Men’s golf
John Rempel, Daily Bruin contributor

The Bruins are headed across the country this weekend to compete in their inaugural Big Ten Championship Tournament in Baltimore.

No.12 UCLA men’s golf will tee off Friday at the Baltimore Country Club in Baltimore for its first tournament of the postseason. A first-place finish this weekend would give the Bruins an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament at the end of May. After leaving the Pac-12 conference last year, this will be UCLA’s first time competing in the Big Ten Championship.

“Being that it’s our first time going to the Big Ten tournament, winning would be amazing,” said coach Armen Kirakossian.

Postseason play may bring higher expectations, but the squad hasn’t shifted most of its preparation techniques.

“We know the stakes are higher,” said junior Kyle An. “We treat it pretty much the same as any other tournament.”

Seniors Pablo Ereño and Omar Morales will compete in their final conference tournament appearance at UCLA.

“They won’t admit it, but they’re for sure the leaders of the team,” An said in reference to the senior duo.

Ereño and Morales have been the team’s top performers in all but two tournaments this season.

“I’m so proud of both of them – they’ve improved immensely in so many ways. I mean, really have just set an entirely new standard and expectation for this team,” Kirakossian said.

The field for the championship consists of one ranked team alongside UCLA – No. 13 Illinois. Oregon, USC and Washington will be competing in their first Big Ten tournament alongside UCLA after also making the move from Pac-12 at the end of of the 2023-2024 season.

“It doesn’t really matter who we’re playing or what conference we’re in, our goal is just to go out there and win,” An said.

Rowing
Una O’Farrell, Assistant Sports editor

The Bruins are rising in the ranks as they prepare for their postseason.

No. 25 UCLA women’s rowing (1-1) will face UC San Diego in Chula Vista, California, on Saturday as part of its final competition before Big Ten championships.

The Bruins enter this final matchup with their first ever top-25 CRCA ranking of the season – with six of their Big Ten opponents sitting ahead of them.

“This weekend, it’ll be how can we work together as a unit to continue down the course and just get the biggest margin we can to show the rest of the country that we do deserve to be in the top-25 ranking,” said interim head coach Anna Thomson. “And that’s the aim, to display what we can now later in Big Ten championships.”

At the Big Ten Invitational in Sarasota, Florida, all six of UCLA’s boats earned a top-three finish with the third varsity four claiming a first-place victory over three ranked opponents.

“What really was on display in Florida was the depth of the entire team,” Thomson said. “Some programs only had one strong boat, whereas we had every boat perform well.”

The Bruins faced the Tritons once earlier this season in a February scrimmage and will run dual-lane races Saturday in contrast to their normal six-lane tournaments.