USC’s winning streak over UCLA is over.
In the Lexus Gauntlet at least.
The Bruins are the winners of the second annual Lexus Gauntlet
trophy, which was presented to athletic director Dan Guerrero and
the UCLA athletic department on June 11.
The Lexus Gauntlet is a competition between UCLA and USC in a
combination of 18 different sports.
“We’re glad (the Lexus Gauntlet trophy) is back in
its rightful place,” Guerrero said.
“This trophy is attributed to the fine student athletes at
UCLA. We are proud of the excellence in all of our
sports.”
The winner of the head-to-head matches in each sport is awarded
all the points allotted to the sport.
Four sports: football, men’s and women’s basketball
and women’s volleyball are worth 10 points each while the
other 14 sports are each worth five.
The final score was 55-55; UCLA won on the second
tiebreaker.
The first tiebreaker was decided by head-to-head regular season
matchups, which ended tied 16-16.
The second tiebreaker was head-to-head matchups in the
postseason, where UCLA won all four matches against USC.
“I thank Lexus for providing a measuring stick between USC
and UCLA,” water polo coach Adam Krikorian said.
“Hopefully, we’ll keep this trophy in
Westwood.”
Outside the J.D. Morgan Center was a Lexus painted in UCLA blue
and gold. Inside the center, over a dozen UCLA coaches, several
Lexus representatives and many UCLA athletic department employees
were on hand to witness the presentation of the Lexus Gauntlet
trophy, which is shaped liked a severed hand.
“On behalf of the Southern California Lexus Dealers
Association, we are extremely proud to be associated not only with
two great athletic institutions, but two great academic
institutions as well,” Southern California Lexus Dealers
Association representative Dan Schwartz said.
The UCLA Yell Crew and Spirit Squad got the crowd to perform an
eight-clap during the presentation.
The first Lexus Gauntlet was won by USC in the 2001-02
season.
Gymnastics, men’s cross country, men’s soccer and
softball results do not count in the Lexus Gauntlet standings
because USC does not field teams in those sports. Men’s
swimming also does not count because UCLA does not have a
men’s swimming team.
Competition for the 2002-03 Lexus Gauntlet was a tight race
throughout the year.
UCLA’s 27-stroke margin of victory in the men’s golf
Pac-10 Championships on April 30 almost guaranteed the Gauntlet for
the Bruins, giving them a 55-50 lead.
A victory for the Trojans in women’s rowing, tying the
Lexus Gauntlet score at 55-55, proved to be too little, too
late.
In the postseason, UCLA had already beaten USC in men’s
waterpolo and women’s soccer; wins later came in men’s
tennis and women’s water polo.
It was UCLA’s men’s tennis 4-0 win over USC on May
11 in the second round of the NCAA tournament that would
mathematically clinch the Lexus Gauntlet for the Bruins.
“I’m always proud if we could do something for the
Bruins, especially if it’s against the Trojans,” UCLA
men’s tennis coach Billy Martin said. “The Lexus
Gauntlet is something that adds some flavor to the great rivalry.
But the rivalry was great already.”
The Lexus Gauntlet trophy capped off a year in which the UCLA
program won four national championships, with many other teams
falling just short.