Alex Roelse didn’t have a typical off-season. The junior utility had just returned from Olympics duty to rejoin the UCLA water polo team for the 2016 season. Read more...
Photo: Junior utility Alex Roelse played for U.S. men’s senior national team in Rio this summer, the culmination of months of intense water polo training that has turned him into one of UCLA’s most dominant players in the water. (Aubrey Yeo/Daily Bruin senior staff)
Eleven women clad in blue and white jerseys scattered across the field in San Diego, prepared to kick the new season off in style. One player zipped past multiple San Diego State defenders, threatening to score several times, the number 10 stamped on her back. Read more...
Photo: Sophomore forward Julia Hernandez started playing soccer at the age of 12 in her hometown of Madrid. She enrolled at Eastern Florida State for her freshman season – earning junior college All-American honors – then transferred to UCLA. (Aubrey Yeo/Daily Bruin senior staff)
Lily Spratt had never been to a football game before. Neither had Austin Jones or their friend Nathaniel. Just before kickoff against UNLV, the kids were roaming the sidelines of the Rose Bowl next to the UCLA bench, watching the team warm up. Read more...
Photo: Deon Hollins was one of the players who went over to greet the kids from Special Spectators. The kids were able to tour the UCLA football locker room and run around the field before the game. (Michael Zshornack/Assistant Photo editor)
Patricia Jones’ face lights up as she thinks about the day her youngest son became the first member of her family to graduate from college. “I can’t stop saying it – I tell him every time I talk to him, ‘I’m so proud of you,’” Jones said of UCLA redshirt senior wide receiver Kenneth Walker III. Read more...
Photo: Redshirt senior wide receiver Kenneth Walker III played the best game of his college career in the season opener against Texas A&M, catching six passes for 115 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown that helped the Bruins erase a 15-point deficit. (Miriam Bribiesca/Photo editor)
In the ultra-competitive world of Division I sports, schools from across the country are constantly searching for any kind of edge they can get. Alabama football coach Nick Saban sent over 100 letters a day to running back Alvin Kamara, and Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin draws recruits with his Aggies “swagcopter” – just to name a few. Read more...
Photo: Director of Sports Nutrition Beth Miller runs the fueling station for UCLA’s student-athletes. Miller also teaches them how to make healthy meals through cooking competitions. (Emaan Baqai/Daily Bruin senior staff)
If you walk into Drake Stadium on a weekday around 11 a.m., you’ll see a group of elite-level athletes working out with legendary sprint coach and UCLA alum John Smith. Read more...
Photo: After testing positive for cocaine, Blake Leeper wasn’t allowed to practice at the U.S. Olympic Committee training center anymore. He got back on track at UCLA’s Drake Stadium. (Miriam Bribiesca/Daily Bruin photo editor)
Alterraun Verner calls himself “just a normal guy.” The UCLA alum posts pictures on Instagram of his family on vacation, friends goofing off in a photo booth at Mayfair High School’s 10-year reunion and himself working out and playing football. Read more...
Photo: UCLA alum Alterraun Verner spends much of his time off the field volunteering with Athletes for Charity. (Courtesy of Cathleen Laporte)
