UCLA: UCLA Bruins

The UCLA women's golf team came up short in its national title defense, finishing in eighth place at the NCAA championships Friday at Vanderbilt Legends Golf Club in Tennessee.

The top-ranked Bruins shot five-over 293 in the final round and finished with a total of 29-over 1181, 10 shots back of champion Alabama. USC was second at 1172 and Louisiana State was third at 1173.

Tiffany Lua had the round of the day for UCLA with a two-under 70. Brianna Do shot 73, Erynne Lee had a 74 and Lee Lopez shot 76. Do was the top individual finisher for UCLA with a four-day total of five-over 293 to finish tied for 14th, 11 shots behind champion Chirapat Jao-Javanil of Oklahoma.

Complete results are available here.
UCLA's chances of defending its national title in women's golf took a turn for the worse when the top-ranked Bruins stumbled to an 18-over 306 Thursday in the third round of the NCAA championships and dropped into ninth place with one round to go.

UCLA, which began the day in second place, has a three-day total of 24-over 888 and trails leader Alabama by 11 shots heading into the final round. USC is two shots back with Purdue, South Carolina and Virgina tied for third at 883.

Ani Gulugian and Erynee Lee shot four-over 76 to pace the Bruins Thursday. Brianna Do and Lee Lopez each shot 77. Do is the top UCLA player in the individual race with a three-day total of four-over 220. She is tied for 17th place, eight strokes behind leaders Chirapat Jao-Javanil of Oklahoma and Giulia Molinaro of Arizona State.

Complete results are available here.
Defending national champion UCLA climbed up the leaderboard after shooting two-over 290 Wednesday in the second round at the NCAA women's golf championships, but the Bruins still fell further behind leader Alabama, which has an 11-shot lead and is threatening to run away with the tournament at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Tennessee.

The No. 1-ranked Bruins began the day in fifth place and vaulted into a tie for second with North Carolina and Virginia with a two-day total of six-over at the midway point, but they still lost ground after the No. 2 Crimson Tide shot a second-round 285 to finish the second round with a two-day total of five-under.

Brianna Do shot one-under 71 Wednesday for UCLA's best round of the day while Erynne Lee, Lee Lopez and Tiffany Lua each shot 73. Do is in a tie for ninth in the individual competition with a two-day total of one under. She is five shots behind leader Brooke Pancake of Alabama.

Complete results are available here.

Players reject SI allegations against Nelson

May, 23, 2012
May 23
6:06
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Former UCLA player Reeves Nelson filed a lawsuit against Sports Illustrated and reporter George Dohrmann Wednesday and the suit includes declarations from 18 current and former UCLA players who reject various claims made in a March Sports Illustrated article that depicted Nelson as a boorish player with a propensity for violence and out-of-control behavior.

Some, such as Drew Grodon, and Tyler Trapani, were alleged victims of Nelson's violent antics who said Nelson never did to them what the Sports Illustrated story said. Others, such as Blake Arnet and Alex Schrempf, said they spoke with Dohrmann and told him the information he had was incorrect only to see it end up in print anyway.

All of them disagreed with the Sports Illustrated depiction of Nelson as a player who intentionally injured teammates and was coddled by coach Ben Howland, who turned a blind eye to Nelson's transgressions.

"I never saw Nelson intentionally hurt or intentionally try to hurt any member of the UCLA basketball team or staff, nor do I believe that Nelson ever intentionally hurt or tried to hurt any member of the UCLA basketball team or staff," reads a passage in each of the 18 declarations. "I did not observe and do not believe that Coach Howland favored Nelson over the other players in any fashion, not with respect to discipline or anything else."

Some players addressed specific incidents alleged in the article. Gordon, for instance, was reported to have gotten into an off-campus fight with Nelson that resulted in a black eye for Gordon, but Gordon's declaration stated "The article’s description of Nelson’s behavior toward me is false. We have never had a fight, not at a teammate’s apartment or anywhere else, nor has Nelson ever given me a black eye from a fight or otherwise."

The Sports Illustrated story also reported that Schrempf, a former UCLA walk-on, suffered a serious back injury as a result of a Nelson attack during practice. Schrempf's declaration said that never happened. In his declaration, Schrempf acknowledged speaking with Dohrmann but told Dohrmann his facts were wrong.

"During our conversation, Dohrmann specifically told me that he had 'heard' that Nelson intentionally injured me during practice by knocking me to the ground from behind," Schrempf's statement says. "According to Dohrmann’s 'source,' Nelson’s conduct caused me to suffer a serious back injury. I explained to Dohrmann that this version of events was incorrect."

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UCLA impresses in midweek and on the road

May, 22, 2012
May 22
11:09
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IRVINE, Calif.--If coach John Savage and the UCLA baseball team had any say in the matter, they'd like to move the entire college baseball season to Tuesdays.

And if they could play the games on the road, that would be even better.

The Bruins finished the midweek and road portions of their schedule with a 6-2 victory Tuesday at UC Irvine and ended the season a perfect 11-0 in Tuesday games and 20-4 away from home.

It's a testament to the tenaciousness of the No. 10 Bruins (39-14), who finish the regular season with a three-game series against USC Friday through Sunday at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

"We just put high value on midweek games," Savage said. "In terms of RPI and total wins, they’re very important. They aren’t conference games, but at the end of the day, they are highly important and this year we took care of business."

These aren't cupcake teams the Bruins are scheduling on Tuesdays, either. Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, Pepperdine and UC Irvine are all traditional powers who have fallen victim to the Bruins in midweek games this season.

"It was nice to come out and get a win and finish it and go undefeated on Tuesdays," said shortstop Pat Valaika, who had two hits and two RBIs Tuesday. "It’s a testament to our team. We don’t take games off. We take every game like it’s our last. We don’t want to just give up any games. That’s not the way we play and we proved it by coming out every Tuesday and doing our thing."

Another thing the Bruins seem to do is win on the road, which might prove more important come NCAA tournament selection time. With a 19-4 road record and 1-0 neutral site record, the Bruins are among the top two in the nation with an .833 winning percentage away from home.

"That’s pretty impressive and all the credit goes to the players being ready and having discipline on the road," Savage said. "We just feel comfortable on the road. Some teams don’t, but I just feel like it’s a credit to our guys having and anytime, anywhere mentality."

The Bruins have played their last nine games on the road and have won eight of them, but now need that mentality at home. UCLA conclude the regular season this weekend at Jackie Robinson Stadium with quite a bit at stake. They are two games out of first in the Pac-12 title race, in the running to host an NCAA tournament regional and could also get a top-eight national seeding for the NCAA tournament. Oh, and they are playing the crosstown rival who would certainly like nothing better than to spoil those things for the Bruins.

"We’ve been embracing the fact that we’re playing on the road and I think we all thrive on it," said catcher Tyler Heineman. "But there is a lot of stuff going on this weekend and I think we just need to focus on our series with USC so we can continue to thrive at home."

Women's golf fifth after first round of NCAAs

May, 22, 2012
May 22
5:10
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UCLA will have to come from behind in order to defend its national title in women's golf after an opening-round of four-over 292 Tuesday at the Vanderbilt Legends Course in Franklin, Tenn., left the Bruins six shots behind first-place Alabama at the NCAA finals.

Brianna Do and Erynne Lee each shot even-par 72 to lead the top-ranked Bruins, who are tied for fifth place heading into Wednesday's second round. Lee Lopez shot 72 and Tiffany Lua had a 75 to round out UCLA's scoring. Last year, UCLA went wire-to-wire in winning the school's third national title in women's golf.

Full results from the opening round are available here.
The UCLA women's tennis team fell one victory short in its quest for a national championship, as the top-seeded Bruins lost to Florida 4-0 in the NCAA final Tuesday at the University of Georgia.

It is the second consecutive title for Florida (27-1), which knocked UCLA out in the semifinals last year. The Bruins (26-3) were seeking their third national title, but it wasn't to be. UCLA lost the doubles point and never really recovered as Florida posted straight-sets victories at No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 singles to clinch the match. Full results are available here.

"[Florida] played with a lot of energy and fire," UCLA coach Stella Sampras Webster said. "I think we had some chances at 2 and 3, but they played well. They won a lot of the big points. Losing that doubles point was tough. We knew they were a very strong team and they are very deep, but we still felt like we could win this."

No. 1 singles player Robin Anderson was the standout for UCLA in the final, as she held a 6-4, 5-2 lead over Allie Will, the nation's top-ranked singles player, when Florida finished the match. Anderson, a freshman, earned all-tournament honors at No. 1 singles and UCLA's Courtney Dolehide and Pamela Montez earned the all-tournament selection at No. 2 doubles.

Anderson is seeded No. 4 in the NCAA singles tournament, which begins Wednesday. She is also teaming with Skylar Morton in the doubles competition. Dolehide and Montez are also entered in the NCAA doubles tournament.

Golfer Patrick Cantlay wins Hogan Award

May, 22, 2012
May 22
1:05
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UCLA sophomore Patrick Cantlay on Monday became the first Bruin to win the Hogan Award presented annually to the nation's top college golfer.

Cantlay, 20, is the first sophomore to win the award and the second youngest. Only Rickie Fowler, who won as a 19-yaer-old freshman in 2008, was younger.

Cantlay, the top-ranked amateur in the world, has had a remarkable last 12 months. He was low amateur at the Masters in April, finished second at the NCAA Championship last June, tied for 21st at the U.S. Open last June and was runner up in the U.S. Amateur last August.

In 2011 he made the cut in five professional events and shot 10-under 60 at the Traveler's Championship last June, which was the lowest round ever by an amateur in a professional tournament.

This college season, Cantlay earned all-Pac-12 honors and had four top-10l finishes for the Bruins, including a pair of runner-up finishes. He will lead the Bruins in the NCAA finals beginning May 29 at Riviera Country Club.

At the Hogan Award ceremony Monday in Ft. Worth, Tex., Cantlay received an exemption into the PGA Tour's 2013 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. In addition, UCLA was presented with a $20,000 grant to its men's golf scholarship program.

The other finalists were Stanford freshman Patrick Rodgers and Texas freshman Jordan Spieth. Past Hogan Award winners include current PGA Tour standouts Hunter Mahan (Oklahoma State, 2003), Bill Haas (Wake Forest, 2004), and Fowler (Oklahoma State, 2008).
UCLA's run in the NCAA men's tennis championships came to an end with a 4-1 loss to top-seeded USC in a rain-interrupted semifinal Monday at the University of Georgia.

USC (32-1) won the doubles point when No. 2 team Daniel Nguyen and Ray Sarmiento edged UCLA's Nick Meister and Dennis Novikov, 9-8. The Trojans took a 3-1 lead with a pair of commanding 6-1, 6-1 victories at No.1 and No. 2 singles before thunderstorms forced the remaining matches indoors.

Once inside, UCLA's Marcos Giron kept hopes alive for the No. 4-seeded Bruins by finishing a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Emilio Gomez, but Nguyen squeaked past Novikov, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, to clinch the match and end UCLA's season. USC defeated UCLA (26-4) in three of the four meetings between the teams this season. Complete NCAA tournament results are available here.

UCLA advances to NCAA final in women's tennis

May, 21, 2012
May 21
3:36
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Top-seeded UCLA survived a nail-biter but held on to defeat USC, 4-3, in the semifinals of the NCAA women's tennis championships Monday at the University of Georgia and advanced to face No. 2 Florida in the final on Tuesday.

This will mark the eighth appearance for UCLA in the national championship match. The Bruins have won two national titles in women's tennis: the NCAA title in 2008 and the AIAW title in 1981. They lost to Florida, 4-0, in the semifinals last season and the Gators went on to win the national title.

McCall Jones clinched the match Monday with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 victory over Danielle Lao at No. 2 singles. Jones trailed, 1-2, in the third set before rallying to send the Bruins into the NCAA finals for the first time since 2008. The Bruins trailed USC, 3-2, before No. 1 singles player Robin Anderson tied the match with a 6-7 (7-5), 6-4, 6-2 victory over Zoe Scandalis. Complete results are available here.
The UCLA men's tennis team matched the Bruins women's team by advancing to the NCAA semifinals after defeating Ohio State, 4-2, in a national quarterfinal match Sunday at the University of Georgia.

The No. 4-ranked Bruins (26-3) will face No. 1 USC Monday with a spot in the national championship match on the line. UCLA and USC will also meet in a women's national semifinal on Monday. The men's team lost two of three matches against the Trojans this season, including a 4-2 loss April 28 in the Pac-12 tournament final.

On Sunday, the UCLA men's team fell behind, 2-1, before Dennis Novikov, Marcos Giron and Adrien Puget pulled out straight-sets singles victories. Complete results are available here.
UCLA stumbled Saturday in the final round of the NCAA men's golf South Central regional, but finished third and will advance to the NCAA championships May 29 at Riviera Country Club.

The Bruins, leaders after the first two rounds, shot four-over 292 in the third round at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky. and finished with a three-day total of one-under 863--four shots behind regional winner Chattanooga and three behind runner-up Texas A&M.

Other teams advancing out of the regional were Virginia Tech (+10) and Memphis (+12).

Pedro Figueiredo paced the No. 3-ranked Bruins with a two-under 70 Saturday and finished second in the individual race at nine under. Stephan Jaeger of Chattanooga (-13) won the individual championship.

Anton Arboleda and Pontus Widegren each shot 73 for the Bruins on Saturday and Patrick Cantlay rounded out the scoring with a 76. Complete results are available here.
The top-seeded UCLA women's tennis team defeated California, 4-1, in an NCAA quarterfinal Saturday at the University of Georgia, setting up a rematch with No. 5 USC Monday in the semifinals.

Cal and USC were the only teams to defeat UCLA (25-2) this season, though UCLA has won two of the three meetings with USC this season.

The Bruins secured the doubles point when the teams of McCall Jones-Carling Seguso and Courtney Dolehide-Pamela Montez posted 8-4 victories. Skylar Morton, Montez and Seguso then posted straight-sets victories in singles to clinch the match.

Full results are available here.

It is the second consecutive season the Bruins have reached the NCAA semifinals. Last year, they lost to eventual national champion Florida.
UCLA shot one-under 287 Friday in the second round of the NCAA men's golf South Central Regional and holds a two-stroke lead over Texas A&M heading into the final round at The Club at Old Stone in Bowling Green, Ky.

The No. 3-ranked Bruins had a 10-stroke lead after the first round, but No. 15 Texas A&M had four players break par Friday and shot a team total of 10-under 278 to close UCLA's margin. The Bruins have a two-day total of five-under 571. Chattanooga is four shots behind the Bruins at 575.

UCLA junior Pedro Figueiredo shot three-under 69 Friday and is tied with Stephan Jaeger atop the individual leaderboard with a two-day total of seven under. Alex Shi Yup Kim made four birdies over the last five holes Friday and shot a team-best four-under 68 for UCLA. Patrick Cantlay and Anton Arboleda each shot 75 in the second round for the Bruins. Complete scoring is available here.

The top five teams after Saturday's final round will advance to the NCAA finals beginning May 29 at Riviera Country Club.

UCLA defeated Mississippi, 4-1, in the round of 16 of the NCAA men's tennis championships Friday at the University of Georgia.

The Bruins, seeded No. 4, fell behind, 1-0, after the doubles matches, but Marcos Giron, Adrien Puget and Dennis Novikov each swept their singles matches to put UCLA ahead and Dennis Mkrtchian closed out the match with a 6-4, 6-7 (7-4), 6-2 victory at No. 6 singles.

The Bruins advance to play No. 5-seeded Ohio State on Saturday in the quarterfinals.
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2011 TEAM LEADERS

PASSINGATTCOMPYDSTD
K. Prince224126182812
RUSHINGCARYDSAVGTD
J. Franklin1669765.95
D. Coleman1527655.011
RECEIVINGRECYDSAVGTD
N. Rosario64116118.15
J. Fauria3948112.36
TEAMRUSHPASSTOTAL
Offense190.7198.1388.8
TEAMPFPAMARGIN
Scoring23.832.2-8.5