The UCLA men’s golf team earned a berth into the NCAA West
Regional to be hosted at the Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto from
May 19 to May 21, it was announced Monday. The 14th-ranked Bruins
will make their 13th consecutive appearance in the West Regional,
where they will battle a strong 27-team field in search of
advancing to the championships. UCLA will enter the tournament as
the fifth seed, with UNLV and New Mexico, whom former Bruin Spencer
Levin has helped to become an elite program, grabbing the top two
seeds, respectively. The top ten finishers in each of the three
regionals will advance to the NCAA Championships on June 1 through
June 4 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Baltimore, Md. Though UCLA
men’s golf coach O.D. Vincent has described the regional as
one of the scariest tournaments to play, recent history appears to
be on the Bruins’ side. UCLA has won the NCAA West Regional
the past two seasons and entered the NCAA Championships as one of
the top three seeds. And while the Bruins don’t have the
depth they’ve had the past two seasons, they still may have a
leg up on some of their competition, having played the Stanford
Golf Course back in March at the U.S. Intercollegiate Golf
Tournament and finishing fourth. Defending NCAA champion Cal did
not earn an invitation to play in any of the three regionals.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: UCLA assistant coach Tia Jackson said
Wednesday that a big reason she decided to accept an assistant
coaching position at Duke was to improve her chances of landing a
head coaching position in the future. “I pray for it every
night,” Jackson said. She added that she hopes to be a head
coach within two to three years. …
Four current UCLA players and one future Bruin have been invited
to the 2005 USA Basketball Women’s National Team Trials.
Guards Nikki Blue, Lisa Willis and Noelle Quinn will all be
competing for one of 12 spots on the World University Games team.
Incoming freshman Ashlee Trebilcock is eligible for selection for
the 12-member USA U-19 World Championship team. Freshman forward
Lindsey Pluimer is under consideration for either the World
University Games or the U-19 World Championship teams.
Compiled by Seth Fast Glass, Bruin Sports senior
staff