Sunday syllabus: The week that was and the week ahead

A very big week in Bruin basketball, but there was torrid action on the diamond, the mat, the track and much more:

Baseball:

>> Last week: The Bruins started the week with a 4-2 loss to St. Mary’s last Sunday (Matt Drummond took the loss, 0-1), but won that series, 2-1. On Tuesday, DH Cody Decker, second baseman Alden Carrithers and right fielder Gabe Cohen all hit home runs in an 11-3 win over Pepperdine with Justin Uribe (2-0) scattering three hits in five shutout innings. UCLA finished the week with a 3-2 record by taking two of three at Cal Poly San Luis Osbispo. The Bruins lost the opener on Thursday, 9-8, with reliever Brendan Lafferty (1-1) taking the loss as the Mustangs scored two in the bottom of the ninth for the win. CP/SLO went up 5-0 in Friday’s game, but Charles Brewer (2-1) came in with none out in the first inning and gave up just one run the rest of the way to earn the win as the Bruins came back for a 10-6 victory, including a seven-run seventh inning. On Saturday, Carrithers went 4-6 and led the Bruins to a 12-9 win (he was 10-17 in the series and has a .444 average on the season). Third baseman Jermaine Curtis had a home run and four runs batted in for UCLA, and Gavin Brooks (1-0) got the win and Lafferty recorded a save.

>> This week: No. 11 UCLA (10-5) is off for winter-quarter final exams until Friday, when they take on Long Beach State at Jackie Robinson Stadium at 6 p.m. and then have a doubleheader scheduled at Long Beach State on Saturday.

Football:

>> Last week: UCLA held its annual "Pro Day" on Thursday with more than 30 NFL scouts at Spaulding Field to watch Bruin seniors and former Bruin Junior Taylor work out.

Softball:

>> Last week: UCLA rose to No. 2 in the national rankings, but fell to Cal State Fullerton at Easton Stadium on campus last Wednesday, 1-0, in eight innings despite nine strikeouts from Anjelica Selden (12-2). With the game at 0-0 through seven innings, the international tiebreaker was used, with a runner placed on second base to start the inning. Fullerton managed a run and Selden saw her scoreless innings streak end at 33 2/3 and UCLA’s win streak at 19. The Bruins eased past Cal State Northridge on Thursday, 7-0, behind a one-hitter from Donna Kerr (10-1) with relief help from Megan Langenfeld. Junior second baseman Amanda Kamekona hit two home runs for the Bruins and Langenfeld added a third.

>> This week: The Bruins take a break for finals with a glossy mark of 26-3 and will start up again at UC Santa Barbara on March 25.

Men’s Basketball:

>> Last week: The Bruins (31-3) added to their Pac-10 Conference regular-season crown with UCLA’s third-ever victory in the Pac-10 Conference Tournament at Staples Center. After the thrilling, last-second win over Cal in Pauley Pavilion on March 8, UCLA left no doubt on Thursday with an 88-66 rout of the Bears in the quarterfinals, then skated past USC, 57-54 on Friday night (Kevin Love, 19 points and 10 rebounds) and edged Stanford, 67-64, thanks to a 22-8 run in the second half and brilliant play from Darren Collison, who scored 28 points and was named Most Outstanding Player in the tournament. Love was chosen to the All-Tournament Team.

>> This week: The second-ranked Bruins, riding a 10-game winning streak, will find out today who they will play in the NCAA Tournament, almost certainly as a No. 1 seed and in games to be held in Anaheim at the Honda Center on Thursday and, if they win, on Saturday.

>> Of note I: UCLA suffered a loss on Friday, when forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute sprained his left ankle again in the first half. X-rays showed no break in the leg and he was on crutches and wearing a walking boot on his left foot during Saturday’s game.

>> Of note II: Current and former Bruins were honored this week, as Love was selected as a first-team All-American by Sports Illustrated, ESPN and Sporting News. ESPN also completed the release of its list of the best college basketball players of all time, with former Bruins Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Walton ranking first and third.

Men’s Golf:

>> Last week: No. 3 UCLA finished fifth in the Southern Highlands Collegiates in Las Vegas last Sunday, 12 shots behind host UNLV. Junior Erik Flores tied for fourth overall.

>> This week: The Bruin Blue Team (second squad) will be in Bakersfield on Monday and Tuesday for the second Cal State Bakersfield Spring Invite.

Men’s Tennis:

>> Last week: No. 6 UCLA had a good week, edging No. 11 Baylor, 4-3, on Monday and hammering Duke 6-1 on Saturday. The Bruins are now 12-1 overall and will take the next two weeks off for finals and spring break.

Men’s Track & Field:

>> Last week: The Bruins had a strong showing at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas as eight men earned All-American honors. The highlight was the shot put, in which John Caulfield finished fourth (62-2 1/4) and Darius Savage finished sixth with a lifetime best of 61-0 1/4. Dustin Leo finished tied for seventh in the pole vault (17-4 1/2) and Boldizsar Kocsor was seventh in the weight throw with a personal best of 70-1 1/2. On the track, the distance medley team of Marlon Patterson (1200 m), Elijah Wells (400 m), Cory Primm (800 m) and Laef Barnes (1600 m) was seventh in 9:35.74 and as a team, UCLA was 14th with 13 1/2 points.

>> This week: There is a decathlon-heptathlon meet at CSUN on Thursay and Friday as most of the team is off for finals.

Men’s Volleyball:

>> Last week: No. 9 UCLA has been wandering inconsistently through the season but had an opportunity to measure itself on Thursday and Friday against No. 1 BYU (17-2) in back-to-back matches in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins were swept, 30-25, 30-27, 30-27, on Thursday but came back to upset the Cougars on Friday, 30-28, 23-30, 30-23, 30-21. Sean O’Malley had 19 kills in the win and sophomore setter Kevin Ker entered the match in the second game and had 39 assists.

>> This week: UCLA is now 14-10 overall and 9-7 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play and will take a week off for exams.

Women’s Basketball:

>> Last week: After 15 seasons as Bruin head coach, Kathy Olivier resigned last Tuesday. She compiled a 232-208 record, her 1999 team was Pac-10 co-champion, and the 2006 team won the Pac-10 Tournament. Olivier will remain with the athletic department in another capacity, and a search has begun for a new coach.

>> Of note: In addition to the selection of senior Lindsey Pluimer to the All-Pac-10 team, junior guard Tierra Henderson was named to the first-ever Pac-10 All-Defensive team and guard Doreena Campbell was named to the All-Freshmen team and was honorable mention for the All-Pac-10 team. In addition, freshmen Regina Rogers, Nina Earl and Darxia Morris earned honorable mention for the All-Freshman squad.

Women’s Golf:

>> Last week: The second-ranked golfers made a charge during the final round of the UCF Invitational in Orlando, Fla., to finish third overall, 12 strokes behind winner Duke. Freshman Maria Jose Uribe finished seventh overall and All-American Tiffany Joh placed in a tie for 10th.

Women’s Gymnastics:

>> Last week: The Bruins had to battle tornado warnings in addition to the No. 1-ranked Georgia Gym Dogs on Saturday in Athens, but lost, 197.900-196.925, despite compiling their best score of the season. Prior to leaving for Stegeman Coliseum, the Bruins had to be moved to the basement of their hotel twice for precautionary reasons due to the weather. Once on the floor, however, four Bruins recorded career-best or tied their career-best marks: Ashley Jenkins, 9.9 on floor; Jordan Schwikert, 9.925 on floor [tied career best]; Kristina Comforte, 9.9 on vault [tied career best] and Mizuki Sato, 9.875 on floor.

>> This week: The 10th-ranked Bruins (14-4) have the week off before the Pac-10 Championships in Seattle on March 29.

Women’s Rowing:

>> Last week: The Bruins took three of four races against San Diego State at Ballona Creek, winning both of the varsity eight races and the varsity four race while dropping the novice race.

>> This week: The Bruins are off until the Windemere Stanford regatta on March 29-30.

Women’s Swimming:

>> Last week: Junior All-American Marisa Samaniego got off to bad start at the NCAA Zone E Diving Championships in Oklahoma City on Thursday when she slipped off the one-meter board and withdrew. But she rebounded on Friday to win on the three-meter board and earn a spot at next week's NCAA Championships. In the tower competition, junior Tess Schofield finished sixth and freshman Morgan Erpenbeck was eighth, but only the top two qualified for the NCAA meet.

>> This week: The Bruins will send three swimmers and one diver to the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships in Columbus, Ohio, from Thursday to Sunday.

Women’s Tennis:

>> Last week: The 10th-ranked Bruins smashed eighth-ranked USC at Marks Tennis Stadium, 6-1, on Thursday in its best performance of the season. Riza Zalameda, Tracy Lin, Andrea Remynse, Yasmin Schnack and Ashley Joelson all recorded singles wins.

>> This week: The Bruins are 12-4 on the season and are off until March 25 at Hawaii.

Women’s Track & Field:

>> Last week: UCLA sent only freshman vaulter Tori Anthony to the NCAA Indoor Championships, but she came back with All-American honors for finishing in a tie for eighth at 13-5 1/4.

>> This week: There is a meet for heptathletes at Northridge on Thursday and Friday, but most of the team is off this week.

Women’s Water Polo:

>> Last week: No. 1-ranked UCLA needed all four goals scored by senior Courtney Mathewson to edge No. 3 USC, 8-7, on Friday at the McDonald’s Swim Stadium at USC. The Bruins are now 21-0 and 7-0 in Pac-10 play and snapped a 42-match home win streak for the Trojans. UCLA’s own win streak now stands at 29. Mathewson scored the game-winner with 2:31 to play in the match.

>> This week: The Bruins are off until March 26.