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What's Bruin: Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pairs Championship Edition

Beach volleyball fans will be seeing double today when UCLA's McNamara twins battle Arizona's Witt twins in the Pac-12 Pairs Championships semifinals.

By Bruinette88
@uclabeachvb

UCLA Beach Volleyball in the Pac-12 Pairs Championships (10:00 AM & 11:00 AM PDT)

The Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championships began yesterday with the pairs tournament. UCLA had two doubles teams in the bracket: the third-seeded pair of Megan and Nicole McNamara, and the sixth-seeded duo of Ivey Schmitt and Kamila Tan.

The McNamara twins enjoyed a comfortable 21-14, 21-9 first round win over the 14th-seeded team (Raquel/Vanjak of Stanford), while Schmitt and Tan needed a comeback to claim a 16-21, 21-19, 16-14 first round victory over the 11th-seeded team (Schwan/Strickland of Washington).

Unfortunately, that meant that the two UCLA pairs had to square off in the quarterfinals. Predictably, the McNamaras--UCLA's top-ranked doubles team--won in straight sets, 21-15, 21-18.

The McNamara twins will face Arizona's set of twins, Madison and McKenna Witt, in the semifinals this morning. The Witts are the second-seeded team in the pairs bracket. The final will follow directly after the conclusion of the semifinals.

Today's semifinals and final will be televised on the Pac-12 Network starting at 10:00 AM PDT.

UCLA Baseball at Utah (11:00 AM PDT)

UCLA begins the weekend in a three-way tie for third place in the Pac-12 with California and Arizona State. That means that the Bruins (19-19, 9-9) are truly in the middle of the pack. However, UCLA is remarkably just a game and a half out of first place. With three games against first-place Utah (14-22, 9-6) this weekend, the Bruins can make up a lot of ground quickly with a sweep. For in-depth coverage of game 1, check out orlandobruin's excellent preview and game thread.

#2 UCLA Water Polo vs. #25 CSU Bakersfield in the MPSF Tournament Quarterfinals (11:00 AM PDT)

UCLA (22-3, 5-1) enters the postseason after having lost to only one team all year--Southern Cal. Unfortunately, the Bruins and the Trojans have faced each other three times already, and if things go to plan, there will be a fourth meeting in the final of the MPSF Tournament.

But first the second-ranked Bruins have to get past #25 CSU Bakersfield in this morning's quarterfinal. Bakersfield is hosting the MPSF Tournament in 2016, so the Roadrunners will enjoy home pool advantage throughout the tournament. Today's match will be carried on the Roadrunner Sports Network and live stats are available at The FOSH. The action begins at 11:00 AM PDT.

If UCLA wins today, it will face the winner of #3 Stanford and #6 San Jose State in tomorrow's first semifinal.

NFL Draft, Day 2 (4:00 PM PDT)

If you were following along with Bruins Nation's coverage of the first day of the 2016 NFL Draft, you know that one of the main talking points was the fact that Myles Jack--projected by many NFL Draft "experts" as a top-5 pick--was not selected in the first round.

There was another surprise for Bruins fans, though. Defensive tackle Kenny Clark, projected as a second round selection, was chosen in the first round by the Green Bay Packers with 27th pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. Congratulations Kenny, and congratulations Green Bay!

In my opinion, it shouldn't take long for Myles Jack to be taken off the board in Day 2 of the NFL Draft. Despite concerns about his knee, he's an elite talent when healthy. Some team is bound to take a chance on him early in the second round.

Of course there are a lot of other Bruins that teams will consider drafting today. OT Caleb Benenoch, WR Jordan Payton, and RB Paul Perkins are three more Bruins that might hear their names called today. Bruins Nation will have coverage of Day 2 of the NFL Draft later this afternoon.

#13 UCLA Softball vs. Arizona State (5:00 PM PDT)

After winning two out of three last week against the Wildcats in Tucson, the Bruins return to Easton Stadium for their final homestand of the 2016 season. The series against Arizona State begins this evening and will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.

UCLA is currently third in the Pac-12, one game behind Utah in the loss column and two and a half games behind first-place Oregon. The Sun Devils (27-19, 3-12) are in eighth place.

For the second straight season, senior Allexis Bennett has been selected as a Top-25 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. Bennett leads the Bruins in batting with a .437 average.

#4 UCLA Beach Volleyball vs. Washington in the Pac-12 Team Championships (7:00 PM PDT)

Shortly after the Pac-12 Pairs Championships concludes today, the Team Championships will begin. As the second-seeded team in the bracket, the Bruins will face seventh-seeded Washington in the first round. First serve is schedule for 7:00 PM PDT, although the start time is subject to completion of the other three first-round matches.

Quarterfinal play begins tomorrow morning. If the Bruins defeat Washington this evening, they will face the winner of third-seeded Arizona and sixth-seeded Stanford.

UCLA Men's Golf in the Pac-12 Championships (All Day)

The Bruins begin play in the Pac-12 Championships today. The tournament is being hosted by The Country Club in Salt Lake City and runs from Friday through Sunday. Unless you're in Salt Lake City this weekend, the best way to follow the action is to check out the live stats leaderboard.

Go BRUINS!

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