Monday, 6/9/97 What champions are made of UCLA seniors can be
proud of the eight national titles outstanding Bruins have brought
home for the past four years
By Emmanuelle Ejercito Daily Bruin Staff There’s a reason why
Sports Illustrated ranked UCLA as the premier jock school in the
nation: It’s because the Bruins keep winning championships. UCLA
has won eight national titles in the last four years – in other
words, since the day that most graduating seniors stepped onto
campus. This number rises to nine if you count the softball
championship that was taken away recently for financial-aid
violations. Things didn’t necessarily start off with a bang,
however. In the 1993-1994 season, UCLA athletic teams won zero
national championships. This drought continued until April 3, 1995.
The Kingdome in Seattle was the site, Arkansas was the opponent. It
was a UCLA men’s basketball team led by three seniors – Tyus Edney,
Ed O’Bannon and George Zidek – fighting for a championship. Though
the team entered the NCAA tournament as the top-ranked team in the
nation, there were a few scares along the path. After demolishing
Florida International in the first round, the Bruins encountered
Missouri. Behind its three-point shooting, Missouri had a one-point
lead until the heroics of Edney carried UCLA from Boise, Idaho to
Oakland for the West Regionals in 4.8 seconds. In the championship,
the hero of the Missouri game had to watch from the bench due to a
wrist injury. But with Cameron Dollar stepping up, Ed O’Bannon’s 30
points and MVP-caliber effort, the Bruin basketball team won its
first national title in 20 years and its 11th overall, crushing the
Razorbacks 89-78. The Bruins didn’t stop there , however. The UCLA
men’s volleyball team won its 15th national championship ring
against Penn State. The year before, the Nittany Lions had defeated
the Bruins in five games to win the national title. Revenge was on
UCLA’s mind, and it swept Penn State in the 1995 final. Men’s
volleyball repeated their feat in 1996. UCLA lost vital members of
the 1995 team to graduation, including quick hitters Jeff Nygaard
and John Speraw, and swing hitters Kevin Wong and Erik Sullivan. In
spite of this, the Bruins captured their 16th national title,
making UCLA head volleyball coach Al Scates the most successful
active collegiate coach. However, the Bruins had to struggle before
they eventually triumphed. The championship game was played in
Pauley Pavilion, but it was hard to tell with the sea of green in
support for the Bruins’ opponent, Hawaii. It looked as if UCLA’s
23-game winning streak in NCAA tournament games played in Pauley
would come to an end. The Rainbows were up two games to one and had
a 9-7 lead in the fourth game. But senior setter Stein Metzger kept
UCLA in the game, and the Bruins tied it at two-games all, winning
the fourth game 17-15. In the fifth game, Paul Nihipali helped the
Bruins rally, emerging with six kills to help UCLA defend its
national title. Back-to-back titles seem to be a specialty of Guy
Baker, UCLA head water polo coach. Not only did his men’s team win
two straight NCAA championships, but he had an equal amount of
success on the women’s side. Both of the men’s titles were won in
nail-biting fashion with one goal separating triumph from tears. It
was UCLA versus top-ranked California in the 1996 national
championship game. The game was tied at 8-8 with 1:44 remaining
when Jeremy Braxton-Brown, broken nose and all, scored the winning
goal. Braxton-Brown would come back one minute later to seal Cal’s
coffin with another goal. The Bruin water polo squad won its first
title in 23 years by a score of 10-8. The following year, the UCLA
men’s water polo team successfully upheld its title, this time by
dismissing cross-town rival USC. Though the Bruins built a lead
that at one point was 6-2, the Trojans fought back to give UCLA a
bit of a fright. USC had a chance to tie the score with 35 seconds
remaining, but UCLA escaped with an 8-7 victory and its second
national title in as many years. The women’s water polo team, only
in its second year of existence, already had the makings of a
dynasty with the team loaded with high-caliber players such as
goalie Nicole Payne. The squad also added highly recruited
Catharine von Schwarz and Katie Tennebaum. The Bruins were almost
undefeated in 1996; its only loss came against Cal. However, UCLA
got its rematch with the Bears in the championship game – this
time, it was the Bruins that came out on top 8-4. It seemed like
deja vu for UCLA the following year, as it again met Cal in the
title match. And again the Bruins disposed of the Bears this time
by a score of 6-3. Von Schwarz, Coralie Simmons and Amanda Gall
each scored two goals in the national championship effort. Last
year, the UCLA women’s gymnastics team finished a surprising second
in the NCAA Championships. This year the Bruins finished first, a
result that was not so surprising. UCLA was ranked number one and
showed its winning potential throughout the season. With the talent
of senior Leah Homma and junior Stella Umeh, UCLA captured its
first -ever national gymnastics title.Scoring a total of 197.150
points, the UCLA team returned from Gainesville, Florida with
trophy in hand. So, all-in-all, the past four years have provided
senior sports fans with a few (eight, to be exact) things to do an
eight-clap for. Daily Bruin File Photo Paul Nihipali (center) and
the men’s volleyball team celebrate after the Bruins won the 1996
NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. Previous Daily Bruin
Story Triumphs and Tragedies — four years of sports at UCLA