Weekend warmup: The Gauntlet is in play!

In the dead of winter, UCLA trailed USC in the Lexus Gauntlet standings by a score of 50 to 12 1/2, with 57 1/2 points needed to win. USC has won the Gauntlet in each of the even-numbered years (2002-04-06) in which it has been awarded and the Bruins have won in all odd-numbered years (2003-05-07), and it looked like that would continue.

But like Lazarus, the Bruins have risen. Going into this weekend’s crucial baseball series with USC, UCLA has closed the gap. It is now 45 points to 32 1/2, which requires some explanation.

The Gauntlet standings are based on the season’s series between the schools in the various sports in which both compete. As USC went on a long winning streak against the Bruins beginning in the fall, the score mounted for the Trojans.

The Bruins have been winning of late, however, and the Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Tournament victory over USC gave UCLA a 2-1 lead in the season series and all 10 points in the Gauntlet standings; USC lost the five points posted for it after an early season win over the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion.

Now the race to 57 1/2 is on, and the Bruins have a  baseball series against USC this weekend at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Already up one game from a nonconference win during the Major League Baseball Urban Invitational, if the Bruins can win two of three, they will take the season series and add 2 1/2 points to close the score to 45-35.

And it gets better. The next showdown will be April 18-19, when the men’s and women’s tennis teams play; the Bruins won matches against both Trojan teams earlier in the year, so two wins could bring the score to 45-40.

That would leave men’s and women’s golf, rowing and the track and field dual meet at Drake Stadium to settle the matter. In men’s golf, the teams are ranked fifth (UCLA) and sixth (USC) in the nation in the current coaches’ poll, and the women are ranked second (UCLA) and third (USC). In rowing, USC is ranked fourth nationally while the Bruins are 13th. And in track and field, the dual meet May 3 at Drake Stadium is too close to call for both men and women because the season is just getting started.

It’s still USC’s gauntlet to lose . . . but it might!

There’s also plenty of action for Bruin teams on campus this weekend, in addition to the men’s basketball team in the NCAA Final Four:

Baseball:

>> As noted above, the 23rd-ranked Bruins will play host to USC in a three-game series at Jackie Robinson Stadium beginning at 6 tonight. UCLA (13-10) is on a six-game win streak against Troy (13-14) and will start ace lefty Tim Murphy (2-1, 3.61 ERA) tonight, Charles Brewer (3-2, 4.67) at 2 p.m. Saturday and lefty Gavin Brooks (1-2, 6.75) on Sunday. All three games will be audio and videocast at uclabruins.com, with Danny Lee and Tim Wilhelm on the microphones.

Football:

>> Spring practice continues with sessions beginning at 3:55 p.m. today and 1 p.m. Saturday (this is a time change). The spring game will be held at 7 p.m. April 26 at the Rose Bowl.

Softball:

>> The No. 1-ranked Bruins (32-3) edged Washington, 5-4, in eight innings Wednesday to move to 3-0 in Pac-10 play. They will be host to No. 7 Stanford at 1 p.m. today and 21st-ranked California at 3 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday. All three games will be audiocast at uclabruins.com, with Darren Preston and Jeff Knox on the scene.

Men’s basketball:

>> The 35-3 Bruins — who have won more games than any team in school history — are in the NCAA Final Four for the third year in a row and will take on 37-1 Memphis on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Game time is at 3:07 p.m.;  Jim Nantz and Billy Packer will  call the game on CBS and Chris Roberts and Don MacLean will be on the air on KLAC-AM (570) and the Bruin radio network. A postgame "Bruins Live" show is planned on FSN West or Prime Ticket (check your local cable listings).

Men’s tennis:

>> The 15-1 Bruins (2-0 in Pac-10 play) are ranked fourth in the nation and will take on No. 31 California at 1:30 p.m. today at the Los Angeles Tennis Center and then face 25th-ranked Stanford, also on campus, at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Men’s volleyball:

>> UCLA is 16-11 on the season and 11-8 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play, but that’s good enough for fourth and, most important, the Bruins are in good position for a home game in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament. After a crucial, four-set win Wednesday over UC Santa Barbara, UCLA will play host to league-leader and No. 2-ranked Cal State Northridge (20-5) at 7 tonight during Senior Night at Pauley Pavilion. Three-time All-American libero Tony Ker will be honored and T-shirts will be given away to the first 500 fans in attendance. The game will be audiocast on uclabruins.com, with Darren Preston on the call.

Women’s water polo:

>> No. 1-ranked and undefeated UCLA (22-0) will be in the pool again Saturday against No. 6 California (14-7) and Sunday against Pacific (4-21). Both matches will start at 1 p.m. at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center. Saturday is Alumni Day, with an alumni match starting at 10 a.m., an alumni lunch at noon and an after-the-game Final Four viewing party at the Westwood Brewing Co.

On the road:

>> Bruin teams competing outside of Southern California include the No. 3 men’s and No. 1 women’s golf teams at the Administaff Augusta State Invitational and PING/ASU Sun Devil Invitational, respectively; the men’s and women’s track teams, at the Texas Relays and Stanford Invitational; and the No. 9 women’s tennis team (14-4) playing at No. 6 California at 1:30 p.m. today and at No. 5 Stanford at noon Saturday.

Comments

[121 National Championships]

The Guantlet seems meaningless to me because USC's athletic program (with all the money over there) is incomplete. I wish we could include women's softball in this where UCLA is number one in the nation and, well, USC doesn't have a team. Or women's gymnastics where UCLA is number nine in the nation and, hmmm, USC doesn't have a team. Or men's cross-country where UCLA was 4th in the Pac-10 and 31st in the nation and, again, USC doesn't have a team. Or men's soccer where UCLA finished 31st in the nation and USC, once more, doesn't have a team. Who has the better athletic program? Who has an athletic program might be a better question.