How sweet it is: W. lacrosse beats Claremont
The women’s lacrosse team is entering the most important stretch
of its season as the playoffs beckon the five teams with the best
record in the league and only three more league games remaining on
the slate. With this in mind, Wednesday’s game against Claremont
College was crucial to the Bruins’ playoff hopes as they went into
the contest with a 2-3 league record and two losses against
Claremont over the past two seasons still in their memory.
The Bruins came through when it counted, scoring a resounding
15-4 thumping of Claremont.
This victory was especially sweet not only because it moved UCLA
closer to the playoffs, but also because it vindicated the last two
games against Claremont. In last year’s heartbreaker, Claremont
dealt UCLA its only league defeat of the year in two overtime
periods.
"This victory really was a nice measure of revenge." co-captain
Angel dos Santos said.
The season has come down to the last three games, which will be
against Whittier, UC Santa Barbara, and Westmont. The Bruins are
currently carrying a 3-3 league mark into the stretch run where the
top five teams in the league qualify for the playoffs at the end of
April. The next game for the Bruins will be this Wednesday at the
North Field at 4:30 p.m.
Winning these games is vital to UCLA’s chances of making the
playoffs but the team is not yet caught in a must-win
situation.
"We have a good shot of making the playoffs if we are able to
win two out of the last three," dos Santos said. "Of course, it
also depends on how other teams do."
One of the key ingredients in UCLA’s chances is the team’s
resiliency, which is something that they have lacked in years
past.
"We have the ability to come back," dos Santos said. "When we’re
down we haven’t been giving up and we’ve stayed in until the last
whistle. We have put in a lot of effort"
Another key has been the team’s ability to come together and
play as a whole.
"We have learned to work as a team," dos Santos said. "We are
scoring a lot, and more people are scoring as opposed to one or two
people. Also, the defense is sharing the load. We are playing as a
more cohesive unit."
The co-captain also feels that the intensity the team carries
into its final games will be crucial in determining whether or not
the Bruins can come out on top.
"There have been games where we can’t turn it on to save our
lives. We are at our best when our intensity is up"
Although the team has picked up its play as a whole, dos Santos
mentioned the efforts of several players as vital to the team. Joy
Jaeger, who plays wing, and Amy Fujimoto, who mans the home
position, have set up and controlled the potent Bruin offense. Also
mentioned was Marcy Webster, who will be looking to try out for
Nationals.
* * *
The UCLA men’s ice hockey team wrapped up its season on March 24
by beating USC at Pickwick Ice Arena by a final count of 5-3. The
Bruins finished the season with a record of 12-9-2 after winning
six of their last eight games with one tie and missed a berth in
the playoffs by just two games.
Assistant captain Brad Jensen was not at all disappointed with
the Bruins’ showing this season.
"It (the season) was about what we thought. We got off to a slow
start but we finished up strong. We really brought it on at the
end."
Center Steve Smit and wing Jeff Repo each posted a big season
for the Bruins with Repo leading the team in points scored.
Over the next several weeks and into the summer, all but two
members of the team will stay around and compete in a non-check
men’s league in Burbank.
Next year the Bruins will face a slightly different league
schedule as they play teams in the Pac-10, excluding Oregon State
and Arizona. The team will also have to deal with losing three
members of this year’s squad. Regardless of the differences that
the Bruins will have to work with next year, Jensen has high hopes
for the team.
"The team will do really good. I think they will do at least as
good if not better."