University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
2002 Spring Sports Recap
June 5, 2002
Baseball: Record: 26-35 overall, 9-15 Pac-10
The Bruin baseball team finished seventh in the Pac-10 Conference, which sent four teams to the 2002 NCAA Tournament. UCLA also won two of three games in New Orleans against 2001 College World Series participant Tulane and took two of three at Jackie Robinson Stadium against 2002 Super Regional participant Florida Atlantic. Pitcher/first baseman Wes Whisler was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year by leading the conference in home runs with 18 and posting a .320 batting average as well as a 5-2 record and 4.06 ERA on the mound. Adding to his list of accomplishments, Whisler was named to the All-Pac-10 and Freshman All-America teams, while six of his teammates received Pac-10 honorable mention status.
Softball: Record: 55-9 overall, 18-3 Pac-10 / NCAA Finish: T-5th
The UCLA softball team won the Pac-10 title by three games over perennial rival Arizona, beating the Wildcats twice in three games during the 2002 campaign. The Bruins also took all three games from eventual Women's College World Series champion California and had a 9-2 record against 2002 WCWS participants. But the regular season superlatives were not enough to clinch the national crown, as the Bruins lost twice in three games at the WCWS in Oklahoma City. Four Bruins were named first-team All-Americans, including sophomore pitcher Keira Goerl, junior shortstop Natasha Watley, senior catcher Stacey Nuveman, and senior pitcher/outfielder Amanda Freed. Sophomore designated player Claire Sua was named to the third team.
Men's Golf: Pac-10 finish: 4th
The UCLA men's golf team finished fourth in the Pac-10 Championships held at Oregon State. The team's highest individual finish at the conference championships went to freshman Breene Murphy, who finished seventh. From there, the Bruins moved on to the West Regionals in New Mexico as the 13th seed. Despite entering the final round at the regionals in sixth place, the team's final result equaled its seed as the Bruins missed an NCAA berth by three shots. After an eighth-place finish at the regional level, sophomore John Merrick qualified individually for the NCAA Championships, where he tied for 23rd with an even par score. In Coach Brad Sherfy's seven seasons, the Bruins have had NCAA representation five times, either as a team or an individual qualifier.
Women's Golf: Pac-10 finish: 2nd / NCAA finish: 21st
Under the guidance of Pac-10 Coach of the Year Carrie Leary, the Bruin women's golf team finished second at the Pac-10 Championships, eight shots back of the Arizona Wildcats. Freshman Yvonne Choe had the highest individual finish in fourth place, while sophomore Gina Umeck finished ninth. At the NCAA West Regionals, the Bruins won their first team title of the season by tying for first with Pepperdine, enabling UCLA to advance to the NCAA Championships in Seattle, WA. Umeck contributed to the Bruins' regional title by placing eighth. At the Championships, the Bruins turned in a 21st place finish overall, while freshman Charlotte Mayorkas was the top Bruin individually in 50th place.
Men's Tennis: Pac-10 finish: 1st / NCAA finish: T-3rd
After winning the Pac-10 team title as well as the singles (Rodrigo Grilli) and doubles (Marcin Matkowski/Jean-Julien Rojer) titles, the Bruins rolled all the way to the Final Four at Texas A&M before falling to 2001 champion Georgia, 4-2 in the semifinals. Individually, Grilli , Matkowski and Tobias Clemens advanced as far as the second round of the singles tournament, while the duo of Clemens and junior Lassi Ketola advanced as far as the second round in the doubles tournament. Matkowski earned All-America honors in both singles and doubles, while junior Jean-Julien Rojer earned doubles honors, and Clemens earned singles honors.
Women's Tennis: Pac-10 finish: 3rd / NCAA finish: T-5th
The Bruin women's tennis team continued the school's tennis rivalry with Georgia in quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament at Stanford, but the Bulldogs prevailed on the women's side as well as the men's, again by the score of 4-2. Freshman Megan Bradley, who was named ITA Rookie of the Year, and sophomore Lauren Fisher advanced to the NCAA doubles final before falling to the Kalvaria/Lastra tandem from host Stanford. Bradley and Fisher had also advanced to the Pac-10 doubles championship match earlier in the season. In the singles bracket at the NCAA Championships, Bradley and junior Sara Walker went as far as the round of 16. Both Bradley and Walker were named singles and doubles All-Americans, while Marinova and Fisher were named to the doubles All-America list.
Women's Rowing: Pac-10 finish: 7th
In its inaugural campaign, the UCLA women's rowing team advanced two squads, the varsity four and the novice eight, to the grand finals at the Pac-10 championships and finished seventh in the overall standings with 31 points. The junior varsity eight finished 10th overall after a fourth-place finish in the petite finals, while the varsity eight finished 12th overall after a sixth-place showing in the petite finals. Sophomore Irene Condella was named to the All-Pac-10 team.
Women's Water Polo: MPSF finish: 1st / NCAA Finish: 2nd
The Bruin women's water polo team faced rival Stanford both in the MPSF final and the NCAA final, splitting the two matchups. While the Bruins earned the second seed at the NCAA Tournament by defeating the Cardinal in the MPSF final, it was Stanford that had the final victory, defeating UCLA 8-4 to win the national title. Adam Krikorian was named the MPSF Co-Coach of the year, and six Bruins received All-America honors - junior Robin Beauregard and freshman Amber Stachowski (first team); senior Kelly Heuchan and junior Jamie Hipp (second team) and sophomores Natalie Golda and Thalia Munro (honorable mention).
Men's Track and Field: Pac-10 finish: 6th / NCAA Finish: 30th
The UCLA men's track and field team achieved a season highlight by defeating USC in a dual meet, 121-81. In the annual dual meet, the Bruins won 14 individual events, including two apiece by seniors Scott Moser and Michael Lipscomb. At the Pac-10 Championships, Moser (discus) and Scott Wiegand (shot put) each picked up individual victories, while the Bruins as a team finished sixth. UCLA finished in 30th place at the NCAA Championships, with Moser and Dan Ames each earning two All-America honors apiece. Moser placedfourth in the discus and12th in the hammer, while Ames was seventh in the shot put and eighth in the discus.
Women's Track and Field: Pac-10 finish: 1st / NCAA Finish: 2nd outdoor/2nd indoor
The UCLA women's track and field team set a record at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with four individual victories in the field events - Tracy O'Hara (pole vault), Darnesha Griffith (high jump), Chaniqua Ross (discus) and Jessica Cosby (shot put). Lena Nilsson's victory in the 1500m gave UCLA five individual championships to tie the NCAA record. As a team, UCLA finished in second place, matching its finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Bruins continued their dominance of the Pac-10 Conference, winning their sixth consecutive Pac-10 title. Ross defended her individual discus title, while Nilsson won both the 800m and 1500m races. Sophomore Sheena Johnson won the 400m hurdle race for the second consecutive year and was part of the 4 x 400m relay team that clinched the conference title for the Bruins. The Bruins also defeated USC in the annual dual meet for the 10th consecutive year.