Gilbert Quinonez Contact the Stat Geek at
gquinonez@media.ucla.edu
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Thirty-two great athletes. One column. At a school with great
athletes in every sport, it is hard to make a list of the best.
With graduation near, I have decided to attempt to pick the best
seniors leaving UCLA and reflect on their careers. To those I have
left off of this list, I apologize. There is simply not enough time
and space to mention every athlete. In this list, there are six
levels of greatness going from the first level up to MVP. All of
these senior athletes have made the list based on my statistical
research. The criteria to make it on the list included that the
player be an All-American, drafted or selected to play the sport at
a professional level, or be one of the team’s outstanding
players. A senior athlete should be selected from each sport as
long as the athlete was a starter and an impact player.
First Round Krista Boling, women’s
soccer. Boling is the Cal Ripken Jr. of soccer, starting each of
the last 81 games. She has earned NSCAA West Region team honors and
defensive MVP. Ashley Bowles, women’s volleyball. Bowles was
first-team All-Pac-10 and is second on the career digs list at
UCLA. Kenyon Coleman, football. Coleman was the top Pac-10 lineman
last season, has led the team in tackles twice, and was drafted by
the Oakland Raiders in the fifth round. Elvira Fischer, swimming.
Top UCLA breaststroker, finished seventh nationwide. Bryan
Fletcher, football. Chosen to the All-Pac-10 second team, Fletcher
gained 343 yards and three touchdowns as a tight end, and went in
the sixth round of NFL draft. Jeff Grau, football. Grau was
primarily used as the long snapper and was taken in seventh round
of the NFL draft. Catherine Hawley, women’s tennis. She
wasn’t an All-American, but she was a very effective No. 6
starter. Rico Hines, men’s basketball. Hines was primarily a
defensive specialist and often helped the Bruins down the stretch.
Kelly Huechan, women’s water polo. Huechan was a second-team
All-American last season and a very critical player the year
before, during the team’s championship year. Billy Knight,
men’s basketball. Knight averaged 15.8 points last year and
did what Bruin fans will always remember ““ made a last-second
three-pointer to beat USC. Michael Lipscomb, men’s track.
Lipscomb ran the 200 meters in 20.64 seconds, the 15th-lowest time
ever in that race. Lipscomb also competed in NCAA championships.
Nick Lyon, baseball. Lyon made the list because he was signed by
the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as a pitcher, even though he was seldom
used there. He pitched 4.2 innings all of last season. Mary-Frances
Monroe, women’s soccer. Monroe was a first-team all-American
and drafted in the Women’s United Soccer Association by the
Philadelphia Charge. Monroe is this far down on the list because
she only played for UCLA for one season. Erika Selsor,
women’s volleyball. Selsor was an assist machine at UCLA,
racking up 6,234 of them to finish eighth on the all-time NCAA
list. Katie Younglove, swimming. Younglove is an All-American and
dominated the 200 fly throughout her career. She is also a Daily
Bruin sportswriter.
Sweet 16 Marques Anderson, football. Anderson
was drafted in the third round of the NFL draft. With 63 tackles
last season, he made it to the All-Pac-10 team multiple times and
won the N.N. Sugarman award for best leadership. Matt Barnes,
men’s basketball. Barnes averaged 12.6 points and 6.7
rebounds over the last two seasons and will likely be a late
second-round pick at the NBA draft. Dan Gadzuric, men’s
basketball. Gadzuric was one of the top centers in college
basketball, averaging 11.7 points and 8.2 rebounds over the last
two seasons. Gadzuric will likely be a late first-round pick in the
NBA draft. Michelle Greco, women’s basketball. Greco received
All-Pac-10 honors her first three years at UCLA but missed most of
last season due to injury. She was the Pac-10 scoring leader in
2001 and averaged 23.6 points last season when she did play. Bryan
Green, men’s cross country and track. Green emerged as one of
the top distance runners in the country in two different sports. He
qualified for the NCAA championships in cross country and finished
third in the Pac-10 at the 10,000 meters in track. Petya Marinova,
women’s tennis. Marinova and Sara Walker formed the No. 2
doubles team in the nation. Marinova was selected as an
All-American and also played very well at No. 3 singles. Stephanie
Rigamat, women’s soccer. Rigamat was an All-American for UCLA
twice and was also drafted by WUSA. Rigamat led the team in scoring
with 13 goals. Alfonso Tucay, men’s water polo. Tucay was a
first-team All-American and led the team in shot percentage.
Elite Eight Adam Berry, baseball. Berry led the
Pac-10 in home runs and batted .308. He was a finalist for the Dick
Howser Trophy, given to the best college baseball player. He was
signed by the Texas Rangers. Amanda Freed, softball. As a pitcher,
Freed went 21-4 with a 0.93 ERA. As a hitter, she batted .295 with
31 RBIs. With these amazing stats, Freed was obviously a first team
All-American and is currently on the USA national team. Darnesha
Griffith, women’s track. Griffith won the high jump
competition at the NCAA championships with a jump of 6 feet. She
led a very young track team to a second place finish at NCAA
championships. Tracy O’Hara, women’s track.
O’Hara won the pole vault competition at the NCAA
championships with a vault of 13-5 1/4.
Final Four DeShaun Foster, football. Foster
could have easily been higher on the list, but his NCAA violation
held him back. Foster was a Heisman Trophy candidate and reached
1,000 yards faster than any running back in UCLA history. He ran
for 3,367 yards during his career. Robert Thomas, football. Thomas
helped give the Bruins one of the elite defenses in the country. He
was a first-round selection in the NFL draft and had 111 tackles
last season, 26 of which were for losses MVP Finalist Kristee
Porter, women’s volleyball, basketball and track. Porter, the
only current three-sport letterwinner, could have easily been the
MVP if not for her NCAA violation and leaving school early to play
professional women’s volleyball. Still, Porter was a
phenomenal player in all three sports, especially volleyball.
MVP Stacey Nuveman, softball. Nuveman will
leave UCLA as the all-time home run leader and has stats that seem
unreal. In 64 games this season, Nuveman batted .529 with 20 home
runs and 64 RBIs. On top of all of that, Nuveman was walked 69
times, or once every 3.3 plate appearances. Wow. “¢bull; “¢bull;
“¢bull; The class of 2002 was a great one here at UCLA, and these
athletes have left their mark on history. Only time will tell what
the future holds.