

The women’s team dominated LMU 176-85 while also beating Pacific in a convincing fashion, 161-101. Meanwhile, the men beat UOP 152.5-109.5.

Santa Barbara got off to a slow start, dropping the women’s medley relays to UOP to begin the day. Both the men and women came back, however, and controlled the rest of the day’s events on the way to comforting victories.

“Andrea Ward and Sophia Yamauchi came through as usual,” Wilson said. “Watching them win events that they normally don’t compete in was encouraging.”

Ward, a junior, was the big winner on Saturday, coming away with three victories. She picked up victories in the 200-yard freestyle, 50-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle.

“She loves swimming the 50,” Wilson said. “Giving her a chance to compete in the sprints was great preparation for the championships later in the month.”

Yamauchi, also a junior, performed well outside her usual repertoire, winning the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke.

“Sophie hardly ever swims breaststroke, but when she does, she’s one of the best,” Wilson said. “We’re going to need her come championship time and it was encouraging to watch her win [on Saturday].”

Junior Allie Knight returned from an illness that has limited her for the last two meets to win the 200-yard backstroke and 100-yard backstroke. She was one of multiple Gauchos to win two or more events Saturday.

Freshman Mickey Mowry came through in a big way for the UCSB men, winning the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly in place in of injured Gaucho veterans.

“It was great to see Mickey step up in a big way,” Wilson said. “On senior weekend in front of recruits and family, to see a freshman make a big impact was impressive and inspiring.”

Junior Alex Campbell also contributed to UCSB’s success, setting a career record in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:45.39. Sophomore Andrew Barmann joined in on the record-setting day, posting a career best 2:00.06 in the 200-yard individual medley.

“It was a fun way for our seniors to say goodbye to Campus Pool,” Wilson said. “Recruits love seeing the comradery, support and enthusiasm that we have for each other.”

UCSB next travels to Cal Poly on Feb. 9.

A version of this article appeared on page 6 of February 4th, 2013′s print edition of the Nexus.

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.