University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
2001-02 Winter Sports Recaps
May 13, 2002
Men's Basketball - NCAA Finish: T-16 - Record: 21-12 overall, 11-7 Pac-10 - Rank: 20
The UCLA Men's Basketball team marched its way into the NCAA "Sweet 16" for the fifth time in six seasons in 2002 before falling to the Missouri Tigers at the West Regional Semifinal. Head Coach Steve Lavin became only the second active coach to lead his team to as many Sweet 16 appearances in the last six years, sharing the distinction with Duke's Mike Krzyzewski. In December and January, the Bruins won 11 of 12 games, including a win over Final Four participant and then-No. 1 Kansas at Pauley Pavilion. Standout junior forward Jason Kapono earned honorable mention All-America distinction.
Women's Basketball - Record: 9-20 overall, 4-14 Pac-10
Despite prematurely losing its top two players from the year before, Michelle Greco and Kristee Porter, the UCLA Women's Basketball team capped the 2001-02 campaign with a victory in the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament over California before falling to top-seeded Stanford in the following round. Junior guard Natalie Nakase received recognition on the All-Pac-10 team as an honorable mention honoree, as well as the Bruin Award for overall excellence at the team level. Whitney Jones was named the team's offensive player of the year, and Shalada Allen was honored as the team's most improved player.
Women's Gymnastics - Record: 22-5 - NCAA Rank: 3rd (Pac-10 Champions)
The UCLA women's gymnastics team emerged as the Pac-10 Conference champions for the 10th time in team history this season, with junior Onnie Willis capturing the conference's all-around title and sophomore Jamie Dantzscher being named the Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year. From there, the Bruins advanced to the NCAA South Central Regional, where they claimed their 13th regional title and qualified for the NCAA Championships at Alabama. Dantzscher, who set an NCAA record with seven consecutive perfect 10s on floor, nearly swept the individual competition at Regionals, winning the all-around, vault, bars and floor titles. In Tuscaloosa, UCLA continued its streak of advancing to the Super Six every year since the championships moved to that format in 1993. In the final round, however, UCLA fell short of Southeastern Conference foes Alabama and Georgia, placing third. On the individual side, Dantzscher won the all-around, vault and floor competitions to increase UCLA's streak of having at least two NCAA individual championships to five years.
Women's Swimming & Diving - NCAA Finish: 17
Nine Bruin swimmers earned national honors at the NCAA Championships, putting a successful finish on the 2001-02 season. On the diving side, junior Heidi Prosser's third-place finish at the NCAA Zone E Championships was good enough for an invitation to the national competition. Prosser finished 21st on the three-meter board and 28th on the 1-meter board at the NCAAs. In the classroom, junior Regan Gosnell and senior Katie Younglove received Pac-10 first-team all-academic honors, while sophomore Kristen Lewis and senior Jen Noddle were named to the second team. Eight more Bruins received honorable mention status.
Men's Volleyball - Record: 25-7 overall, 17-5 MPSF - Rank: 6
Despite having a five-week run as the top-ranked team in the nation in February and March, the UCLA men's volleyball team was not immune to the upset it suffered in the first round of the MPSF tournament against UC Santa Barbara. Season highlights included victories in the Outrigger tournament in Hawaii against Lewis, Penn State, and eventual NCAA champion Hawaii, and wins over Pepperdine, BYU and Stanford. The Bruins also won the annual Kilgour Cup for the 20th time in 25 years by knocking off cross-town rival USC. Matt Komer earned second-team AVCA All-America honors at the conclusion of the season.