Gilbert Quinonez gquinonez@media.ucla.edu
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UCLA choked. Monique Marier dove and made a leaping catch,
robbing Stephanie Ramos of a potential game-winning hit to seal a
2-1 upset victory for Florida State over UCLA in the first game of
the Women’s College World Series.
The Bruins were No. 1, the Seminoles were No. 8. It was only the
second time in WCWS history that the top seed had lost in the
opening round.
This improbable upset comes in a year in which the Bruins have
yet to a win a national championship. To prevent zero championships
for the first time since the 1993-94 school year, either the
softball team would have to win five games in row or the
women’s track team would have to win it all.
So, just how many teams have choked this year? How badly have
they choked? Well, the stat geek will take an inside look at each
individual sport.
Before I rip every UCLA team, let me define what I mean by
choking. Choking consists of underachieving, ending the season very
badly after starting well and losing to a worse team in the
team’s final playoff game. I will give each team a choke
rating and quantify it below.
This year was yet another roller coaster for UCLA’s
unpredictable men’s basketball team. How badly did
Lavin’s lovable losers choke? Well, the Bruins were ranked
No. 6 in the preseason, and they finished sixth in the Pac-10.
Their winning percentage went down from .719 to .636, or 11.5
percent worse of what it was a year ago. At their peak, they were
13-3 this year with a winning percentage of .813. The team finished
the regular season at 19-11, winning 42.9 percent of their games
after their peak. The before and after difference is 38.4.
How about that loss to 12th seed Missouri to end the season? To
figure out how a much of a choke that was, I will subtract eight
from 12 (seed difference), multiply it by four (four regions in
NCAA tournament) and divide it by 64, the number of teams in the
tournament. The result is 25 percent. If you add 25 with 11.5 and
38.4, you get 74.9. The Bruins choked 74.9 percent to their maximum
choking ability.
Now for the football team, which didn’t even play in the
Toilet Bowl. They actually had a better winning percentage than the
year before, so they are awarded zero choking percentage points in
that category. At their peak, the football team was 6-0, winning
100 percent of their games. They went 1-4 the rest of the way,
winning 20 percent of their games. The difference there is 80.
They didn’t make it to a Bowl game, so they aren’t
awarded any points for choking in a bowl game. Total choking
percentage: 80
Other teams that have choked include the men’s volleyball
team, the women’s soccer team and the two golf teams. The
men’s volleyball team gets a choke rating of 37.5 percent,
the women’s soccer team gets one of nine, neither as big
because of good regular seasons. Softball may join this list
soon.
I can’t quantify men’s and women’s golf choke
ratings because they don’t always use wins and losses. They,
however, still clearly choked. The men’s golf team fell from
sixth to 13th on the last day of the NCAA West regionals, missing
the NCAA championships by three strokes. The women’s golf
team posted its worst performance of the season, finishing 24th out
of 24 teams at the NCAA championships. How did they rebound? With a
22nd place performance.
The baseball team did not choke this year. They’re just
terrible, compiling a 26-32 record, being the second worst team at
UCLA. Which is the worst then? The women’s basketball team,
with a 9-20 record that is actually an improvement over the year
before.
Both men’s and women’s water polo teams were
defending champions, but they aren’t considered to be chokers
since their winning percentages actually went up and they lost to
higher ranked teams.
Did the gymnastics team choke? Maybe, but gymnastics isn’t
a sport.
Hopefully, the softball team won’t join this choke list.
Maybe, an opponent like Marier won’t hit a go-ahead home run
in the ninth inning, or the team won’t leave 46 runners on
base in 25 innings. I’d love to see at least one national
championship this year at UCLA.