Junior Anna Riekhof and senior Julianna Chan of the women's swimming and diving team talk about this past season and what it's like being the two Pepperdine swimmers to qualify for the CSCAA National Invitational Championships, which they will compete at this week in Cleveland, Ohio:
 
Q: How has the team progressed this season compared to last year?
 
Anna: I think we have all grown, not only in the pool with our times improving, but also as people. We have become such a close-knit family, it's insane to see the change in attitudes of all the girls.
 
Juju: We have grown so much and have worked so much harder this year than ever before. We have become so much stronger in and out of the pool and have shown what we can accomplish. 
 
Q: How has your role on the team shifted this year?
 
Anna: I feel like I have become more outgoing and stepped up with all the other girls on our team. I've been there to support the girls and keep them all going and have grown out of my shell.
 
Juju: I've definitely been more of a leader this year and have tried to lead by example by working hard in and out of the pool.
 
Q: What were some of the highlights from the season?
 
Anna: Some of the biggest highlights of this season were winning the Malibu Invite, which hasn't happened in a long time. Another would be Coach Joe breaking his foot at conference because he essentially broke his foot for our team! Maybe not specifically, but it was when he was cheering us on, which counts!
 
Juju: Conference was by far the biggest highlight. We really came together as a team and stood behind everyone for every race. 
 
Q: What was it like to get second at conference for the first time in 11 years?
 
Anna: It was an unbelievable experience, but I won't say it wasn't earned. This team has put in so much effort in and out of the pool and it was a well-deserved finished for the team!
 
Juju: It was amazing! We wanted to win but CSU East Bay is a great team and competing against them only makes us better, so we were more than happy with second! 
 
Q: After your performance at conference, you qualified for the CSCAA National Invitational Championships. What was it like to qualify for that meet?
 
Anna: I was honestly in shock because I didn't think I could actually do it. It made me feel good inside and sparked this reminder that I have the potential to do things like this.
 
Juju: I was so excited because I wanted one more shot to drop times and to compete on a national level before I retire.
 
Q: How does it feel to be one of the first people in Pepperdine history to attend this meet?
 
Anna: It feels great and I hope it makes a statement to the other girls and is something that is carried on for years. It is such an incredible opportunity to show off Pepperdine and who we are!
 
Juju: I'm so excited to just get the ball rolling for this team. I may be one of the first, but I definitely won't be the last and I know every year more and more girls are going to qualify, and I can't wait to see how far they can go!
 
Q: What are your goals going into this national-level meet?
 
Anna: My goal is to have fun and make a statement. It's difficult going back to back tapers, but I know Juju and I can do great things that will get Pepperdine's name out there. I want to work on my strategy when swimming my events and hope that this will help me drop time!
 
Juju: I just want to drop more time in my events and try to lower the 100 individual medley record.
 
Q: What are you going to try to improve on from conference?
 
Anna: I want to improve not only on my times in all my events, but also the strategy I have of swimming them. I also hope that I am able to move up places in all my events and take advantage of the experience because it is the opportunity of a life time to compete with some really fast swimmers.
 
Juju: I'm going to try to work on some of the smaller things like starts and turns and perfecting those as well as just getting my speed up.