Year in Review

Thursday, June 11, 1998

Year in Review

RETROSPECTIVE: Bruin teams and stellar individuals

perpetuate the

age-old tradition of

championships and athletic excellence

By Emmanuelle Ejercito

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Another year has passed, and you know what that means – more
national titles for UCLA.

At the end of last season, UCLA led the country with 92 national
titles, including 75 NCAA Championship crowns. 1997-98 saw the
addition of three more national titles, bringing the Bruin total to
95 with 77 NCAA Championships.

The first national championship of the season came courtesy of
the men’s soccer team. One of the top teams in the nation before
the season started, many people counted the Bruins out when star
midfielder Sasha Victorine tore his anterior cruciate ligament
early in the year. However, UCLA proved that there was more to the
team than just one star player.

After upsetting No. 1-seeded Indiana in the semifinals during
triple overtime, the Bruins defeated Virginia, 2-0, in the title
game behind Seth George’s two goals. But UCLA’s defense also had a
big hand in winning its third national title. Senior goalkeeper
Matt Reis allowed only one goal in the five playoff games, earning
him the honor of Final Four defensive MVP.

Expectations were high for the UCLA men’s volleyball team. And
for the first 16 games, the Bruins met them with decisive victories
over their opponents. UCLA lost its first match of the season to
BYU at home, but in the end it didn’t matter.

Despite losing to Pepperdine in the MPSF title match one week
earlier, the Bruins overcame a scare from Lewis in the semifinals
to sweep the Waves 15-11, 15-11, 15-17, for the NCAA trophy.
Sophomore Adam Naeve was named tournament MVP as he led the Bruins
with 23 kills and a .629 clip in the championship match. The NCAA
crown was the third for UCLA in four years and a national-best 17th
overall.

If expectations were great for the men’s volleyball team,
expectations were even greater for the two-time defending champion
UCLA women’s waterpolo team. And the only disappointment for the
Bruins was the fact that they didn’t go 36-0. UCLA lost only one
match the whole season and that was to Cal, the same team that they
just happened to meet in the championship game. If revenge was on
the Bruins’ mind, well, they got it. UCLA won its third straight
national title, drubbing the Golden Bears, 7-3.

However, just because the other UCLA sports didn’t win national
team titles, it doesn’t mean that there weren’t any fruitful
seasons.

In autumn leaves change, school starts and the run for the Rose
Bowl begins. However, what was believed to be a long run for the
UCLA football team ended up being just one yard, and unfortunately
for UCLA, they tripped. But the Bruins would get up, dust
themselves off and end their season with a 10-game win streak
(including their seventh-straight over USC) and a Top 5 national
ranking.

The Bruins were co-Pac-10 Champions, and the only reason why it
was Washington State and not UCLA representing the conference in
the Rose Bowl was that one yard that meant the difference between
the 37-34 loss to the Cougars and a 40-37 (41 if the Bruins went
for the extra point) ticket to the granddaddy of the bowl games.
UCLA consoled itself by beating Texas A&M 29-23 in the Cotton
Bowl.

While NCAA championships are fun to get as a team, winning an
individual one is just as sweet. Doubtful? Ask Mebrahtom
Keflezighi. The senior distance runner proved that he was one of
the best in school history by winning UCLA’s first-ever NCAA
individual cross-country crown.

And Keflezighi didn’t just win it, he did it in record-breaking
style, setting a new course record as he ran 10,000 meters in
28:54. The title was his fourth, as Keflezighi won three others in
track the previous season. Meanwhile, both the UCLA men’s and
women’s cross country teams finished fourth in the Pac-10.

Rounding out the rest of the fall sports are men’s waterpolo,
women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. The two-time defending
national champion UCLA men’s waterpolo team lost nine players from
its championship team, but the Bruins were still able to finish
sixth in the national polls.

The women’s soccer team made school history by advancing to the
third round of the NCAA tournament, the farthest that any Bruin
women’s soccer team had ever advanced. Meanwhile, the women’s
volleyball team had a respectable showing making it to the second
round of the NCAAs.

In the water, Lindsay Etter helped lead the women’s swimming and
diving team to fifth place in the Pac-10 and 13th in the NCAAs.
Etter took the conference title in the 100-meter breaststroke and
finished second in the NCAA meet.

And what would a year of UCLA basketball be without any drama?
Unreal. For the UCLA men’s basketball team it was another year of
ups and downs. Last year, the Bruins had to deal with losing their
head coach, and this year they had to deal with losing players.

But regardless of the shocks brought by the suspension and
reinstatements of Kris Johnson and Jelani McCoy, the ineligibility
of recruit Schea Cotton, the eventual resignation of McCoy and the
season ending injury to star point guard Baron Davis, UCLA still
made a good showing. Behind the three seniors – Toby Bailey, J.R.
Henderson and Johnson – and the freshman backcourt, the Bruins
upset Michigan in the second round to advance to the Sweet Sixteen
where they lost to Kentucky, the eventual national champions.

Drama wasn’t only for the men. For the first time in six years,
the UCLA women’s basketball team was invited to the Big Dance. But
after defeating Michigan in the first round, the Bruins faced their
toughest opponent in the second – the referees. UCLA lost to
Alabama on a controversial call that allowed the Crimson Tide to
throw the ball inbounds, go up the court and score a basket in just
0.8 seconds. The Bruins appealed to the NCAA who could only say
that the referees erred, but the results still stood. (The Crimson
Tide lost in the next round).

The defending national champion UCLA women’s gymnastics team
hosted the NCAA championships but couldn’t win it at home. The
Bruins finished in fifth place, with Georgia going home with the
prize. However, senior Stella Umeh made history at the NCAA Super
Six by scoring a perfect 10.0 on the floor exercise. It was her
first perfect 10 in any event. Teammate Heidi Moneymaker became the
first Bruin to win an individual national title on the uneven bars,
scoring a 9.95.

And after making it to the College World Series last season, the
UCLA baseball team had a slight letdown this year and did not
qualify for post-season play. Meanwhile, the UCLA softball team’s
season also ended early as mandated by the NCAA as punishment for
infractions committed three years ago.

The women’s golf team finished fourth in the Pac-10, but 14th in
the NCAA Regionals and thus did not qualify for the NCAA Finals
Tournament. However, their male counterparts did and left other
teams in awe when their record-breaking, second-round shooting
vaulted the Bruins from 15th to fourth place going into the final
day. The men’s team finished the NCAA tournament in eighth place
overall.

The women’s tennis team were ranked No. 2 at the start of the
season, but injuries would plague the Bruins, and their ranking
would drop to No. 14 by the time they entered the NCAA tournament.
UCLA had high hopes going into the tournament, with key players
returning from injuries, but Texas would sweep the Bruins in the
first round. The Pac-10 tournament earlier in the season proved to
be kinder to UCLA as Annica Cooper became the Pac-10 singles
champion defeating Stanford’s Teryn Ashley 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (0).

On the other side of the net, the men’s tennis team made it to
the NCAA quarterfinals before losing to conference foe Stanford. In
the individual tournaments, the three Bruins entered – Vince
Allegre, Matt Breen and Jean-Noel Grinda – advanced to the round of
16 in singles, and the doubles team of Breen and Grinda made it to
the third round.

The answer: Dominating. The question: What is the one word used
to describe UCLA track in the Pac-10? Both the men’s and women’s
track and field teams won the conference title, and both teams
extended their streak against USC in dual meets. The men haven’t
lost to Southern Cal since Jimmy Carter was president, and the
Bruins recorded their 20th consecutive victory over their
cross-town rival, while the women extended their streak to six.

In the NCAA Championship meet, the men took home sixth place and
earned 12 All-American honors. The women had to watch in pain as
Texas took the national title away from them in the last race of
the meet – the 1,600- meter relay – and the Bruins finished second
by five points. However, Seilala Sua brought home an individual
national title in the discus with a meet record throw of 210-8.

And that’s the way it was in 1997-98.

MARY CIECEK

Daily Bruin File Photo