The second-ranked UCLA men’s tennis team (10-1) dropped
its first match of the season Friday, losing 4-2 to Virginia in the
quarterfinals of the National Team Indoors in Chicago. The No. 9
Cavaliers (8-1), who advanced to the finals with three victories
over top-10 teams before falling to No. 1 Baylor, were simply too
much for the Bruins in singles play. Without Luben Pampoulov (neck
injury) in the singles lineup, UCLA wasn’t able to keep any
of the momentum it had from winning the doubles point. Senior Kris
Kwinta was the only Bruin to win his singles match, as Chris Lam,
Alberto Francis, Philipp Gruendler and Mathieu Dehaine all lost in
straight sets. Benjamin Kohlloeffel’s match was suspended in
the third set with the team result already decided. Rather than
being too disappointed with the loss, the Bruins responded with a
convincing 4-1 victory over No. 3 Florida on Saturday in a
consolation match. UCLA lost the doubles point, but Pampoulov,
Kohlloeffel, Francis and Kwinta all secured straight set victories.
The Bruins return home next week to host No. 7 Stanford on Friday
at 1:30 p.m. and No. 32 California on Saturday at 1 p.m.
WOMEN’S TENNIS: No. 11 UCLA’s two
matches against the Arizona schools were canceled due to rain over
the weekend. Because neither match was scheduled to count toward
the Pac-10 standings, they will not be made up at another time. The
Bruins are scheduled to play the Wildcats and the Sun Devils at the
end of March on the road in a pair of matches that will count
toward the conference standings. UCLA’s next match is
scheduled for Friday at Stanford.
SOFTBALL: In the UCLA softball team’s
only game at the Campbell/Cartier Classic in San Diego, the Bruins
beat Georgia 2-0 on Friday with a dominating 16-strikeout shutout
performance by pitcher Anjelica Selden. UCLA had four games rained
out over the weekend ““ games against Utah and Notre Dame on
Saturday and against Florida International and San Diego State on
Sunday. The Bruins have now had eight games rained out in the past
two weekends. Selden allowed only one hit in her complete game
““ an infield single ““ with her 16 strikeouts marking
the highest total in her freshman season at UCLA. To start her
Bruin career, Selden has gone 5-0 with an ERA of 0.18 and has
struck out 79 batters in 40 innings, allowing only two walks. The
Bruins scored on solo home runs by third baseman Andrea Duran and
shortstop Jodie Legaspi, both coming in the sixth inning. It was
Legaspi’s team-leading fourth home run of the season. UCLA as
a whole had only four hits on Friday. It was the No. 3
Bruins’ fourth win in four games against No. 20 Georgia this
season. UCLA’s next games are Friday at the Palm Springs
Classic against Notre Dame and Bethune Cookman.
HOCKEY: The UCLA club hockey team’s
turnaround season ended Saturday in Berkeley as the Bruins took
home third place in the end-of-the-year Pac-8 Tournament. The
Bruins began the tournament as the No. 1 seed, but were upset 6-4
in Friday’s opening game by No. 4 Washington despite junior
center Martin Galstyan’s hat trick and a goal by sophomore
right wing Scott Freschet. UCLA rebounded in Saturday’s
consolation match against second-seeded Cal, holding on through a
scoreless third period to win 2-1. Sophomore defenseman Brad
Whitworth opened the scoring for the Bruins with a first period
goal and Galstyan added the game-winner in the second period.
Third-seeded Oregon was the surprise tournament champion, defeating
Washington 3-2 in the tournament final. The Bruins, despite not
winning the conference tournament, enjoyed a successful season
after an 11-61 stretch over their past three seasons. UCLA finished
the year at 16-6 and also claimed the Crosstown Cup from USC for
the first time in six years.
WOMEN’S GOLF: Rain postponed the first
round of the Arizona Wildcat Invitational, which is scheduled to
last the next two days. Though the Bruins have not won the
tournament in 12 years, they recorded one of their highest finishes
there in 10 years last season. Melissa Martin, who tied for sixth
at the Regional Challenge playing as an individual, will make her
first appearance in UCLA’s lineup since October. Charlotte
Mayorkas, Susie Matthews, Hannah Jun and Amie Cochran will also
represent the Bruins, while Vanessa Brockett will compete as an
individual.
MEN’S GOLF: After 36 holes in the
Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championships, the No. 11 UCLA men’s
golf team sits tied for second place, tallying a 36-hole total of
592 (+16). UCLA put up the second best mark of the day with a score
of 300 (+12), only trailing Alabama, which holds a four-stroke lead
over the Bruins. UCLA sophomore Peter Campbell is tied for 31st
place at 150 (+6) after posting the team’s best round with a
one-over par 73. First-round leader South Carolina was tied with
UCLA after posting a team score of 306 (+18) in the second round.
Florida was fourth at 594, followed by LSU at 595. Sophomore Joakim
Renstrom is tied for fourth place at 145 (+1). Freshman Daniel Im
is tied for 19th at 149 (+5) after penciling a 77, and freshman
Kevin Chappell was tied for 31st at 150. Senior John Poucher
tallied a 79 (+7) and was tied for 55th at 154 (+10).
MEN’S LACROSSE: Led by senior midfielder
Stephan Howespian’s four goals, UCLA defeated UC Davis 10-5
on Saturday. Freshman attackman Jon Reed added three goals and an
assist, while Will Jun and Patrick Chung each had one goal and two
assists. Defensively, Spencer Fivelson recorded 16 saves for the
Bruins, who improved to 2-2 on the season. UCLA faces UC San Diego
at home this Saturday.
Compiled by Bruin Sports senior staff.