Non-Revenue Sports Bruin Review and Calendar

by ryebreadraz on Nov 17, 2008 12:45 PM PST Comment 15 comments

Women's Soccer

The NCAA tournament is supposed to pit the nation's best teams against eachother and provide teams with their toughest challenges to date. That wasn't so for the Bruins though when they took on Fresno St. in their first round tournament match. The #1 seeded Bruins cruised as McCall Zerboni scored in the second minute to put the Bruins ahead 1-0. Then she added two more to pick up the hat trick in UCLA's 5-0 first round victory. The Bruins were scheduled to play UC San Diego in their second round match at Drake Stadium yesterday, but the fires left Westwood with poor air quality and the match was postponed until today. The two teams will kick off at 6 pm PST at Drake Stadium for the right to play USC, who needed penalty kicks to beat BYU in their second round. Should the Bruins defeat San Diego, they will host the Trojans this weekend at Drake Stadium. For more information on UCLA's season, the NCAA tournament format or draw, check this out. I will provide updates on tonight's match in the comments below.

Men's Soccer

Talk about finishing strong. # 19 UCLA was red hot in the second half of the season and put an exclamation point on it with a dominating 6-1 victory over San Diego St. in the season finale. David Estrada found the net twice and added an assit while Michael Stephens tied a school record with four assists in the match. The Bruins finished the regular season with a 10-4-6 record and 7-1-2 record in Pac 10 play that earned them the conference crown. Next up for the Bruins is the selection show, which will be televised live on ESPNEWS at 5:30 pm PST. The Bruins are hoping to earn a first round bye and a game or two at home, but whether or not they do get it is up in the air. I'll post the results of the bracket revealing in the comments below and will take a look back at the regular season, as well as a look at the tournament in a post tomorrow afternoon.

Men's Water Polo

The #2 Bruins had a relatively easy week with only one match on the docket, but they made it count. After falling behind 2-1 in the first quarter, the Bruins outscored #7 UC Santa Barbara 7-0 in the middle two frames as they rolled to a 11-4 win. Ben Hohl scored four times for the Bruins and Scott Davidson chipped in three of his own as the Bruins stretched their record to 15-5 overall and 5-2 in MPSF play. In a tie for second in the conference, the Bruins will travel to Malibu to take on #5 Pepperdine in their regular season finale.

Women's Volleyball

#9 UCLA hosted the Arizona schools this weekend at Pauley Pavilion and sent both home unhappy. First the Bruins dispatched Arizona St. in three sets, 25-20, 25-12, 25-11. Next the Bruins took down Arizona just as easily with a three set victory, 25-17, 25-18 and 25-22. The weekend was not only good for two wins, but two individual accomplishments as Nellie Spicer moved into second place on the UCLA all-time assists list on Friday and Ali Daley notched her 1,000th kill on Saturday so congratulations to them. The Bruins will go north to the Bay Area this week to take on #2 Stanford and #7 Cal.

Swimming and Diving

The #16 Bruins picked up a nice win on Friday, but dropped their meet on Saturday. On Friday, the Bruins dominated fellow top 20 team Arizona St. as they won 13 of the 16 events contested en route to a 195-105 win. On Saturday the Bruins welcomed the fourth ranked and defending national champion Arizona Wildcats to Westwood and the Wildcats defeated the Bruins 157-121. The swimmers are off for the rest of the month, but the divers will head to College Station, Texas this week for the Texas A&M Invitational.

Women's Basketball

The Nikki Caldwell era officially got underway on Sunday at Pauley Pavilion and it began in grand fashion as the Bruins defeated Cal St. Fullerton 78-63. The Bruins employed a balanced scoring attack as no Bruins scored more than Moniquee Alexander's 12. UCLA held the Titans to 32% shooting in the second half as they turned the one point halftime game into a laugher in front of 871 people. Next up for the Bruins is a visit from Pepperdine on Tuesday and a trip to #11 Maryland Sunday.

Cross Country

The women finished off their season with a 17th place finish at this week's West Regionals, but the men put on a strong enough showing to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships. Six Bruins finished in the top 51 overall and the Bruins finished in sixth place as a team. That was good enough to earn the Bruins an at-large berth in the NCAA's, which takes place in two weeks.

Softball

The Bruins played the first three of their six fall scrimmages this week and didn't allow a hit in any of them. UCLA has three scrimmages left, all of which will be played this week at Easton Stadium.

Men's Volleyball

When is winning an alumni game impressive? When you're at UCLA and your alumni is a who's who of the sport. The current Bruins defeated the alumni in this weekend's almuni game at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA will play host to the four team SAC Tournament on Friday and Saturday at the Men's Gym.

Baseball

The Bruins host their annual Blue-Gold World Series this week, a series of interquad scrimmages that conclude the team's fall practices. The Bruins also announced their Alumni Game will take place February 7 at Jackie Robinson Stadium. All former players are encoouraged to participate so e-mail PC Shaw at pshaw@athletics.ucla.edu to RSVP. Because it's just so easy to take shots at the NCAA, let's do it again. The Alumni Game will feature two alumni teams playing eachother instead of the current Bruins against the alumni because the NCAA feels that provides too much of advantage for program's with better alumni. At that point it's like a real game and must be counted against the schedule limit of 56 games. Keep on taking care of the important things guys.

Calendar (all times pacific)
Monday, November 17 Women's Soccer vs. UC San Diego (NCAA Tournament), 2:00 pm- Drake Stadium
Tuesday November 18
Softball vs. Cerritos JC (scrimmage), 2:00 pm- Easton Stadium
Women's Basketball vs Pepperdine, 7:00 pm- Pauley Pavilion
Thursday, November 20
Softball vs. College of the Canyons (scrimmage), 2:00 pm- Easton Stadium
Diving, Texas A&M Invitational, All Day- College Station, TX
Friday, November 21
Softball vs. Mt. San Antonio (scrimmage), 2:00 pm- Easton Stadium
Men's Volleyball vs. Long Beach St. (SAC Tournament), 4:00 pm- Men's Gym
Women's Volleyball at California, 5:00 pm- Berkeley, CA
Diving, Texas A&M Invitational, All Day- College Station, TX
Saturday, November 22
Men's Volleyball vs. UCSB (SAC Tournament), 10:00 am- Men's Gym
Men's Water Polo at Pepperdine, 12:00 pm- Malibu, CA
Men's Volleyball vs. Northride(SAC Tournament), 3:00 pm- Men's Gym
Women's Volleyball at Stanford, 7:00 pm- Palo Alto, CA
Diving, Texas A&M Invitational, All Day- College Station, TX
Women's Basketball at Maryland, 11:00 am- College Park, MD

Ticket information for all sports can be found here while facility information and directions for all sports can be found here. GO BRUINS!!!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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Men's soccer postseason pairings released

It looks like UCLA did not get a first-round bye (the top 16 of 48 teams do), but does get to host Cal Poly on Friday at 7 p.m. in the first round.

Assuming I’m reading the press release correctly, if the Bruins win, they would play at #14 UC Irvine a week from tomorrow (Nov. 25). I’m sure we’ll get an easier to read bracket soon and rye, I’m guessing you have much more to say — I look forward to it.

by gilbert on Nov 17, 2008 3:36 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Oops

I misread the time zone for the selection show. The Bruins got a rather favorable draw as Cal Poly was one of the last teams to get in the tournament and UC Irvine is the 14th seed (out of the 16 teams that are seeded).

by ryebreadraz on Nov 17, 2008 3:46 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

The Bruins will have their hands full with SLO

Underestimating this Cal Poly team and looking ahead is a fools strategy.

Unlike a very very weak Pac 10, the Big West Conference was a gauntlet this year and Cal Poly was right in the thick of it.

UCI is probably the hottest team in the Big West right now with Irving Garcia and extraordinary player to watch perform. Lets hope the bye week cools the “eaters” off…But first, a win over the Mustangs!!!

by OldSage on Nov 17, 2008 9:42 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

It probably helps

That we’ve already beaten Cal Poly, 2-1, only 13 days before the first round. I didn’t get see that game (whose bright idea was it to have a home game the night of a football game?), but it sounds like it was a decent match. The team should know something of what to expect, and they already know how to beat them, and that never hurts.

by jaffa on Nov 17, 2008 11:55 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Disappointing

One and out. Playing a weak PAC 10 did little to prepare the Bruins vs. a battle-tested Cal Poly team.

Does anyone beside me detect a power-shift in the teams that are competing in these two leagues? Four teams in the tourney from the Big West and two from the Pac 10.
Sad for our seniors. But I am not surprised at this result.

Not placing any blame but Lapnet picking up a red card after only ten minutes of play time is unforgiveable especially since at that point the Bruins had a man advantage. Too few minutes all year due to injury yet sits yet again due to picking up a red. Dumb – Dumb – Dumb.

by OldSage on Nov 21, 2008 9:13 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

The women are scoreless in the 17th minute

and my phone is about to die. If anyone is here or following on GameTracker, it would be great if you could provide updates.

by ryebreadraz on Nov 17, 2008 6:26 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Still scoreless in the 35th minute

by templarknight on Nov 17, 2008 6:46 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Bruins Go Ahead in the 78th Minute

After SD gives up an own goal.

by OldSage on Nov 17, 2008 7:49 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Bruins' lead of 1 - 0 holds!!

Congrat’s Lady Bruins

by OldSage on Nov 17, 2008 8:03 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah!

Way to go, ladies! Beat SC!!!

by Daynuh33 on Nov 18, 2008 1:00 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Baseball scrimmage

Rye, can you post more info on the blue-gold world series? days? times? ticket prices? thanks. i can hear the aluminum bats from my apartment. can’t wait for baseball season.

by somethingsbrewin on Nov 17, 2008 7:54 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

There aren't really set times

It’s pretty fluid, but they have a game every day this week culminating on Sunday. The games will usually be in the afternoon and start around 2 or 3. These games are free. You can just walk in and take a seat. It’s pretty empty, but it’s a cool place to be if you’re not a regular because you can talk to the coaches and players before and after the games. You can get a word in with scouts in attendance and some of the better baseball minds in the region.

The Blue-Gold World Series brings an end to fall practice, which is a vital to a program. After the players split up and spent the summer in various leagues around the country they come to together in fall practice. The coaches get a look at the team together for the first time since the season ended and for the last time before practices begin a couple weeks before the season opener. You can take a look at the progression of the players from last season and get an idea for who really put the work in this summer and took major strides.

If you’re going to head out take a look at Gavin Brooks, Gabe Cohen, Casey Haerther, Gerrit Cole and whoever is player catcher. Brooks has a chance to be a stud and showed signs of going in that direction his freshman year, but last season was derailed by injuries. The couple times I’ve seen him this fall he’s been lighting it up with a fastball back up to 94 and his slider has tilt I’ve never seen from him before. Cohen won Pac 10 Freshman of the Year two years ago, but spent all of last season tinkering with his stance and swing and was abysmal. With so much offense in the pros we’re going to need a big year from him if we want to put any numbers on the board. Haerther was our biggest bat this year and will anchor our lineup. Plus, just watching him take BP is a treat. Cole became the first first round pick in years to turn down the pros and attend college. He has electric stuff (mid to upper 90’s fastball, a devastating curve and developing change) and is good enough that he should be in the weekend rotation from day 1. Also, keep an eye on whoever is behind the plate. We lost both of our catchers from last year and don’t really have a true catcher ready to step in. Whoever is the catcher this year will have not played an inning of catcher at the college level before and it could spell disaster for the team. With all the other concerns, catcher is definitely the biggest entering 09.

by ryebreadraz on Nov 19, 2008 12:23 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Women's Soccer Attendance

Per the official website, the crowd at last night’s 2nd round match was 457. Ouch.

It is easy for me to carp, living 400 miles away, and therefore not in attendance, but back in the day when I was at UCLA, I remember much better crowds for NCAA playoff matches in all sports.

Is there something the athletic department is doing wrong in terms of promoting the team? Maybe they could get the marketing folks to turn their attention to this fabulous soccer team, so they can get the support they deserve.

by islandbruin on Nov 18, 2008 5:42 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

The game had been resecheduled

And people were probably still wary of sitting outside with all the smoke in the air. I think it was just an aberration.

by SuperBruinMan on Nov 18, 2008 7:44 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Paying's a pain

I would guess that much of our attendance is students, who have to pay $7 when they usually get in for free. That probably puts a few off, the more casual fans. It’s also more expensive for general admission, going up from $7 to $9. This weekend, they’ll also be an extra dollar each at the women’s game. Those aren’t exactly nominal prices. That said, we’ll probably get a good sized crowd for the Saturday game though, playing $C, and with the bands and everything. Hopefully it’s more of us than them. I wouldn’t expect too many for the night before though; two nights in a row, with a less attractive and less important game doesn’t bode well.

by jaffa on Nov 19, 2008 9:38 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs