Sunday syllabus: the week that was and the week ahead

The Bruins and Trojans will be at each other on the hardwood today at the start of a very busy week for the Blue and Gold:

Baseball:

>> Last week: The Bruins held their annual Alumni Day on Saturday with a Legends vs. Alumni game and a six-inning exhibition by the current UCLA team. Junior Tim Murphy and freshman Dan Klein pitched for the two sides and both gave up two runs.

>> This week: UCLA will finally start its 2008 season next Friday at Jackie Robinson Stadium against Oklahoma in a three-game series with games at 6 p.m. (Friday), 3 p.m. (Saturday) and 1 p.m. (Sunday).

>> Of note: Former Bruins Jackie Robinson (1940) and catcher Paul Ellis (1988-90) were placed on the College Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. Robinson became a baseball immortal by breaking the color barrier in 1947, but was only a so-so baseball player in Westwood while excelling in football, basketball and track & field. Ellis was the American Baseball Coaches Assn.’s "Player of the Year" in 1990 for slugging 29 home runs and hitting .360. He set a UCLA record of 83 runs batted in that season.

Football:

>> Last week: The Bruins named Frank Gansz, Jr. as special teams coach and Tim Hauck as secondary coach. Gansz coached NFL special teams for nine seasons and Hauck played safety in the NFL for 13 seasons.

>> This week: Maybe the naming of a wide receivers or tight ends coach?

Softball:

>> Last week: The no. 6 Bruins are in Nevada for the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic and swept the two games on Friday, defeating Missouri, 4-0 (Donna Kerr pitched, now 3-0) and South Carolina, 6-2 (Anjelica Selden now 2-1). UCLA split its two Saturday games, losing to Illinois, 6-2 (Kerr took the loss) but beating Portland State, 7-4 (Selden, 3-1).

>> This week: UCLA (7-2) finishes up in Nevada today with a game against Wisconsin, then travels to Loyola Marymount on Wednesday and heads to another desert for the weekend in the Palm Springs Classic. The Bruins will play Massachusetts and Georgia on Friday, Baylor and Hawaii on Sunday and powerhouse Northwestern on Sunday.

Men’s Basketball:

>> Last week: The Bruins were off during the week after a difficult 71-61 loss in Seattle to Washington, UCLA’s fourth straight loss at the Bank of America Arena. However, Stanford’s loss to Arizona State on Thursday keeps the Bruins in first place with a 9-2 conference record; the Cardinal is now 10-3.

>> This week: The no. 6 Bruins (21-3) are at USC tonight to try to avenge their 72-63 loss to the Trojans at Pauley Pavilion last month. UCLA comes home to Pauley Pavilion for games against Oregon State on Thursday evening and a nationally-televised game against Oregon next Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

>> Of note: UCLA selected NBBJ Architects as its project architect for the renovation of Pauley Pavilion. The firm will start with a three-month project of pre-schematic design that will fix the infrastructure changes to be made, and equally important, begin giving prospective donors a clear idea of what they can attach their name to. About $35 million in pledges has been raised so far for what is expected to be a $100 million project.

Men’s Golf:

>> Last week: The "Blue" squad finished third in the Cougar Invitational in San Marcos, California, shooting a 23-over score of 887 over three rounds. Junior Erik Flores was the top UCLA finisher in third with a score of four under par.

>> This week: The entire Bruin squad, ranked fourth in the nation, is in Ponte Vedra, Florida at the famous Sawgrass Country Club for the 18th John Hayt Collegiates. The tournament runs from Sunday through Tuesday with Bruin senior Kevin Chappell the defending champion. The tournament includes second-ranked Charlotte and no. 3 Alabama in the field.

Men’s Tennis:

>> Last week: No. 8 UCLA lost a tense match to no. 1 Virginia, 4-3, in the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships yesterday in Seattle. The Bruins had a 3-1 lead, but lost the final three singles matches to come up short. UCLA defeated no. 9 Notre Dame, 4-0 in its opening match of the tournament.

>> This week: The Bruins (6-1) play Oklahoma State in a consolation bracket match today, then come home for Pac-10 matches against Arizona State on Friday and Arizona on Saturday, both at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

Men’s Track & Field:

>> Last week: Dustin DeLeo cleared a lifetime best of 17-1 in the pole vault to win the college division of the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Friday.

>> This week: UCLA’s next meet is in two weeks at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation indoor championships in Seattle.

Men’s Volleyball:

>> Last week: No. 5 UCLA spent the week in Hawaii, losing a five-set match to the Warriors on Thursday, but sweeping Hawaii on Friday to improve to 10-5 overall and 7-4 in MPSF play.

>> This week: UCLA continues its road trip with matches at UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday and Cal State Northridge on Friday.

Women’s Basketball:

>> Last week: The Bruins swept the Washington schools last weekend, defeating Washington State on Thursday and Washington, 75-68, on Sunday in Pauley Pavilion. UCLA improved to 8-5 in the Pac-10 and 13-11 overall. Senior Lindsey Pluimer (pictured) had 19 points in both games and was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week.

>> This week: The Bruins are tied with USC for fourth in the Pac-10 and need a win in Pauley Pavilion this afternoon to avenge their 64-56 loss at the Galen Center earlier this season. The 1978 AIAW champion team that features Ann Meyers, Denise Curry and Anita Ortega will be saluted at halftime, 30 years after their championship run. The game will be broadcast on KTLK 1150 AM beginning at 2 p.m.

Women’s Golf:

>> Last week: No. 1-ranked UCLA won the Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes held Monday through Wednesday. The Bruins turned back Florida, USC, Arizona State and Stanford with a strong final round. Freshman Glory Yang tied for second overall, All-American Tiffany Joh tied for seventh and freshman Maria Jose Uribe and soph Sydnee Michaels tied for 10th.

>> This week: The Bruins are off until the Arizona Wildcat tournament in Tucson from February 25-27.

Women’s Gymnastics:

>> This week: In first meet in nine days, the seventh-ranked Bruins (10-0) are in Berkeley today to face California (2-4) in a dual match in Haas Pavilion. UCLA will then face Arizona in Tucson next Friday (2/22) before returning home for a date with powerhouse Utah in Pauley Pavilion on Sunday, February 24.

Women’s Swimming:

>> Last week: No. 15 UCLA (5-4 overall, 2-4 Pac-10) posted a 158-142 dual meet loss on Friday to no. 25 USC at the Men’s Gym Pool and Sunset Canyon Recreation Center. Junior Anna Poteete posted three wins in the 50 m free, 100 m free and 200 m free, but UCLA won only five of 16 events.

>> This week: The swimmers are off until the Pac-10 Championships at the end of the month.

Women’s Tennis:

>> Last week: The no. 8 Bruins (7-1) won twice last week, defeating Loyola Marymount, 7-0, on Wednesday and then cruising past no. 12 Fresno State, 5-2, on Friday, with both matches at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

>> This week: The Bruins travel to Arizona this week to play Arizona State in Tempe on Friday and Arizona in Tucson on Saturday.

Women’s Water Polo:

>> Last week: No. 1 UCLA continued to steamroll its opponents, improving to 12-0 overall and 2-0 in MPSF play with a 13-3 win over no. 10 UC Irvine on Friday and 10-5 over 16th-ranked Cal State Northridge on Saturday. Seniors Kamaile Crowell, Jillian Kraus and Courtney Mathewson each had three goals for the Bruins on Friday and Katie Rulon had three on Saturday.

>> This week: UCLA plays Long Beach State today in Long Beach and then goes to Irvine for the UC Irvine Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

Lindsey Pluimer photo courtesy of UCLA.