Bruin digest

In its first couple of races at the NCAA Championships, the UCLA
women’s rowing team learned how far it was from the
nation’s most elite programs. By the last race, the Bruins
saw how closely they compared to the second-tier programs. After
finishing a distant fifth in the five-boat elimination heat, the
Bruins placed fifth in the eight repechage race. Those results left
them vying for the 13th to 16th spot in a race that came down to
the wire. UCLA finished less than a second behind Michigan State
and Wisconsin, which took 13th and 14th place. The Bruins finished
comfortably ahead of Syracuse to finish 15th. California captured
the national championship.

WOMEN’S TENNIS: Northwestern’s third-seeded Audra
Cohen defeated UCLA freshman Riza Zalameda 6-4, 6-4 in
Friday’s semifinals of the NCAA singles tournament, thwarting
the Bruin freshman’s hopes of becoming UCLA’s first
player to capture the singles title in nine years. One day earlier,
Zalameda had defeated second-seeded Julie Coin, but the three-set
match took its toll on her Friday. “I didn’t have fresh
legs today, and if I had been fresher maybe things would have been
a little different,” Zalameda said. “I also missed too
many shots.” Though she did not walk away with the trophy,
the tournament was still considered an overwhelming success for
Zalameda, who played No. 2 singles for the Bruins during the
season. After her quarterfinal match against Coin, she acknowledged
that she had exceeded even her own expectations about the
event.

MEN’S TENNIS: Benjamin Kohlloeffel will have to settle for
one trophy leaving College Station, Texas. The Bruin sophomore fell
to Old Dominion’s Izak van der Merwe, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in the
quarterfinals of the NCAA singles draw on Saturday, ending his
hopes of capturing an individual title to go along with the team
title he helped the Bruins earn last Tuesday. Kohlloeffel was the
lone Bruin to participate in the individual event. His other
eligible teammates dropped out after the Bruins won the team
event.

Compiled by Andrew Finley, Bruin Sports senior
staff.