UCLA's Title IX 40: Nicolle Payne, Maylana Martin Douglas
September 25, 2012 | Bruin Athletics
Sept. 25, 2012
Celebrating 40 Years of Title IX
UCLA Athletics continues its celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Title IX with a series of profiles of UCLA's Title IX 40. This group of 40 Bruin women were game-changers in the Title IX era. Next up are All-Americans Nicolle Payne and Maylana Martin Douglas.
Nicolle Payne (1995-98)
Goalkeeper Nicolle Payne, the first women's water polo recruit in UCLA history, helped lead the Bruins to three consecutive National Championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
In the program's second year of existence in 1996, Payne was named the Most Valuable Tournament Goalkeeper at the National Collegiate Championship after making 15 saves in the Bruins' 8-4 win over California in the final. Payne repeated her feat in the 1997 Championship, again earning top honors after an 11-save performance in a 6-3 win over Cal in the title game. Payne and the Bruins won their third consecutive national title during her senior campaign in 1998, downing Cal for the third consecutive time, 7-3, in the final. Payne recorded 13 saves and was again named Tournament MVP.
During Payne's final three seasons, UCLA posted an overall record of 95-3, with just one loss per season, and went unbeaten in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) play (22-0). Payne was a second-team All-American as a freshman in 1995, the National Player of the Year as a sophomore in 1996 and a first-team All-American both as a junior and senior. A four-year team captain, Payne set school records her senior year, posting a 2.77 goals against average and 225 saves.
Internationally, Payne was one of the top U.S. goalies of all-time. An 11-year (1994-2004) member of the U.S. national team, Payne won medals at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. In 2000, she led the U.S. to a silver medal, appearing in all seven games and recording 19 saves, including eight each against Canada and Australia. At the 2004 Games, she helped the USA take home a bronze medal. Additionally, Payne was a starter for the U.S. junior national team that earned a gold medal at the 1995 Pan American Games.
Payne has served as an assistant coach for the UCLA women's team, helping lead the Bruins to three (2001, 2005, 2006) NCAA Championships. In 2001, she served as an assistant coach for the U.S. junior national team that captured the World Junior championship.
In 2009, Payne became the first women's water polo player inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame. She was also among the first women inducted into the New York Athletic Club Hall of Fame in 2007.
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Maylana Martin Douglas, Basketball (1997-2000)
A four-year starting forward and three-time All-American, Maylana Martin led UCLA to two 20-win seasons and a school-best three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1998-2000.
Martin led the Bruins in scoring (18.2 ppg) and rebounding (9.4 rpg) during her junior year as the team enjoyed one of the finest seasons in school history. The 1999 Bruins advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, won the program's first Pac-10 Conference regular season title, and finished with 26 victories. Martin earned first-team Kodak All-America honors and was honored as the 1999 Pac-10 Player of the Year.
Martin began collecting conference and national honors immediately after arriving in Westwood. She was named the 1997 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and an honorable mention AP All-American as a sophomore.
During her senior year, she was a finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year Award for the second consecutive year and was also a second-team Pac-10 All-Academic honoree. She was the third player ever to earn first-team All-Pac-10 honors all four years, and she led the conference in scoring in 2000 with a 17.4 points per game average.
One of just two players in UCLA women's basketball history to score 2,000 career points, Martin still ranks No. 2 overall in scoring (2,101 points) and No. 4 in rebounding (935 rebounds), and her career scoring average (18.1) and rebound average (8.1) remain in the school's all-time Top 5. Her 108 double-digit games rank No. 2 in school history, and she scored 30 or more points eight times, including a career-high 39 points as a senior in 2000. In her Bruin career, she totaled 46 20-point games.
Playing with Team USA, Martin was the team's top scorer (17.9ppg) and averaged 7.0 rebounds to lead the U.S. to a gold medal at the 1997 Junior World Championships.
Following her senior year at UCLA, she was a first-round WNBA draft pick by the Minnesota Lynx and played two years in the league, with the Lynx and Charlotte Sting, before retiring due to a severe back injury.
At the conclusion of her playing career, Martin entered the coaching profession. In 2003-04 she was a women's basketball assistant at the University of Portland, and from 2004-08, she returned to UCLA as an assistant coach and helped lead the Bruins to their first Pac-10 Tournament title in 2006. Martin also served as a women's basketball assistant coach at Pepperdine from 2008-10.
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Previous Title IX 40 Profiles
Karen Moe/Janet Coles
Terry Condon/Jan Palchikoff
Sue Enquist/Ann Meyers Drysdale
Evelyn Ashford/Anita Ortega
Carol Bower/Denise Corlett
Denise Curry/Sharon Shapiro
Jackie Joyner-Kersee/Dot Richardson
Florence Griffith-Joyner/Liz Masakayan
Kay Cockerill/Gail Devers
Kim Hamilton Anthony, Stella Sampras Webster
Natalie Williams, Lisa Fernandez
Annette Salmeen, Keri Phebus
Amy Acuff, Leah Homma