Bruin SportsWire: Top-ranked Trojans drowned in water polo showdown

The UCLA men’s water polo team was ranked third in the nation going into last Sunday’s showdown with No. 1 USC, but the Bruins had lost five of six matches against its toughest competition: California (0-3), Stanford (1-1) and USC (0-1). But that changed at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center as the Bruins defeated USC, 9-5.

More in our midweek update:

Hall of Fame:

>> UCLA will admit eight new members to its Hall of Fame on Thursday evening, Nov. 8, and it’s one of the best classes ever:

Amy Acuff (track & field) won five NCAA high jump titles between 1994 and 1997 and finished fourth in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. She continues to be the leading American hope for a medal in the high jump in Beijing in 2008.

George Brown (track & field) won a rare triple-triple as a long jumper in 1951 and 1952: He won the Pacific Coast Conference, NCAA and AAU championships in the events both years and was acknowledged as the best long jumper in the world from 1951-53. As a sideline, he was also a scorer in the 220-yard dash in the 1951 and 1952 NCAA Championships.

Jennifer Brundage (softball) was the Honda Award winner in 1995 as the nation’s best softball player. She hit .518 and holds UCLA single-season records of 14 home runs, 60 runs batted in, 59 runs and 87 hits. She was a member of the 1992 NCAA Championship team and the 1993 second-place team. She won a gold medal as a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team.

Jim Ferguson (water polo) was a three-time All-American from 1968-70 and his teams finished second, first and second in his three years. At the end of his Bruin career, he was the UCLA career leader in goals and assists. He was also co-captain of the bronze medal-winning U.S. team at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

Troy Glaus (baseball) is best known as a member of the Angels, but at UCLA (1995-97), he set Pac-10 single-season records in 1997 for home runs (34) and total bases (227) and tied for the conference title in runs batted in (91), all in just 67 games! He helped the Bruins reach the College World Series that season for the first time since 1969.

John Moore (basketball) played for John Wooden from 1952-55 and was a consensus All-American in 1955. He was UCLA’s leading scorer in 1953 and 1955 as a starting forward on a team that won the PCC Southern Division championship.

Jeff Nygaard (volleyball) was the middle blocker and a member of two NCAA championship teams in 1993 and 1995. He was a three-time All-American from 1993-95 and National Player of the Year in 1994 and 1995. He was a member of the 1996 and 2000 U.S. Olympic volleyball teams and competed in the 2004 Olympics in beach volleyball.

Keri Phebus (tennis) was an All-American in all four years at UCLA, from 1993-96. He won the Honda Award as the nation’s best collegiate tennis player in 1995 after winning the NCAA singles and doubles titles.

Baseball:

>> The Bruins were ranked No. 12 in the CSTV Fall Top 25, released last Friday. UCLA is listed third in the Pac-10, with Arizona State at No. 1 and two-time defending national champion Oregon State at No. 4.

>> Two Bruins were ranked among the top 30 collegiate prospects in the nation by Baseball America. Shortstop Brandon Crawford was listed 10th and left-handed pitcher Tim Murphy was ranked 18th. UCLA was one of only six teams to have two or more players on that list.

Football:

>> UCLA set an all-time record for season tickets in 2007 with the final total (including student season tickets) finishing at 49,200.

Rowing:

>> UCLA’s varsity eight was disqualified in its race last Saturday at the Head of the American regatta, but the second eight came in seventh in its race. The varsity four also finished seventh.

Men’s Golf:

>> UCLA won the Callaway Golf Collegiate Match Play Championship yesterday in Greensboro, Ga., winning 15 of 20 matches and defeating Georgia Tech, 4-1, in the final. Senior Kevin Chappell and freshman Phillip Francis won all four of their matches and Craig Leslie and James Lee also won their matches in the final. Erik Flores won his first three matches, but lost, 1-up, against Taylor Hall of Georgia Tech.

Men’s Soccer:

>> The Bruins (8-6-2, 4-2-1 conference) remain in first place in the six-team Pac-10 standings by 1 point with three games remaining in the regular season. UCLA lost a tight game to Washington, 1-0, last Sunday at Drake Stadium despite outshooting the Huskies, 15-4.

Men’s Water Polo:

>> Goalkeeper Chay Lapin (pictured) was the hero as UCLA took a 3-1 lead, had a 4-3 halftime edge and then outscored top-ranked USC 5-2 in the second half to give the Trojans their first loss of the year, 9-5, last Sunday. The Bruins are now 16-5 overall and stand fourth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation at 3-2.

Lapin had a career-high 15 saves in goal for the Bruins, who snapped a four-match losing streak to the Trojans. He was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Mikasa co-Player of the Week.

Women’s Soccer:

>> The Bruins (12-1-2) are an unanimous No. 1 in the national polls and have not only won nine matches in a row (and are unbeaten in their last 14), but have not been scored on in 518 minutes of play! UCLA is 5-0 in Pac-10 matches and has outscored its opposition, 10-0. And, sophomore scoring machine Lauren Cheney continues to lead the nation in scoring at 1.13 goals per game.

Lexus Gauntlet:

>> After four of the 25 scheduled events, UCLA leads USC, 12 1/2-7 1/2 in the 2007-08 Lexus Gauntlet. The next matchup with Gauntlet implications is this Friday’s women’s volleyball match at USC.

Chay Lapin photo courtesy UCLA.