The Rundown: Feb. 2
UCLA women’s basketball was ranked No. 10 by an NCAA committee, putting the Bruins in prime position to get one of the top seeds of the national tournament in March – for now. (Mackenzie Possee/Daily Bruin)
Check out a breakdown of the UCLA sports stories you might have missed this week.
Women’s basketball rankings
The No. 14 UCLA women’s basketball team rose a spot in the AP Top 25 this week, but the team also made an appearance on an even more important list.
The Bruins were ranked 10th by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Sport Committee in the first of its three February rankings.
The committee’s Monday announcement offers a more accurate look at how women’s basketball teams will be seeded in the national tournament next month since it’s an official NCAA group rather than a media poll.
“One of the committee objectives in releasing the top 10 was to generate conversation about women’s basketball, and that certainly has been accomplished,” said committee chair Chris Dawson.
UConn, South Carolina, Notre Dame and Baylor currently top the list. The Bruins played to two near-upsets against the Gamecocks and the Fighting Irish.
The upcoming February rankings will be announced every other Monday for the rest of the month, and the final bracket will be revealed on March 14.
Quarterfinals at Aussie Open
Former Bruin tennis star Jean-Julien Rojer continued his success on the ATP World Tour in doubles, posting a solid performance at the Australian Open last week.
The 34-year-old and his doubles partner Horia Tecău went into the first Grand Slam of the year as the No. 1 seed. The pair progressed through three rounds, reaching the quarterfinals of the tournament before falling to Adrian Mannarino and Lucas Pouille of France 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-4.
This is Rojer’s third-best performance at the Melbourne tournament. His best showings came in 2015 and 2011, when he made it to the semifinals.
Rojer is currently tied for the No. 4 doubles player in the world. While at UCLA he was a four-time NCAA All-American in singles and doubles.
Bruin wins Champions Tour opener
Men’s golf alumnus Duffy Waldorf won in a dramatic finish at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii, making a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole to edge out Tom Lehman by one stroke.
“It was obviously 20 feet longer than I wanted,” Waldorf told the Associated Press. “When I got to it, it just looked good. It looked like this putt doesn’t break at all. … Lined up really well, felt comfortable and just felt like I needed to give it a run because Tom was in really good shape with a very makeable putt.”
He went 54 holes without a bogey, becoming the fourth person in tournament history to do so.
When Waldorf was at UCLA, he was a two-time All-American, as well as the Pac-10 Golfer of the Year and the Pac-10 individual champion in 1985.
Compiled by Korbin Placet and Tanner Walters, Bruin Sports senior staff.