A cut above the rest: exceptional athletes

What makes an athlete stand out? Is it pure skill? Is it overcoming adversity? Is it balancing skills on and off the field? A Cut Above the Rest explores the lives of four UCLA athletes.

Junior running back Derrick Coleman is hard of hearing, so he reads lips and signals to get the plays on the field.

Coleman’s former teammate, Alterraun Verner, returns to UCLA after his rookie year in the NFL to complete his degree in applied mathematics.

Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, an Olympian now on UCLA’s gymnastics team, reflects on her individual success in 2008 and her team’s national title in 2010.

A potentially career-ending injury could not keep Atonye Nyingifa from coming back to start for the women’s basketball team.

View the stories at dailybruin.com/starathletes