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UCLA today released its 2008-09 women's basketball schedule (full listing after the jump)
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UCLA alum and Minnesota Lynx guard Noelle Quinn was in town last week for a game against the Los Angeles Sparks. It was a successful homecoming, with an 88-70 victory and balanced stat line (5 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds). Most importantly, Quinn got to catch up with friends and family and help out in the community. What's Bruin caught up with her for a quick Q&A ...
You're in your second season in the WNBA. What's been the biggest difference between your rookie year and now?
The personnel on the team ... we lucked out in the draft getting Candice Wiggins, Nicky Anosike
and Charde Houston. We're filling out as a team. For me, I think having that one
year under my belt makes me more confident because I've been through it.
Have you run into fellow Bruins in the league?
From the Washington Mystics, Nikki Blue — I played with her for three
years. We were really good friends and keep in contact. Lisa Willis,
she graduated the same year as Nikki and she plays for the New York
Liberty. So we have other alumni in the league, which is really cool.
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 Nikki Caldwell is arriving in Knoxville, Tenn., on a motorcycle tonight to wrap up an unusual eight-day recruiting trip. Unlike the ones she normally gets, these pledges aren't coming from star athletes.
Caldwell took a break from the bike to talk with What's Bruin about an important passion in the life of UCLA's new women's basketball coach.
Why are you out on the road?
We're on the road to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. We would like to spread the word as much as we can. Our small gesture of riding across the United States once per year is our way of doing that.
Which organization are your raising money for?
Our foundation is called Cruisin' for a Cause. Last year we raised over $50,000 and we disbursed that between three foundations: Susan G. Komen, Kay Yow Fund (in honor of the coach from North Carolina State), and the Wellness Community in honor of Tom Cronan, who was the athletic director's late husband at Tennessee. He had pancreatic cancer and passed away, so we wanted to do something in his name as well.
How long have you been doing this?
This is our second annual ride. Our goal this year is to double the amount to $100,000.
This year we've got eight total bikes with us, an RV with a few people, and the chase car. We started in Knoxville, Tenn., and we headed southbound [to Key West, Fla., and back] in a matter of seven nights and eight days.
Any really fun experiences out on the road?
I'll tell you what was really, really cool! I'm a Jimmy Johnson and NASCAR fan. A friend of mine who's on the ride with us, Chad, has a buddy who works at Daytona Speedway. He set it up for us to take our motorcycles onto the speedway and we took a couple of laps on the ground level. It was really cool to be right there, front and center, after seeing it on TV. You see those cars going around the track 200 miles per hour, it really puts it in perspective when you're able to physically be out there on that same track!
Holly Warlick, the associate head coach at Tennessee, co-founded Cruisin' for a Cause with me. What really touches our hearts is the breast cancer survivors who we've met and just say to us, "Thank you! We appreciate you doing this and getting the word out." Those are the ones who really, really have touched us, personally. We know family members who have suffered from breast cancers, friends, former Lady Vols. It's really a cancer where everybody in this world knows somebody who's experienced it.
Are you going to keep doing this after your big move to UCLA?
Definitely! The foundation is something that I'm very passionate about. It's a way I can do a little part in giving back, especially with the number of women who have suffered from breast cancer. One of my own player's (at UCLA) mother has passed from it. It's definitely something I'm still going to be involved in; we're just going to be a little more creative with the dates! [UCLA is on the quarter system while Tennessee is on the semester system.]
We pretty much pre-planned this ride a year in advance, so I was committed to it. Dan Guerrero and Petrina Long understand my passion for giving back and doing our part, and they were very supportive of the ride.
To learn more about Cruisin' For a Cause and to make a donation, make sure to check out their website.
UCLA’s hopes for its 101st national championship were dashed on Saturday and there was bad news on the baseball diamond as well. But spring football has started and the two no. 1-ranked women’s teams just keep winning. Here's the full report on all the Bruin teams:
Baseball:
>> Last week: No. 23 UCLA started the week well with a 6-2 over San Diego State on Tuesday (Garrett Claypool was the winning pitcher, 1-0) in the first game of a 13-game homestand at Jackie Robinson Stadium. But the Bruins lost both of the first two games of its weekend series with USC, 6-1 on Friday night (Tim Murphy had 10 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings, but took the loss and is 2-2), and 7-4 on Saturday (Charles Brewer, 3-4, too the loss.
>> This week: The Bruins are now13-12 on the season and 2-3 in the Pac-10. They finish the series with USC today at Jackie Robinson Stadium at 1 p.m. UCLA will play UC Irvine on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and then has a three-game series with UC Riverside over the weekend, all at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Football:
>> Last week: The Bruins started spring practice on Thursday and two juniors, linebacker Reggie Carter and cornerback Alterraun Verner were selected for the Lott Trophy Watch List.
>> This week: Spring ball continues with afternoon practices on Monday and Tuesday, both starting at 3:55 p.m., a day off on Wednesday and sessions on Thursday (3:55 p.m.) and Saturday (11 a.m.). All sessions will be held on Spaulding Field and are open to the public.
Rowing:
>> Last week: UCLA is ranked 13th in the nation and won both varsity four races and was second to Virginia in both eight-oared races in the Pac-10 Challenge on March 29-30. Yesterday at the San Diego Classic, the Bruin varsity eight boats finished second in separate races to Stanford and Washington and the open eight boat won its race.
>> This week: Competition continues at the San Diego Classic today and then the Bruins are off until the Stanford Invitational on April 19-20.
Softball:
>> Last week: Top-ranked UCLA continued its winning ways with three victories at Easton Stadium: 7-6 in eight innings over Washington last Tuesday (Anjelica Selden won, now 16-2), then sophomore Megan Langenfeld (5-0) pitched 3 2/3 innings of relief to help the Bruins score a 3-1 win over no. 7 Stanford Friday and freshman Donna Kerr (13-1) picked up the win in UCLA’s 2-1 victory over no. 21 California on Saturday.
>> This week: UCLA is now 34-3 overall and 6-0 in Pac-10 play and will face Cal once more today at noon to conclude a seven-game homestand. The Bruins head to the desert to face Arizona State in Tempe on Friday and then have back-to-back games with Arizona in Tucson on Saturday and Sunday.
Men’s Basketball:
>> Last week: The Bruins’ hopes for a 12th national championship ended in the national semifinals in a 78-63 loss to Memphis in San Antonio. UCLA finished 35-4, winning the most games in school history, but fell short of its goal. The 2004 recruiting class that included Jordan Farmar, Arron Afflalo, Josh Shipp and Lorenzo Mata-Real (Farmar and Afflalo left early, but Shipp and Mata-Real were on this year's team) had a four-year legacy that included three Final Fours, three Pac-10 regular-season titles, two Pac-10 Tournament titles, three consecutive seasons of winning 30 or more games and an overall record of 115-28 (.804).
Men’s Golf:
>> Last week: The third-ranked Bruins led the Administaff Augusta State Invitational in Evans, Georgia by two shots after the first round on Friday, but heavy rains cancelled the second round and the tournament will be completed on Sunday as 36-hole event. Junior Lucas Lee was leading the field at -3 after Friday’s round.
>> This week: This Blue Team (second squad) will be in Scottsdale, Arizona for Wyoming Cowboy Classic on Monday and Tuesday.
Men’s Tennis:
>> Last week: The no. 4-ranked Bruins had a good weekend, disposing of no. 31 California, 6-1, on Friday and no. 25 Stanford, 6-1, both at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. It was the 11th straight win for UCLA since losing its only match of the season to no. 1 Virginia.
>> This week: The Bruins are now 17-1 on the season and 4-0 in Pac-10 play, with four dual matches left before the Pac-10 Championships. Next weekend, UCLA travels to Arizona on Friday and no. 22 Arizona State on Saturday.
Men’s Track & Field:
>> Last week: UCLA is ranked seventh in the nation and the throwing corps had a strong showing at the Texas Relays in Austin. Boldizsar Kocsor won the hammer throw against a good field on Thursday and discus thrower Greg Garza and shot putter John Caufield finished second in their events.
>> This week: The Bruin team will compete in the Rafer Johnson-Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational at Drake Stadium from Thursday-Saturday.
Men’s Volleyball:
>> Last week: No. 7 UCLA defeated 14th-ranked UC Santa Barbara in four games on Wednesday, but fell to second-ranked Cal State Northridge on Friday evening on Senior Night in Pauley Pavilion in straight sets. All-American libero Tony Ker was honored before the game, but the Bruins could not win a set from the Matadors and fell to fifth place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings.
>> This week: UCLA is now 16-12 on the season and 11-9 in the MPSF. It will complete its regular-season play with matches at Stanford on Friday and Pacific on Saturday. The Bruins are 1-0 against both teams this season, winning in Pauley Pavilion in January.
Women’s Basketball:
>> Last week: Senior Lindsay Pluimer was selected to participate in the WNBA’s Pre-Draft Camp in Tampa this weekend in advance of the WNBA Draft on Wednesday.
Women’s Golf:
>> Last week: The Bruins ranked no. 1 in the country, but are playing in the PING/Arizona State Invitational without freshman star Maria Jose Uribe, who is playing as an amateur in the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Through two of the three rounds, the Bruins are in sixth place, 15 strokes behind tournament leader USC.
>> This week: UCLA finishes up in Tempe tomorrow and then has a week off prior to the Pac-10 Championships in Palos Verdes on April 21-23.
Women’s Gymnastics:
>> Last week: Bruin gymnasts Ariana Berlin, Anna Li, Jordan Schwikert and Tasha Schwikert were named to the Pac-10 All-Conference team. Berlin, Li and Jordan Schwikert received first-team honors in the all-around, while Tasha Schwikert was named to the first team on vault and uneven bars.
>> This week: Ninth-ranked UCLA will compete in the Southeast Regional in Gainesville, Florida on April 12. Third-ranked Florida is the top seed in the regional and UCLA will also compete against Nebraska, North Carolina State, West Virginia and North Carolina. The top two finishers in the regional will advance to the NCAA Championships in Athens, Georgia from April 24-26.
Women’s Tennis:
>> Last week: No. 9 UCLA split a weekend series with higher-ranked opponents, upsetting no. 6 California in Berkeley, 4-3, thanks to freshman Andrea Remynse’s three-set win (including a second-set tiebreaker) over Cal’s Claire Ilcinkas. Yesterday, the Bruins lost to fifth-ranked Stanford, 5-2, in Palo Alto for their first loss in Pac-10 play this season.
>> This week: The Bruins are now 15-5 overall and 4-1 in conference and have three dual matches left in the season, all at home. UCLA will face Arizona on Friday at 1:30 p.m. and Arizona State on Saturday at noon, both at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Women’s Track & Field:
>> Last week: A limited team competed at the Texas Relays and Stanford Invitational. Senior Ingrid Kantola had the best performance with a win in the university section of the pole vault on Friday and a fourth-place finish with a season best of 13-5 1/4 in the open pole vault on Saturday.
>> This week: The Rafer Johnson-Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational will be held at Drake Stadium from Thursday through Sunday.
Women’s Water Polo:
>> Last week: No. 1 UCLA continued to mow down its opponents, beating California 10-4 behind three goals from Katie Rulon at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center on Saturday.
>> This week: The Bruins are now 23-0 overall and 9-0 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play. They’ll take on Pacific today at Sunset Canyon at 1 p.m. and then finish their collegiate dual-match schedule next week with games against San Diego State (1 p.m.) and Sonoma State (3 p.m.) on Saturday, April 12 and Arizona State on Sunday (1 p.m.).
The Bruin men’s basketball team is heading back to the Final Four once again, but there was a lot of other important action this week:
Baseball:
>> Last week: What to make of this 2008 UCLA baseball team? After losing three in a row to Long Beach State, the Bruins dropped from No. 11 in the nation to No. 23 and then lost another game, at San Diego State on Tuesday, 6-3 (Matt Drummond, 0-2, took the loss). But then UCLA went to Tucson for a three-game series against No. 6 Arizona and wins two in a row: 4-3 in 10 innings on Friday night (third baseman Jermaine Curtis had four hits and Drummond, 2-1, won in relief) and 20-8 on Saturday thanks to a 7-for-7, four RBI and four runs scored day by first baseman Casey Haerther (Charles Brewer, 3-2, got the win).
>> This week: The Bruins (12-9, 2-0 Pac-10) finish their series with Arizona today in Tucson, then head home for a 13-game homestand, starting with San Diego State on Tuesday, April 1 at 6 p.m. Then UCLA will square off with rival USC at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday (6 p.m.), Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).
Football:
>> This week: Spring football starts on Spaulding Field on campus April 3 and will continue through April 26 with the Spring game at the Rose Bowl. This week’s practices are open to the public, starting at 3:55 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.
Rowing:
>> Last week: The Bruins debuted at No. 13 in the national rankings and are in Redwood Shores, Calif., this weekend for the Pac-10 Challenge against three top 10 teams in Virginia, Ohio State and California on Saturday and Sunday.
>> This week: The Bruins will be in the San Diego Crew Classic in Mission Bay on Saturday and Sunday.
Softball:
>> Last week: UCLA is now the top-ranked team in the nation and won its first two Pac-10 games convincingly this weekend. UCLA defeated Oregon State, 3-0, on Friday (Anjelica Selden, 14-2, got the win) and then freshman Donna Kerr lowered her ERA to 0.48 and improved to 12-1 with a 2-0 shutout of Oregon on Saturday. Megan Langenfeld picked up saves by pitching scoreless seventh innings in both games.
>> This week: UCLA (30-3) faces Oregon again today at Easton Stadium at noon, then has four more home games coming up this week: Washington on Wednesday, Stanford on Friday and California on Saturday and Sunday.
>> Of note: Four Bruins were named to the American team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing this August: catcher Stacey Nuveman, first baseman Tairia Mims Flowers, third baseman Andrea Duran and shortstop Natasha Watley. Triple gold medalist pitcher Lisa Fernandez was not selected for the team, but is listed as an injury replacement; she had taken three years off from softball to start her family and did not regain her earlier form. The U.S. Team will face the Bruins in an exhibition on Tuesday evening, April 22, at Easton Stadium.
Men’s Basketball:
>> Last week: UCLA (35-3) has won 14 straight games and is heading to San Antonio for the Final Four, the third season in a row that the Bruins will play in the national semifinals. UCLA defeated Western Kentucky, 88-78, on Thursday, cruising to a 21-point lead at half and then holding on after a furious rally by the Hilltoppers. On Saturday, UCLA defeated Xavier, 76-57, building a nine-point edge at halftime and then extending the lead behind 19 points each from Kevin Love and Darren Collison.
>> This week: The Bruins will play Saturday in one national semifinal and if they win, will play for the national championship on Monday, April 7.
Men’s Golf:
>> Last week: Third-ranked UCLA led after 18 holes, but fell to seventh in the U.S. Collegiate Championships in Alpharetta, Ga. The top Bruin finisher was senior Kevin Chappell, who tied for 10th. In a separate tournament, five individual Bruins competed in the Cal Poly Men’s Intercollegiates with freshman Philip Francis tying for seventh in the best finish by a UCLA golfer.
>> This week: UCLA remains in the south and will play in the Administaff Augusta State Invitational at the Champions Retreat Golf Course in Augusta, Ga., beginning Friday.
Men’s Soccer:
>> Last week: Five Bruins made up a quarter of the U.S. Under-23 National Team squad that qualified for the Beijing Olympic tournament at last week’s CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Defenders Kamani Hill (2004-05), Patrick Ianni (2003-05) and Marvell Wynne (2004-05) and forwards Chad Barrett (2003-04) and Sal Zizzo (2005-06) were all on the squad and at least one Bruin started in every game. The U.S. finished the tournament with a 3-1-1 record, won Group A and allowed just two goals while scoring six.
Men’s Tennis:
>> Last week: The Bruins are ranked sixth in the nation and looked like it this past week, shutting out Loyola Marymount, 7-0, at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on Tuesday, then winning its opening Pac-10 matches easily, stomping No. 20 Washington, 6-1, in Seattle on Friday and Oregon, 6-1, in Eugene on Saturday.
>> This week: UCLA has won nine matches in a row and is 15-1 on the season. Next up are California and Stanford in matches to be played Friday and Saturday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, starting at 1:30 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
Men’s Track & Field:
>> Last week: The Bruins were ranked seventh in the nation in the U.S. Track Coaches Assn.’s pre-season poll and then racked up 238 points to win the Cal/Nevada Championships easily in a two-meet in Fresno. Senior John Caulfield threw a lifetime best of 197-10 -– best in the nation so far -– to win the discus and he also won the shot put with a seasonal best of 62-7 3/4. UCLA won seven events in all, including Henry Hagenbuch’s lifetime-best 3:50.65 in the 1500 m; Boldizsar Kocsor’s win in the hammer (217-3), Elijah Wells in the 400 m (48.02), Jonathan Clark in the triple jump at 49-9 1/4 and vaulter Johnny Quinn with a lifetime best of 17-0 3/4.
>> This week: UCLA will send selected individuals to the Texas Relays in Austin.
Men’s Volleyball:
>> Last week: No. 8 UCLA is putting on a performance this season that would make both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde proud. Fresh off an upset of No. 1 BYU, the Bruins lost to UC San Diego for the first time ever Friday, losing the match in five sets. UCLA had won 44 in a row over the Tritons. Then on Saturday, the Bruins stopped No. 3 Long Beach State in four games and snapped a five-game losing streak at the Walter Pyramid, led by 6-9 hitter Sean O’Malley with 19 kills.
>> This week: The Bruins are now 15-11 overall and 10-8 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, residing in fifth place. UCLA will play UC Santa Barbara in Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday and then face MPSF leader Cal State Northridge on Friday, also in Pauley.
Women’s Basketball:
>> Last week: UCLA senior Lindsey Pluimer was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic Team for the third year in a row. In addition to being an All-Conference first-team selection on the court, she was honored for her 3.71 grade-point average in Communications Studies. Sophomore guard Erica Tukiainen received honorable mention.
Women’s Golf:
>> This week: The second-ranked Bruins head back into action this week in the PING/ASU Sun Devil Invitational in Tempe on Friday. It’s their last tournament before the Pac-10 Championships on April 21-23.
Women’s Gymnastics:
>> Last week: Defending champion UCLA finished third in the Pac-10 Conference Championships in Seattle, finishing behind Stanford and Oregon State after a fall on the final rotation of the meet. Tasha Schwikert was UCLA’s only individual winner, taking her seventh career Pac-10 title, with a share of the uneven bars title with a 9.95.
>> This week: The Bruins are off; next up is the NCAA Regionals on April 12.
>> Of note: Freshman Brittani McCullough, whose season ended due to injury back on March 9, was named Pac-10 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. Four Bruins were named to the Pac-10 All-Academic team, including juniors Ariana Berlin and Kristina Comforte and senior Tasha Schwikert on the second team, and senior Natalie Padilla as honorable mention.
Women’s Swimming:
>> Last week: Ten Bruins were named to the Pac-10 All-Academic teams, including first-team selections Tess Schofield (Communication Studies, 3.83 grade-point average) and Katherine Wong (History, 3.72). All-American Nicolette Teo (Anthropology, 3.58), Ellen Brooks (Art History, 3.57) and Kristen Fischer (Comm Studies, 3.57) each earned second-team honors. Honorable Mention recognition was given to Shannon Hackett, Brittany Hill, Julie Imagane, Marisa Samaniego and Chiemi Yamamoto.
Women’s Tennis:
>> Last week: Eighth-ranked UCLA had a good week, blanking Hawaii in Honolulu, 7-0 on Tuesday and then starting Pac-10 play with a 7-0 whitewash of Oregon on Saturday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. It was Bruin Coach Stella Sampras Webster’s 200th career win in her 12 seasons in Westwood (200-102).
>> This week: The Bruins are now 14-4 and head north for matches with No. 7 California in Berkeley in Friday and fifth-ranked Stanford in Palo Alto on Saturday.
Women’s Track & Field:
>> Last week: The Bruins were ranked sixth in the nation in the coaches’ pre-season poll and finished second at the Cal/Nevada Championships in Fresno. The Bruins had three winners over the two-day event, including freshman Lindsay Rowe in the 100 m hurdles in a lifetime best of 13.74, senior high jumper Allie Miller (5-7) and the 4 x 400 m relay team of Chanelle Curry, Krystin Lacy, Ashlea McLaughlin and Nicole Leach (3:39.30).
>> This week: The Bruins will send some athletes to the Stanford Invitational.
Women’s Water Polo:
>> Last week: No. 1 UCLA scored an impressive 9-3 win over Hawaii in Honolulu on Saturday, led by Courtney Mathewson’s three-goal performance. The Bruins are now 22-0 on the season and 8-0 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.
>> This week: UCLA will entertain California at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center on Friday, followed by a match with Pacific on Saturday, both starting at 1 p.m.
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.
Senior Associate Athletic Director Petrina Long told reporters in a conference call this afternoon that it will take a "special person" to be the next women’s basketball coach at UCLA. Incumbent Coach Kathy Olivier resigned after 15 years at the helm.
Though Olivier had a winning record -– 232-208 -– in her tenure at UCLA, she was only 117-123 in her last eight seasons and had one 20-win season since 1998-99. Despite having an all-league performer in senior forward Lindsey Pluimer and a terrific recruiting class that was ranked fourth in the nation as freshmen, the Bruins finished only 16-15 this season. Included were incomprehensible losses to Pepperdine, which finished 10-18, and San Diego, 19-12, but 7-7 in the WCC.
Long also said that some of the coaches UCLA would like to speak to are going to be unavailable for a while due to the start of the NCAA Tournament next week. She did not give a specific timetable for hiring a coach. The Bruin team was apprised of Olivier’s resignation today. Though some team members were surprised, Long said the meeting went well.
Comment:
This is an interesting move for UCLA, since women’s basketball is one of only three women’s sports in which the Bruins are not competitive nationally. If cross-country, which is only a feeder sport for the successful track and field program, is discounted, only basketball and rowing aren’t national top-20 programs . . . and the rowing team is improving.
Of the 12 women’s sports in which the Bruins field teams, UCLA ranks in the top 15 in the nation in nine of them this academic year. Eight were/are in the top 10 and the current golf, softball and water polo teams have legitimate chances of winning the national championship. In the fall, the women’s soccer team lost in the national semifinals and the women’s volleyballers got to the regional final. Basketball isn’t in the mix.
There isn’t an unlimited amount of money to throw around for a new coach, so look for the Bruins to hire a hot assistant from a high-profile program unless someone unexpected becomes available at a reasonable price.
It will also be a test for Senior Women's Administrator Long, who inherited all but one of the current group of coaches when she came over from UC Irvine in 2004. The only change in the sports she supervises was in softball, where Sue Enquist handed the reins to former player and assistant coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. And so far, that looks like a good move.
From UCLA Sports Information: UCLA Senior Associate Athletic Director/Senior Women’s Administrator Petrina Long announced today that Kathy Olivier has resigned from her position of head women’s basketball coach, effective today. Olivier will continue to work for the Athletic Department on special projects yet to be determined.
“This was a very difficult decision for Kathy,” said Long. “She has represented our program with class and dignity during her 15 years as head coach. She has recruited great young women who have excelled both on the court and in the classroom.
“Kathy and I have had several discussions over the future of the program. She still wants to be a part of UCLA Athletics, but she also realized it was time to turn the women’s basketball program over to new leadership. Fifteen years is a long time, and I think she is looking forward to new challenges.”
“This was one of the hardest decisions of my life,” said Olivier. “I have won a Pac-10 title and the Pac-10 Tournament, but what has been most gratifying is working with the players in our program and helping them become young women who can make a difference in our society.
“I have been offered the opportunity to take the next step in my career by moving into administration, and I think the timing is right. The new coach will be able to build with almost the entire team returning, and I will still be a member of the Bruin family that I have loved being part of for over 20 years.”
Olivier compiled a record of 232-208 during her 15 seasons as head coach. This season, the Bruins finished with a record of 16-15. They tied for fourth in the Pac-10 and defeated USC in the Pac-10 Tournament quarterfinals. Lindsey Pluimer was selected the Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year in her sport and was a first-team All-Pac-10 performer. Two years ago, the Bruins won the Pac-10 Tournament. In 1999, UCLA won a share of the Pac-10 Conference titles and advanced to the Elite Eight.
She has also produced several WNBA performers, including current players Nikki Blue, Lisa Willis and Noelle Quinn.
A national search for a new head coach will begin immediately.
Amid the celebration of another Bruin Pac-10 men’s basketball championship were some outstanding performances in some other sports:
Baseball:
>> Last week: The third-ranked Bruins had a busy week, starting with the final game of the Urban Invitational last Sunday. UCLA defeated USC, 4-3, on second baseman Alden Carrithers’ two-run double in the eighth inning; lefty Brendan Lafferty (1-0) earned the win with five innings of shutout relief. On Tuesday and Wednesday, UCLA was pummeled twice by traditional power Cal State Fullerton, 7-1 in Fullerton and 13-2 at Jackie Robinson Stadium. On Friday and Saturday, the Bruins managed home victories against St. Mary’s, 14-0 (Tim Murphy, 2-0, allowed one hit in seven innings) and 7-6 on Ryan Babineau’s pinch-hit, two-run double in the seventh inning as freshman Dan Klein (2-2) got the win.
>> This week: The 7-3 Bruins played St. Mary’s this afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium, then will play Pepperdine Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Jackie Robinson and finish the week with a three-game series at Cal State San Luis Obispo from Thursday through Saturday.
>> Of note: Bruin ace Murphy was named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week last Tuesday for his 11 shutout innings the previous week, including a complete game shutout of Bethune-Cookman in the Urban Invitational. Also, Jackie Robinson, whose worst of four sports at UCLA was baseball, was voted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame last week.
Football:
>> Last week: With the coaching staff in place, the Bruins welcomed about 20 high school seniors-to-be on the first of two "Junior Days" on campus. Recruits took a tour and attended the UCLA-California basketball game. A second Junior Day will be held in April when spring practice is underway.
Rowing:
>> Last week: UCLA swept all four races from Loyola Marymount on Saturday at Ballona Creek.
>> This week: San Diego State will row against the Bruins at Ballona Creek on Saturday morning.
Softball:
>> Last week: The Bruins are now ranked second in the nation and are mowing down opponents in bunches. On Wednesday, Angelica Selden struck out 13 and soph Julie Burney hit a run-scoring single in the fifth that led to a 1-0 UCLA win. Then the Bruins ran off five straight wins in the Long Beach Invitational, starting with victories against Virginia Tech, 1-0 (Selden a one-hitter), and Notre Dame, 3-2 (second baseman GiOnna DiSalvatore drove in all three runs), on Friday. Yesterday, UCLA hammered Rutgers, 9-0 (Megan Langenfeld now 3-0), and shut down No. 8 Northwestern, 2-0 as Donna Kerr struck out 15 to go to 9-1 on the season; Langenfeld hit a two-run homer in the fourth. Today, Selden (12-1) struck out 11 and ran her scoreless streak to 26 innings in a 1-0 win over Long Beach State as right fielder Samantha Camuso doubled in pinch-runner Grace Murray in the bottom of the eighth.
>> This week: The Bruins are now a dazzling 25-2 on the season and have won 19 straight. UCLA has games with Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge at home on Wednesday (2 p.m.) and Thursday (1 p.m.) before taking a 12-day break for final exams.
>> Of note: Freshman Kerr was named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week for three wins and a perfect game against St. Peter’s last Sunday.
Men’s Basketball:
>> Last week: The Bruins (28-3), ranked No. 2 in one poll and No. 3 in another, made miraculous comebacks to defeat Stanford and California and finish the season as Pac-10 champions. Against Stanford, UCLA trailed by 14 points moments into the second half, but came back to tie the game at 63-63 in regulation and won, 77-67, in overtime to clinch the conference title. On Saturday, the Bruins were down, 37-30, at halftime, but stormed back with 51 points to win, 81-80, on a circus shot by Josh Shipp that appeared to loop over the backboard and through the basket with 1.5 seconds left.
>> This week: UCLA is the No. 1 seed in the Pac-10 Tournament starting Wednesday. The Bruins will play the winner of the California-Washington game Thursday about 2:30 p.m. The semifinals will be held Friday and the championship game Saturday. The NCAA Tournament brackets will be announced next Sunday.
>> Of note: Freshman center Kevin Love was selected as one of 10 candidates for the Oscar Robertson Award, the player of the year trophy handed out by the U.S. Basketball Writers Assn. The winner will be announced during the Final Four weekend in San Antonio.
Men’s Golf:
>> Last week: The UCLA "Blue Team" (second squad) finished 13th in the USC Collegiate Invitational on Monday and Tuesday. The full team participated in the Southern Highlands Collegiate Tournament in Las Vegas on Friday, Saturday andSunday and was in sixth place through two rounds, 11 behind Georgia.
>> This week: Third-ranked UCLA finishes up in Las Vegas today, then is off for a couple of weeks. The Blue Team will return to Bakersfield for the second Cal State Bakersfield Spring Invitational on March 17-18.
>> Of note: Senior Kevin Chappell, who won the PING Intercollegiates in Arizona early in the year, was named Pac-10 Golfer of the Month for the January/February period.
Men’s Tennis:
>> Last week: The sixth-ranked Bruins (10-1) had a good week, starting with a 7-0 shutout of Rice at home Wednesday, then defeating No. 10 USC, 5-2, at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on campus Thursday. The match was tied, 2-2, but the Bruins won the last three individual matches as Jeremy Drean and Nick Meister won in straight sets in the No. 5 and No. 6 singles slots and Michael Look won in three sets in the No. 4 spot.
>> This week: The Bruins will make up a rained-out match with Baylor on Monday at 1:30 p.m. and then take on Duke on Wednesday, also at 1:30 p.m. with both matches at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Men’s Track & Field:
>> Last week: Shotputter Darius Savage improved his lifetime best to 60-10 to win the Last Chance Indoor qualifying meet in Seattle on Saturday. At Drake Stadium, most of the UCLA team competed in the UCLA Invitational on Saturday afternoon. Bruin athletes scored eight event wins, including Brandon Smith in the 200 m (21.30), Elijah Wells in the 400m (48.01), Laef Barnes in the 800m (1:51.62, a lifetime best), Spencer Knight in the 1500m (3:55.98), Taylor Hobson in the high jump (6-8) and long jump (23-9 1/2, a lifetime best) plus John Caulfield in the discus (189-4).
>> This week: UCLA will send up to seven entries to the NCAA Indoor Championships this week in Fayetteville, Ark. Other athletes will compete in the CSUN Invitational in Northridge.
Men’s Volleyball:
>> Last week: UCLA stopped its four-match losing streak with a four-set win over Lewis at Pauley Pavilion last Tuesday and then defeated the second-ranked Division III team, UC Santa Cruz in four games at home on Wednesday. Much more impressive, however, was a five-set win over No. 6 UC Irvine at the Bren Center in Irvine on Friday night. Attackers Garrett Muagututia and Sean O’Malley each had 20 kills.
>> This week: The 10th-ranked Bruins are now 13-9 overall and 8-6 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Second-ranked BYU (16-1), the MPSF leader at 11-1, comes to Pauley Pavilion for matches Thursday and Friday, both starting at 7 p.m., in a test of just how good the Bruins really are.
Women’s Basketball:
>> Last week: Mirroring their inconsistent play this season, the Bruins stunned USC, 73-52, in the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament in San Jose. Freshman Darxia Morris led UCLA with 19 points as the Bruins defeated USC for the only time in their three meetings this season. In the semifinals today against Stanford, however, the Bruins were throttled, 78-45, in a game that was not as close as the final score indicated.
>> This week: UCLA finished the season at 16-15 and does not appear to be in line to be invited to the NCAA Tournament. UCLA essentially played freshmen and sophomores and senior forward Lindsay Pluimer this season and could be a promising team next season. Let’s emphasize the "could be."
>> Of note: Pluimer finished her Bruin regular season career today by scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds. She is ranked 12th on the all-time UCLA scoring list (1,558), 10th on the rebound list (737), sixth on the blocked shot list, seventh in three-point shots made and tied for third in most double figure points game in a career. Pluimer started her 123rd consecutive game today, which is the most in the UCLA women's NCAA era and third on the all-time school list. She was named the Toyo Tires Pac-10 Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Women’s Golf:
>> This week: UCLA is ranked second nationally and is in Sorrento, Fla., for the UCF Invitational that runs today through Tuesday. It will be the Bruins’ last tournament until April 4.
Women’s Gymnastics:
>> Last week: The Bruins zipped past Oregon State at home Sunday, March 1, 196.775-195.950 at Pauley Pavilion, even without all-around star Anna Li to improve to 13-1 overall and finished Pac-10 competition with a 6-0 mark.
>> This week: The Bruins are competing today in Pauley Pavilion in a quadrangular meet with Alabama, Arkansas and Cal State Fullerton, but will face a stiff test next Saturday on the road against NCAA favorite Georgia in Athens beginning at 4:30 p.m. Pacific time.
Women’s Swimming:
>> Last week: UCLA Coach Cyndi Gallgher indicated that although 16 Bruin swimmers posted marks that would qualify them for the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio, from March 20-22, only three or four of the qualifiers will go. The others simply have no realistic chance to score points in a fast year thanks to the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Junior Anna Poteete (sprint free), senior Nicolette Teo (breast) and freshman Lauren Hall (400 medley) all have automatic qualifying marks in their respective events and freshman Dani Milligan could be invited since her 400 medley mark is just 0.01 seconds shy of the automatic mark.
>> This week: The NCAA Zone E qualifying meet for divers will be held in Oklahoma City from March 13 through 15 and the Bruins could add additional qualifiers.
Women’s Tennis:
>> Last week: Ninth-ranked UCLA showed why this week with wins over Washington State on Friday and Washington on Saturday, both by 7-0 scores. The Bruins are 11-4 overall and 2-0 in Pac-10 play.
>> This week: UCLA will face No. 9 USC across town Thursday at 1:30 p.m. before taking a 12-day break for final exams.
Women’s Track & Field:
>> Last week: Freshman Tori Anthony won the pole vault in the Last Chance Qualifier meet in Seattle with a jump of 13 feet 7 inches and will compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., next week. At Drake Stadium, Bruin women won seven events and two relays at the UCLA Invitational on Saturday. UCLA teams won the 4x100m (46.16) and 4x400 m (3:44.58) events and individual winners included Nicole Leach in the 800m (2:09.61), Clare Rethmeier in the two mile (10:41.59), Lindsay Rowe in the 100m hurdles (14.06), Chanelle Curry in the 400m hurdles (1:03.56), jump star Rhonda Watkins at 20-11 3/4 in the long jump and 41-9 3/4 in the triple jump and Tara Ross in the javelin (a lifetime best of 162-9).
>> This week: Anthony will be at the NCAA Indoor Championships and other Bruins will compete at the CSUN Invitational.
Women’s Water Polo:
>> Last week: No. 1 UCLA maintained its perfect record with a 9-7 win over No. 2 Stanford at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center on Saturday. Senior Brittany Rowe had three goals to lead the Bruins in scoring. Today, the Bruins eased past No. 8 San Jose State, 15-5, also at the Sunset Canyon Rec Center.
>> This week: UCLA (20-0) will face another challenge from a top-five team, playing USC across town on Friday, March 14, at 5 p.m. The Bruins will take a break after that for final exams.
At one point during the week, UCLA had 10 teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation. For any program anywhere, that’s pretty remarkable.
Another area where UCLA is No. 1: applications for admission. UCLA was once again the most popular university in America by number of applications, with a staggering 55,369 received, an increase of 9% over the nation-leading 2007 figure. Even more unbelievable: the percentage of freshman applicants with a grade-point average of 4.0 of better: 44.6%.
Oh, yes, the Pac-10 men’s basketball title will be decided this week.
Baseball:
>> Last week: The third-ranked Bruins are now 4-1 after defeating Southern, 11-2 on Friday and Bethune Cookman, 2-0, before a national television audience on ESPN2 last night in the Urban Invitational. Left-hander Tim Murphy scattered seven hits for UCLA’s first complete-game shutout since 2005. Earlier in the week, UCLA was crushing Cal State Northridge on Tuesday, 22-2, when the game was halted due to darknesss; it will be completed on April 15. The Bruins also outlasted UC Santa Barbara, 5-4, in 13 innings at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Wednesday.
>> This week: UCLA finishes up the round-robin Urban Invitational today at USC at 2 p.m. The Bruins have a home-and-home with powerful Cal State Fullerton at Fullerton on Tuesday (6 p.m.) and at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Wednesday (6 p.m.). The Bruins will host St. Mary’s at Jackie Robinson Stadium for a three-game series from Friday-Sunday.
Rowing:
>> This week: The spring season starts on Saturday with the Bruins hosting Loyola Marymount on March 8.
Softball:
>> Last week: The Bruins are up to No. 4 in the national rankings and continue hot at the San Diego Classic. UCLA defeated James Madison, 8-0, in their opener on Friday (Anjelica Selden, 14 strikeouts) and then hammered San Diego, 10-0, behind Donna Kerr’s 11 strikeouts (she’s 7-1), in the nightcap. Soph Megan Langenfeld tossed a one-hitter on Saturday morning as UCLA stomped Eastern Michigan, 8-0, and Selden (9-1) pitched all nine innings (with 13 strikeouts) of a tight 2-1 win over No. 20 San Diego State in the afternoon. Selden, a senior, became only the 21st pitcher in NCAA history to record 1,200 or more strikeouts. Earlier in the week, UCLA shut out Cal State Bakersfield on Wednesday, 3-0, with Kerr pitching four innings and Langenfeld finishing the final three frames.
>> This week: The Bruins (18-2) have won 12 straight games and finish in San Diego with a game against St. Peter’s today, then have UNLV at home on Wednesday (1 p.m.) before heading south for the Long Beach Invitational against Virginia Tech and Notre Dame on Friday, Rutgers on Saturday and highly-ranked Northwestern and Long Beach State on Sunday.
Men’s Basketball:
>> Last week: UCLA (25-3 overall, 13-2 in the Pac-10) defeated Arizona State on the road on Thursday, 70-49, breaking open a close game late in the first half to post its biggest-ever margin of victory in Tempe. The previous high was 20 from a 99-79 win way back in 1956.
>> This week: Fourth-ranked UCLA could move up in the polls again this week if the Bruins can post a victory against Arizona (17-11, 7-8) in Tucson. The game will be nationally televised on CBS and begin at 1 p.m. On Thursday comes the Pac-10 regular-season title decider with Stanford (24-4, 13-3) at Pauley Pavilion at 8 p.m. and the regular-season finale at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday against California. The 1968 NCAA championship team, arguably the greatest college basketball team of all time that started Lew Alcindor, Lynn Shackelford, Mike Lynn, Lucius Allen and Mike Warren, will be honored at halftime of the Cal game.
>> Of note: If Alcindor had not suffered an eye injury that led to UCLA’s 71-69 loss at the Astrodome to Houston, the Bruins would have finished the 1967-68 season with a then-record of 64 wins in a row. UCLA won its first 25 games of Alcindor’s senior season, so UCLA would have had a streak of 89 straight wins before USC won the first game ever by an opponent in Pauley Pavilion, 46-44, on March 8, 1969. The current record is 88, set by the 1971-1974 teams.
Men’s Golf:
>> Last week: The Bruin "Blue Team" (second squad) finished second this week at the Cal State Bakersfield Spring Invitational, one shot behind Cal State Stanislaus. Junior Erik Flores was the tournament champion, carding a 10-under 206 for the three rounds, one shot ahead of fellow Bruin Craig Leslie.
>> This week: The Blue Team is in action against at the USC Invitational at North Hills Country Club on Monday and Tuesday. The whole squad will be back in action on Friday through Sunday in Las Vegas for the Southern Highlands Invitational.
Men’s Tennis:
>> Last week: Sixth-ranked UCLA (8-1) stomped UC Santa Barbara at home on Wednesday and two doubles teams reached the quarterfinals of the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships. Mathieu Dehaine and Holden Seguso were seeded seventh and fourth-seeded Nick Meister and Harel Srugo both reached the round of eight before being defeated.
>> This week: The Bruins are in action again on Wednesday, hosting No. 24 Rice on Wednesday and seventh-ranked USC on Thursday, both at the Los Angeles Tennis Center beginning at 1:30 p.m.
Men’s Track & Field:
>> Last week: UCLA finished sixth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Championships in Seattle. The Bruins’ only individual champion was junior Boldizsar Kocsor, who won the weight throw at 69-9 1/2.
>> This week: The Bruins will open their 2008 outdoor season at the UCLA Invitational at Drake Stadium. Field events will start at 10 a.m.
Men’s Volleyball:
>> Last week: Seventh-ranked UCLA is happy to be coming home after dropping both matches this weekend to Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. The Bruins (10-9) lost in four sets on Friday night and were swept on Saturday, losing their fourth straight match and five of six on their lengthy road trip.
>> This week: UCLA plays in Pauley Pavilion for the first time since Feb. 9 on Tuesday night with a match against Lewis at 7 p.m. and follows up with UC Santa Cruz on Wednesday evening. UCLA heads south to play at UC Irvine on Friday evening; all three matches begin at 7 p.m.
Women’s Basketball:
>> Last week: UCLA closed out the regular season with a split at home, losing to Arizona State, 73-67, and then defeating Arizona, 80-70. Lindsay Pluimer, the lone Bruin senior, led the team once again with 18 points and 11 rebounds. UCLA ended the regular season with a 15-14 record and was 10-8 (tied for fourth) in the Pac-10, sliding to a 4-5 mark in the second half of the league schedule after a 6-3 first round.
>> This week: The Pac-10 Tournament is on in San Jose and the fifth-seeded Bruins will play fourth-seed USC in its first-round game on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. UCLA lost both games to USC this season, by eight points at the Galen Center and by 13 at home.
Women’s Golf:
>> Last week: The No. 1-ranked Bruins fell victim to high winds that negated strong efforts in rounds one and three at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational and finished sixth overall. Their best individual performance by All-American Tiffany Joh. She overcame an 80 in the second round to shoot a two-under 70 in the final round and finish fifth overall.
>> This week: UCLA is off to Orlando, Florida to play in the UCF Challenge on Sunday, March 9 through Tuesday, March 11.
Women’s Gymnastics:
>> Last week: UCLA (12-1) lost to No. 2 Utah last Sunday and suffered injuries to all-around stars Anna Li and Brittani McCullough, both of whom had concussions.
>> This week: The Bruins are ranked ninth in the country and will take on No. 10 Oregon State (8-1) today at Pauley Pavilion, beginning at 2 p.m. UCLA will webcast the meet on uclabruins.com, with Darren Preston and former U.S. Olympian and NCAA champion Steve McCain on the call. Sunday's meet is UCLA's Second Annual Breast Cancer Awareness meet and the Bruins will wear leotards with pink accents and pink ribbons. All fans are encouraged to wear pink, and pink wristbands will be given away to all attendees. Pink Crocs will also be given away to 30 lucky fans.
>> Of note: UCLA will have its last home meet of the season in a quadrangular on Sunday, March 9, with Alabama, Arkansas and Cal State Fullerton.
Women’s Swimming:
>> Last week: The Bruins are ranked 15th in the nation and finished fourth in the Pac-10 Swimming & Diving Championships, held in Long Beach (swimming) and Federal Way, Washington (diving). Competing with a young team, the Bruins set more than a dozen lifetime bests and set a school record 7:14.73 in the 4 x 200 m Freestyle Relay on Wednesday with freshmen Lauren Hall, Alex Sullivan and Emily Bibb plus junior Anna Poteete.
>> This week: UCLA is off until the NCAA Zone E meet in Oklahoma City on March 13-15.
Women’s Tennis:
>> Last week: The Bruins came into the week ranked 11th in the nation, but dropped Wednesday’s match to No. 4 Baylor, 5-2, at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, and then upset No. 6 Stanford on Friday, 4-3. Senior Tracy Lin upset ninth-ranked Jessica Nguyen of Stanford to clinch the win. UCLA didn’t fare as well on Saturday, losing to No. 8 California, 4-3, despite an upset win by 10th-ranked Riza Zalameda over seventh-ranked Susie Babos in three sets.
>> This week: UCLA is 9-4 and hosts Washington State on Friday (1:30 p.m.) and Washington on Saturday (11 a.m.) at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Women’s Track & Field:
>> Last week: UCLA took only its vaulters and middle-distance runners to the MPSF Indoor meet in Seattle and placed ninth with 14 1/2 points. Vaulters Ingrid Kantola, Tori Anthony, Kathy Viuf and Megan Jamerson all cleared 13-1 to tie for third place. It was a lifetime best for Jamerson.
>> This week: The Bruins will make one of three appearances in Drake Stadium this season with the UCLA Invitational on Saturday, beginning with field events at 10 a.m.
Women’s Water Polo:
>> Last week: No. 1-ranked UCLA (18-0) shut out UC Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara on Saturday, 12-0, behind three goals from Brittany Rowe.
>> This week: The competition will be tougher this week as the Bruins host No. 2 Stanford on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center and then play San Jose State at Sunset Canyon on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 Bruin teams are in action all over the place this weekend; if you’re in town, you can say goodbye to one of UCLA’s best-ever women’s basketball stars this weekend, senior Lindsay Pluimer (pictured) in her home finales.
Baseball:
>> The Bruins were crushing Cal State Northridge on Tuesday, 22-2, when the game was halted due to darkness; it will be completed April 15. UCLA (2-1) outlasted UC Santa Barbara, 5-4, in 13 innings Wednesday at Jackie Robinson Stadium. On Friday, UCLA will meet Southern University in the inaugural Urban Invitational at 6 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins will then play Bethune-Cookman at the MLB Urban Youth Academy at 5 p.m. Saturday. The academy is at 901 E. Artesia Blvd., Compton. (telephone: [310] 763-3479). The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. The Bruins will finish the weekend at USC at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Softball:
>> The 14-2 Bruins moved up to No. 4 in the national rankings this week and Anjelica Selden was awarded two National Player of the Week awards and Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honors for her three-win, 38-strikeout performance at the Palm Springs Classic last weekend. Freshman second baseman Gionna DiSalvatore was named Pac-10 Player of the Week for her 8-12 hitting spree and slugging percentage of 1.250 in Palm Springs. UCLA shut out Cal State Bakersfield on Wednesday, 3-0, with Donna Kerr (6-1) pitching four innings and Megan Langenfeld finishing the final three frames. This weekend, UCLA plays in the San Diego Classic against James Madison (2 p.m.) and San Diego (4:30 p.m.) on Friday at the University of San Diego, against Eastern Michigan (9 a.m.) and San Diego State (2 p.m.) on Saturday at San Diego State and against Saint Peter's at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at USD.
Track and field:
>> The men’s and women’s teams are in Seattle this weekend for the Mountain Pacific Indoor Championships. More important, the Bruins will open their outdoor season March 8 with the UCLA Invitational at Drake Stadium.
Men’s basketball:
>> UCLA (24-3 overall, 12-2 in the Pac-10) is in the Arizona desert trying to hold on to a one-game lead in the Pac-10. The Bruins are ranked fourth in the nation and have a chance to move up after Tennessee’s loss to Vanderbilt this week, but must defeat Arizona State (17-9, 7-7 in Pac-10 play) tonight and Arizona in Tucson at 1 p.m. Sunday. Tonight’s game will be televised locally on FSN Prime Ticket beginning at 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Pacific time and will be televised nationally on CBS.
Men’s golf:
>> The Bruin "Blue Team" (second squad) finished second this week at the Cal State Bakersfield Spring Invitational, one shot behind Cal State Stanislaus. Junior Erik Flores was the tournament champion, carding a 10-under 206 for the three rounds, one shot ahead of fellow Bruin Craig Leslie. The Bruins are off this weekend.
Men’s tennis:
>> Sixth-ranked UCLA (8-1) stomped UC Santa Barbara at home Wednesday and will travel to La Jolla this weekend for the 119th Pacific Coast Doubles Championships.
Men’s volleyball:
>> Hoping that a change of scenery will help, slumping — but still seventh-ranked — UCLA (10-7) is in Muncie, Ind., this week for matches against No. 14 Ball State on Friday and Saturday evenings, both starting at 4:30 p.m. Pacific time. The Cardinals (10-6) have won nine of their last 10. Live audio of the matches can be heard on the BallStateSports.com website.
Women’s basketball:
>> The Bruins (14-13 overall, 9-7 [5th] in Pac-10 play) finish their 2007-08 home schedule with games against Arizona State (18-9, 12-4) tonight at Pauley Pavilion and on Saturday against Arizona (9-18, 3-13) at 11 a.m. Both games will be audiocast on uclabruins.com with Dave Marcus on the play-by-play and Michael Sondheimer as analyst. Saturday’s game also will be available on KTLK-AM (1150). These will be the final home games in the outstanding career of senior Lindsay Pluimer, who ranks sixth in the Pac-10 in scoring (14.5 points per game), eighth in rebounding (6.4 per game) and in the top 10 in six of the 13 individual categories.
Women’s golf:
>> The Bruins are top-ranked, but all bets are off in high winds and strong UCLA efforts in rounds one and three at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational — second-best each day — was for naught as the second round blew any chance UCLA had for victory. The Bruins finished sixth overall with their best individual performance by All-American Tiffany Joh. She overcame an 80 in the second round to shoot a two-under 70 in the final round and finish fifth overall. UCLA is off until March 9.
Women’s gymnastics:
>> UCLA (12-1) lost to No. 2 Utah last Sunday and suffered injuries to all-around stars Anna Li and Brittani McCullough, both of whom had concussions. The Bruins are, however, ranked ninth in the country and will take on No. 10 Oregon State (8-1) at 2 p.m. Sunday at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA will webcast the meet on uclabruins.com, with Darren Preston and former U.S. Olympian and NCAA champion Steve McCain on the call. Sunday's meet is UCLA's second annual Breast Cancer Awareness meet and the Bruins will wear leotards with pink accents and pink ribbons. All fans are encouraged to wear pink, and pink wristbands will be given away to all attendees. Pink Crocs will also be given away to 30 lucky fans.
Women’s swimming:
>> UCLA is competing in the Pac-10 Swim Championships this week in Long Beach (swimming) and Federal Way, Wash. (diving). Ranked 15th in the nation, the Bruins set a school record 7:14.73 in the 4 x 200 m freestyle relay Wednesday with freshmen Lauren Hall, Alex Sullivan and Emily Bibb plus junior Anna Poteete. The meet continues through Saturday at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach.
Women’s tennis:
>> The Bruins (8-3) are ranked 11th in the nation, but dropped Wednesday’s match to No. 4 Baylor (10-1), 5-2, at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. UCLA has its hands full this weekend as well, with No. 6 Stanford coming to the LATC at 1:30 p.m. Friday, followed on Saturday by No. 8 California.
Women’s water polo:
>> No. 1-ranked UCLA (17-0) has only one match this week, at UC Santa Barbara, beginning at noon Saturday.
Lindsay Pluimer photo courtesy of UCLA
UCLA moved up to fourth (from sixth) in the Associated Press (writer’s) poll today, with Tennessee and Memphis ranked 1-2 and North Carolina third. Also:
>> The roster for the Jordan Classic, a high school all-star game to be played April 19 at 7 p.m. (Eastern time) at Madison Square Garden and televised by ESPN2, contained some familiar names for Bruin fans. Guards Jrue Holiday from North Hollywood Campbell Hall and Malcolm Lee from Riverside J.W. North and power forward Drew Gordon of San Jose Archbishop Mitty -– all of whom have signed letters of intent to attend UCLA in the fall –- were selected.
>> The special white-and-pink jerseys worn by UCLA for its "Think Pink" Week game against Washington at Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 10 were auctioned online after the game and raised $5,062.60. All of it will be donated to the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center to further breast cancer research. The highest single bid was $660 for Erica Tukiainen’s No. 13 UCLA jersey.
A soggy weekend ruined some of the schedule, but for the Bruin men’s basketball team, things couldn’t be sunnier!
Baseball:
>> Last week: The Bruins finally got to play, but the schedule was re-arranged thanks to the weather. After a Friday rainout, UCLA opened its season Saturday with a dramatic 7-5 win over Oklahoma as right fielder Gabe Cohen blasted a two-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning. Freshman Dan Klein (1-0) got the win. In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Sooners came back to defeat UCLA, 3-2, in 12 innings. Starter Tim Murphy held Oklahoma to two runs in six innings and Brendan Lafferty pitched four innings of scoreless ball, but Klein gave up a run in the top of the 12th and took the loss (1-1).
>> This week: The Sunday game with Oklahoma was rained out, so the Bruins will play next on Tuesday at Jackie Robinson Stadium against Cal State Northridge and Wednesday against UC Santa Barbara. Game time for both is 6 p.m. On Friday, UCLA will host Southern at Jackie Robinson Stadium (6 p.m.) and then play Bethune-Cookman on ESPN2 on Saturday at 5 p.m. UCLA will have its first meeting of the season with USC at Dedeaux Field on Sunday, March 2 at 1 p.m.
Football:
>> Last week: UCLA confirmed last week that Eric Scott is no longer on the football staff and that Reggie Moore will be the wide receivers coach in 2008.
Men’s Basketball:
>> Last week: The Bruins began the week ranked No. 6 in the nation and they will move up thanks to defeats of teams ahead of them (Memphis, Kansas, Duke) and two wins against Oregon State (84-49) and Oregon (75-65). In Saturday’s game, UCLA (24-3, 12-2 Pac-10) trailed for almost 31 minutes and was down, 48-37, before dominating the final 13 minutes of the game, outscoring the Ducks, 38-17, to end the game.
>> This week: The Bruins head to Arizona for games against Arizona State (17-9, 7-7) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and against Arizona (17-10, 7-7) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Men’s Golf:
>> Last week: The second-ranked Bruins finished second to No. 4 Alabama in the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational in Ponte Vedra, Fla., early in the week. UCLA soph Jason Kang tied for second at 214 (-2) for the three rounds and defending champion Kevin Chappell tied for 12th.
>> This week: The Bruin "Blue Team" (second squad) will play in the Cal State Bakersfield Spring Invitational at Seven Oaks Country Club on Monday and Tuesday.
Men’s Tennis:
>> Last week: The sixth-ranked Bruins had both of their matches canceled, against Arizona State and Arizona. Because these matches do not count in the Pac-10 standings, they will not be made up.
>> This week: Weather permitting, the Bruins (7-1) will be back in action Wednesday against UC Santa Barbara at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. UCLA will also send teams to the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship in La Jolla, being held from Friday through Sunday.
Men’s Volleyball:
>> Last week: UCLA (10-7, 7-6 in MPSF play) has lost four of its last six Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches, losing twice this past week at UC Santa Barbara and at Cal State Northridge, both times in four sets. Sophomore Garrett Muagututia had a career night against the Matadors, hitting .480 with 31 kills, but UCLA failed to close out the third set despite having three set points and then lost the fourth set, 30-28.
>> This week: UCLA finishes its midseason, six-game road trip with two matches against Ball State in Muncie, Ind., on Friday and Saturday.
Women’s Basketball:
>> Last week: UCLA split two games on the road, defeating Oregon State in Corvallis, 55-52, on Thursday night and then dropping a 66-55 decision to Oregon at McArthur Court in Eugene on Saturday. As usual, senior Lindsay Pluimer led the Bruins in scoring in both games, with 17 and 15 points, respectively.
>> This week: The Bruins (14-13, 9-7 for fifth in the Pac-10) complete their regular-season schedule at home against Arizona State (17-9, 11-4 for 3rd in Pac-10) on Thursday night and against Arizona (9-18, 3-13 for 9th in Pac-10) on Saturday at 11 a.m. In the first meetings, UCLA lost to Arizona State and defeated Arizona on the road.
Women’s Golf:
>> This week: The No. 1-ranked women’s golf team will find out just how good it is starting Monday at the Wildcat Invitational in Tuscon. A total of 12 of the top 25 teams in the nation will compete, including No. 2 Duke (three-time defending NCAA champions), No. 3 Arizona State and No. 4 USC. UCLA boasts three players ranked in the top ten in the nation: All-American Tiffany Joh (5th) and freshmen Maria Jose Uribe (7th) and Glory Yang (9th).
Women’s Gymnastics:
>> Last week: The ninth-ranked Bruins eased past Arizona, 196.575 to 196.050, in Tucson to run their record to 12-0.
>> This week: No. 2-ranked Utah (8-0) comes to Pauley Pavilion today at 2 p.m. in a major test for the Bruins. The match will be Webcast live on the All-Access section of the uclabruins.com site (registration required).
Women’s Soccer:
>> Last week: UCLA’s sophomore scoring machine, Lauren Cheney, made the U.S. National Team for the Algarve Cup in Portugal from March 5-12. If she plays well, she has an opportunity to be part of the U.S. team for the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament in April in Juarez, Mexico.
Women’s Softball:
>> Last week: UCLA is ranked fifth in the nation and has been busy at the Palm Springs Classic. The Bruin defeated Massachusetts, 4-2, and No. 18 Georgia, 5-2, on Friday and then followed up with two impressive wins Saturday. First, Anjelica Selden tossed a four-hitter as UCLA stomped No. 10 Baylor, 6-1, and then freshman Donna Kerr pitched a one-hit shutout as the Bruins cruised past No. 14 Hawaii, 3-0, in the nightcap. Selden improved to 6-1 on the season while Kerr is now 5-1 with a 0.88 ERA.
>> This week: UCLA (12-2) finishes up in the Coachella Valley with a game against No. 2 Northwestern today, then hosts Cal State Bakersfield on Wednesday at Easton Stadium. The Bruins then head south to the San Diego Invitational for five games in three days from Friday through Sunday.
Women’s Tennis:
>> Last week: The seventh-ranked Bruins were rained out against Arizona State on Friday, but defeated Arizona in Tucson, 6-1, yesterday to improve to 8-1 on the season.
>> This week: UCLA will take on Arizona State today in Tempe, weather permitting, and then start a busy week at home: Baylor on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., Stanford (5-1) on Friday at 1:30 p.m. and California (3-2) on Saturday beginning at noon.
Women’s Water Polo:
>> Last week: No. 1-ranked UCLA drowned Cal State Northridge, 12-4, and No. 9 Loyola Marymount. 11-6, on Saturday at the UC Irvine Invitational. Katie Rulon had four goals in the opener and Brittany Rowe added three goals against LMU to lead UCLA.
>> This week: UCLA (16-0) zipped past No. 5 Cal, 9-4 this morning and will play in the tournament championship match this afternoon at 5:15 p.m. Courtney Mathewson, Rowe and Anne Belden each had two goals for UCLA and goalkeeper Brittany Fullen had 11 saves. The Bruins have only one other match this week, at UC Santa Barbara next Saturday at noon.
It’s a busy weekend for the Bruins, with four teams playing on campus and two hoping not to be rained out. In addition to the men’s nationally televised basketball game Saturday against Oregon, the undefeated women’s gymnastics team will face its severest test of the season — and measure its possibilities on the national level — at home Sunday against No. 2-ranked Utah.
Baseball:
>> The Bruins — ranked as high as No. 1 in one poll — were to start their 2008 season Friday, but their game against Oklahoma was rained out. Weather permitting, a doubleheader will be played at Jackie Robinson Stadium at noon Saturday. Sophomore left-hander Gavin Brooks (6-7 last season, 4.47 ERA) will start for the Bruins in game one, with junior lefty Tim Murphy (5-4, 5.68 ERA last season) in game two. Fans who attend the Bruins’ basketball contest with Oregon can gain free admission to the nightcap by simply showing their basketball ticket stub at the admission gate.
Softball:
>> No. 5 UCLA continues its second straight week on the road, this time in the Coachella Valley at the Palm Springs Classic. The Bruins won twice Friday, defeating Massachusetts, 4-2, in its first game and then coming from behind to top No. 18 Georgia, 5-2. Freshman Donna Kerr improved to 4-1 on the season with an assist from Angelica Selden, who earned a save for pitching the seventh inning. Selden (5-1) then went all the way in the nightcap, allowing only two hits and striking out 13. On Saturday, UCLA will face No. 10 Baylor at 12:30 p.m. and No. 14 Hawaii at 8 p.m. The Bruins will play powerhouse Northwestern at 11 a.m. Sunday.
Men’s basketball:
>> No. 6 UCLA is now 23-3 on the year and 11-2 in the Pac-10, and will try to stay in first place against Oregon in a nationally televised game at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Pauley Pavilion. The 15-11 Ducks (6-8 in the Pac-10) desperately need a win to bolster their NCAA Tournament selection hopes. The game will be seen locally on ABC with Brent Musburger and former Bruin Coach Steve Lavin calling the action. As always, the game will be on the radio on KLAC-AM (570), with Chris Roberts on play-by-play and Don MacLean as analyst.
Men’s tennis:
>> The sixth-ranked Bruins (7-1) were supposed to meet 5-0 Arizona State on Friday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, but the match was canceled after 10 minutes of play because of rain. UCLA will meet 8-1 Arizona (weather permitting) at the tennis center at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, with the Arizona State match rescheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday.
Men’s volleyball:
>> The Bruins are ranked No. 6 in the country, but had a bad week, losing in four sets Wednesday at UC Santa Barbara and in four sets Friday night at No. 4 Cal State Northridge. UCLA is now 10-7 overall and 7-6 (fifth) in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
Women’s basketball:
>> UCLA improved to 14-12 overall and 9-6 in the Pac-10 with a tight 55-52 win Thursday at Oregon State. Now standing fifth in the Pac-10, UCLA will play Saturday at McArthur Court in Eugene, Ore., against 11-16 Oregon with tip-off at 2 p.m. The game will be audiocast live on uclabruins.com, with Dave Marcus and Jamila Veasley at the microphones. It’s UCLA’s last road trip of the regular season as the Bruins will finish at home next week against the Arizonas.
Women’s gymnastics:
>> The ninth-ranked Bruins knocked off Arizona in Tucson on Friday night, 196.575-196.050, to run their record to 12-0 this season in advance of Sunday’s showdown with Utah at Pauley Pavilion. The second-ranked Utes are 6-0 this season and have a stunning all-time record of 21-2 against the Bruins. The match will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday and will be webcast on the all-access channel of uclabruins.com, with Darren Preston and former U.S. Olympian Steve McCain on the call. Fans wearing blue to Pauley will receive $2 off admission, and the first 1,000 fans wearing blue will receive Bruin foam "paws."
Women’s tennis:
>> Seventh-ranked UCLA (7-1) saw its match with No. 18 Arizona State (6-0) rained out Friday in Tempe; it will be made up Sunday (weather permitting) beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Saturday’s match at Arizona (5-3) is hoped to start on time at noon.
Women’s water polo:
>> No. 1-ranked UCLA cruises into the UC Irvine Invitational with a glossy 13-0 record and will play Cal State Northridge at 9 a.m. Saturday, and then either Arizona State or Loyola Marymount at 2 p.m. Both games will take place at Corona del Mar High School. The Bruins also will play Sunday against an as-yet-undetermined opponent.
UCLA remained No. 6 in the Associated Press poll released this morning, with Stanford at No. 9 and Washington State at No. 17.
Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal compiled a list of the top schools in basketball revenue, based on information provided by the schools to the U.S. Department of Education. For the 2006-07 academic year, UCLA ranked 25th in the nation at $9.11 million. That’s up about 7% from the 2005-06 figure of $8.53 million.
The top-ranked teams in the nation, according to the Department of Education, were:
1. Louisville, $23.22 million
2. North Carolina, $17.22 million
3. Arizona, $16.71 million
4. Texas, $14.68 million
5. Wisconsin, $14.33 million
Arizona and UCLA were the only Pac-10 schools on the list. Five of the top 25 were in the ACC and eight were from the Big 10. It’s worth noting, however, that the schools do not disclose how they arrived at the figures for each sport, so it’s not an "apples to apples" comparison. Large items such as distribution of donations, concessions and merchandising may be applied differently at different schools.
As for the Bruins, the men’s basketball program netted $3.37 million for 2005-06 and that figure improved to $3.85 million (+ 14%) for 2006-07 and will rise again for this season as Pauley Pavilion was essentially sold out.
The women’s basketball program’s revenue dipped from $380,178 in 2005-06 (the team was 21-11) to $192,484 in 2006-07 (14-18), but expenses also dropped, from $1.56 million to $1.45 million.
What about football? For the 2006 season (2006-07 academic year), revenues rose 20% to $23.54 million over the year prior (2005 season) but expenses were $16.87 million, up 25%, so the net settled at $6.67 million, up about 9%.
 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.
UCLA has gotten off to its usual miserable start in even-numbered years in the Lexus Gauntlet challenge against USC. The Bruins, winners in each of the odd-numbered years, trail, 40-12 1/2, in the 2007-08 competition, with 57 1/2 points needed to win. The Bruins could mount a challenge, however, with a three-sport sweep in men’s and women’s basketball and women’s swimming. Otherwise, forget it.
One of UCLA's most memorable national championships will be remembered during halftime at Sunday's women's basketball game against USC: the 1978 AIAW women's basketball title on a brilliant team that featured Ann Meyers, Anita Ortega, Denise Curry and others.
Baseball:
UCLA’s Alumni Day will be held Saturday at the newly renovated Jackie Robinson Stadium. Because of new NCAA rules, the alumni cannot play the current Bruin team, so an alumni vs. alumni game will be held at 11:30 a.m., and the Bruin team will play a six-inning intrasquad game starting at 1 p.m. Admission is free.
Softball:
The sixth-ranked Bruin women (4-1) are on the road this week in and around Las Vegas for five games at the UNLV Louisville Slugger Desert Classic. UCLA will open with No. 22 Missouri and South Carolina on Friday, followed by games with Illinois and Portland State on Saturday and Wisconsin on Sunday.
Men’s basketball:
The Bruins (21-3, 9-2 in the Pac-10) will try to stay in first place in the conference with a game against USC (15-8, 6-5) at 7 p.m. Sunday at Galen Center. The game is sold out (UCLA received 100 tickets, the same as USC received for the game at Pauley Pavilion), but several viewing parties are being organized, including one by the South Bay Bruin Club at Gameworks in Long Beach and another by FSN Prime Ticket at El Guapo Rock 'n' Roll Cantina and Sports Bar on Melrose Avenue west of La Brea Avenue.
Men’s tennis:
UCLA (5-0) is seeded eighth in the 33rd USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships taking place this weekend in Seattle. The Bruins will start with No. 9 Notre Dame (6-1) on Friday morning. The Bruins have won this championship seven times and have been the winner twice and runner-up once in the three times that the event has been held in Seattle.
Men’s volleyball:
No. 5 UCLA (9-4 overall, 6-3 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play) will start a six-match road trip, with two matches in Honolulu against Hawaii (3-6, 2-4 in MPSF play) today and Friday, both beginning at 7 p.m. Hawaiian time. The Bruins lead the series, 49-18, and have won four straight against the Warriors, including a 3-2 win earlier this season.
Women’s basketball:
UCLA (13-11, 8-5 in the Pac-10) will play host to USC (15-9, 8-5) at 2 p.m. Sunday at Pauley Pavilion to break a fourth-place tie in the conference race. The game will be broadcast live on KTLK-AM 1150. USC defeated UCLA, 64-56, in a fight-marred game in January at Galen Center.
It will be a special day as the 1978 AIAW national championship team will be honored during halftime. The Bruins won the title before a screaming crowd of 9,351 at Pauley Pavilion over Maryland. Each member of the 1978 squad is expected to be in attendance, including four UCLA Hall of Famers in head coach Billie Moore and players Ann Meyers Drysdale, Denise Curry and Anita Ortega. Moore, Meyers and Ortega are also members of the Naismith and Women's Basketball Halls of Fame. All team members will be presented | |
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