The Rundown: Jan. 25
Redshirt freshman Grace Glenn earned Pac-12 Specialist of the Week honors after a 9.95 performance on balance beam in UCLA’s win over Arizona on Saturday. (Amy Dixon/Assistant Photo editor)
Eric Filia, baseball
UCLA baseball will host its alumni game this weekend, but one of its alumni is struggling to stay out of trouble.
Former Bruin outfielder Eric Filia will serve a 50-game suspension to start the 2018 season due to a second positive test for a drug of abuse, which Major League Baseball classifies as a recreational drug such as marijuana, cocaine or a stimulant such as amphetamines.
Filia had been tearing his way through the Mariners farm system and was rated the No. 21 prospect in the organization by MLB Pipeline. He slashed .326/.407/.434 in high-A ball, and even saw himself on a AAA roster at one point.
His minor league career began after he was drafted in the 20th round in 2016. He earned that selection with his performance in his redshirt senior season with UCLA, during which he slashed .295/.311/.415.
Coach John Savage almost didn’t play Filia that season due to the fact that he lost a year eligibility for plagiarism.
Saturday’s alumni game will pit the 2018 Bruins against the alumni starting at 12:05 p.m.
Bruins at NBA All-Star Weekend, men’s basketball
Three former UCLA men’s basketball stars were selected to participate at NBA’s All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles between Feb. 16 and 18. Among them were Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love.
Westbrook, the reigning MVP, will be making his seventh All-Star appearance while Love will make his fifth. The two were added to the All-Star rosters Tuesday night as reserves to the previously voted-in starters.
Westbrook is currently averaging a near triple-double while Love is having his best shooting season since 2010-2011, during which he was a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Ball will not be playing in the All-Star game, but was selected to participate as a member of team USA in the Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars challenge Feb. 16. Ball is averaging 10.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 36 games this season.
Grace Glenn, gymnastics
Grace Glenn was named the Pac-12 Specialist of the Week after No. 4 UCLA’s (3-0) win over No. 21 Arizona (0-3) on Saturday.
The redshirt freshman scored a career-high 9.95 on balance beam, tying for first place and helping the Bruins to a nation-high 49.525 beam score.
Glenn first competed as a Bruin in the season opener against Ohio State (0-3) earlier in January and posted a score of 9.725 on balance beam.
This week marks the third consecutive week that a UCLA gymnast has been awarded Pac-12 Specialist of the Week. Redshirt senior Peng-Peng Lee won the award in the first two weeks of the season.
