Women’s water sports going strong

The third-ranked UCLA women’s water polo team has now won
seven straight, after defeating fourth-ranked Loyola Marymount on
the road Sunday, 8-2. The Bruins (17-2, 7-0 MPSF) have held their
last seven opponents to under six goals. In 13 of the past 30
quarters, UCLA has held its opponents scoreless. The Bruins’
defense was on display in a non-conference bout against the Lions
(9-3), holding LMU to just 15 shots for the game, compared to
UCLA’s 32. UCLA broke the game wide open in the third period,
scoring four goals and holding Loyola Marymount scoreless. Freshman
Anne Belden, senior Thalia Munro and senior Kristina Kunkel led the
Bruins with two goals each. UCLA goalie Emily Feher finished with
four saves. UCLA will host Maryland and Occidental this coming
weekend at the Sunset Recreation pool. SWIMMING:
Senior Kim Vandenberg ended her collegiate career in high fashion
by placing second in the 200-meter butterfly at the third and final
day of the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Vandenberg swam
a season-best time of 1:56.02 in the race, earning her 16th
All-American honor and the highest place of any UCLA swimmer at the
meet in Athens, GA. On the second day of racing, Vandenberg earned
All-American honors for her 10th-place finish in the 100-meter fly
with a time of 53.87. Vandenberg also helped three of the four
relays place in the top 16. Those relays included Vandenberg,
senior Eileen Seissen, juniors Katie Arnold and Amy Thurman,
sophomore Chiemi Yamamoto and freshman Anna Poteete. With the
points contributed from those events, the team placed 20th overall
out of 46 teams. Other All-American honors went to junior Katie
Nelson for her eighth place finish and season-best time of 16:15.23
in the 1650-meter freestyle. The first freshman ever sent to the
meet by eighth-year coach Tom Stebbins, and the only diver
representing the Bruins this year, Marisa Samaniego placed 32nd in
the 3-meter and 38th in the 1-meter. WOMEN’S
TENNIS: Yet again, the rain has halted the UCLA
women’s tennis team’s chances to compete in a dual
match. The Bruins’ matchup against cross-town rival USC was
postponed twice this weekend, and a new date for the match will be
scheduled during the week after the coaches discuss the matter. The
two top-20 teams were scheduled to face off on Friday at USC, but
the rainy conditions forced the match to be pushed back to
Saturday. However, the two teams were forced to reschedule yet
again due to a lack of umpire availability. The Bruins will now
focus on finals before heading to Hawaii, where they will take on
Hawaii Pacific in a match that won’t hold any impact on their
national ranking. Upon returning from the trip to Hawaii, the
Bruins will play host to Arizona State and Arizona in their second
pair of Pac-10 dual matches on March 31 and April 1. The Bruins
have already defeated both teams 7-0 during a trip to Arizona, and
look to do so again.

GYMNASTICS: The gymnastics team lost its third straight meet of
the year 196.825-195.975 on Friday against Southeastern Conference
powerhouse LSU. The meet marked the return of injured gymnasts
freshman Melissa Chan and sophomore Tasha Schwikert, but it
wasn’t enough for the Bruins. Senior Kate Richardson led UCLA
with a 39.475 in the all-around to place second, and freshman
Kristina Comforte had another strong meet, scoring a 39.4 to place
third. But the Tigers put the meet out of reach on floor in the
final rotation, with a meet-high 49.475. Although all six Bruins
stayed on the beam, UCLA had to count a 9.425 among its marks and
finished with a 48.65. UCLA’s mark of 195.975 was its second
highest road mark of the season.

Compiled by Sarah Fernbacher, Bruin Sports contributor, and
Bruin Sports senior staff.