What’s Bruin: UCLA athletes looking at life after sports

The winter sports season lost their postseason worth of action across the country but the UCLA Athletic teams were hit harder than most. Not because there are just so many UCLA athletics teams, but because of how talented those teams are, they were going to headline the majority of their postseason tournaments.

The spring sports season didn’t even get off one or two meets, or one or two games depending on where you look. And that’s another set of incredible Bruin athletic programs that didn’t even get a chance to take part in the regular seasons, let alone their postseason. Though, they do have a silver lining in the fact that they were granted a waiver for an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA.

The winter sports stars did not get so lucky, and thus, for the majority of those seniors, they are ‘done with sports’ as they knew it. They weren’t granted a postseason tournament appearance, neither the Pac-12 nor the NCAA variety. Some stars such as Kyla Ross and Madison Kocian, who were already Olympic medalists, had their sports careers cut short without a proper collegiate end.

Still, the enduring testament and strong will of those UCLA Bruins have allowed them to ‘find closure’ and move on despite these troubling times. There were plenty of postseason awards earned by Bruin athletes from the winter season but what’s more important is how they’ve each come together and moved on together.

Most notably, those aforementioned star gymnasts have helped countless others with their guidance through the coronavirus pandemic, while navigating it themselves. There was the bad:

Gymnast Kyla Ross: ‘Getting the news, being told you’re done is the hardest’ | The Guardian

But out with it came the good:

NCAA gymnastics community connects virtually with Flippin5K/Stay@Home challenge | ESPN

Olympians look to help young athletes during shutdown | WTKR.com

Olympians Kyla Ross, Madison Kocian find closure after abrupt end to UCLA gymnastic careers | ESPN

After coronavirus cancelled NCAA homecoming, Dallas Olympian Madison Kocian looks to life post-gymnastics | The Dallas Morning News

Former UCLA Gymnast Danusia Francis won’t stop her Olympic quest | LA Daily News

This former UCLA gymnast talks about her identity as an athlete after graduation | Popsugar

And aside from the gymnastic athletes, there were a ton of other newsworthy moments from the spring sports cancellations as well. Today, I rounded those up:

Baseball reflects on strong start and quick end to season | Daily Bruin

UCLA outfielder Garrett Mitchell goes 10th to Angels in MLB mock draft | Halo’s Heaven

Despite season being canceled, UCLA beach volleyball looks ahead to next year | Daily Bruin

UCLA women’s tennis player Jada Hart will utilize extra year of NCAA eligibility | LA Daily News

UCLA tennis will ‘be hungrier than ever’ to win NCAA title in 2021 | LA Times

It’s not a national title, but UCLA softball finishes at No. 1 | LA Times

UCLA’s Adam Wright: When we come out of this, we’ll be better for it | Swimming World Magazine