Squad yet to net championship
By Ashley Skipwith
Feb. 6, 2003 9:00 p.m.
After clinching its division title, a team advances to the NCAA
national championship ““ usually.
Last year this was not the case for the UCLA women’s
lacrosse team, which is currently No. 1 in its league.
After defeating Cal Poly San Louis Obispo in the league
championship game, the Bruins’ season abruptly ended, with no
shot at the national championship in St. Louis.
Since club teams require advance notice in order to raise money
for the trip to the national championship, the Western
Women’s Lacrosse League chooses the qualifier early.
After starting 0-2 last year, the Bruins gave up their spot to
Cal Poly San Louis Obispo ““ No. 1 in the WWLL at the time.
They later defeated Cal Poly SLO once in league play and again for
the division title.
This year, UCLA hopes to earn the chance at a national
championship that it missed last year.
“We’d like to repeat a win in the in the
WWLL,” senior co-captain Sharon Covitt said. “This year
we want to take the national title.”
In order to do that, the Bruins need “every single game as
a win,” Covitt said.
By defeating UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly SLO ““ ranked
No. 1 in the nation in preseason polls ““ the Bruins have
established themselves as potential national championship
contenders.
But by competing in one of the strongest leagues in the nation,
UCLA faces some challenges.
This weekend, the Bruins need two consecutive wins against No. 3
Arizona and Arizona State. Although the team has had past trouble
on the road, as evident by two road losses to start last season,
the team is confident of its performance this weekend.
“It’s always hard for a coach to give predictions
about winning and losing,” coach Johanna Williams said.
“So as for this weekend, I think that if we play our best
lacrosse we have a great chance of coming back with a couple of
wins under our belts.”
