Check out a breakdown of the UCLA sports stories you might have missed this week.
Meb on the move
Not even the hottest U.S. Olympic marathon trials on record could slow down UCLA alumnus and three-time Olympian Mebrahtom “Meb” Keflezighi.
The 40-year-old’s second place finish over the weekend qualified him for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and, turning 41 before August, he will become the oldest American athlete to run in an Olympic marathon.
Keflezighi finished fourth in the 2012 Olympic marathon and earned the silver medal in 2004. In domestic races, he has won both the New York City Marathon in 2009 and the Boston Marathon in 2014.
As a Bruin, Keflezighi totaled 12 All-American honors before his graduation in 1998. Former UCLA cross country and track and field coach Bob Larsen remains his coach to this day.
Back to back
For the second time this season – and the second time in two weeks – junior Mackie McDonald was named Pac-12 Player of the Week.
McDonald had a phenomenal outing at the ITA Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship last weekend, going undefeated in both singles and doubles.
The UCLA standout, at the No. 1 singles spot in the lineup, beat No. 22 Wayne Montgomery of Georgia in three sets, and Brayden Schnur of North Carolina in straight sets. His match against No. 8 Arthur Rinderknech of Texas A&M went unfinished, but McDonald was up 3-0 in the third set.
In doubles, McDonald and his doubles partner, sophomore Martin Redlicki, put on arguably the best doubles performance of the tournament. Together they took down the No. 13 and No. 3 pairs in the country in commanding fashion. Their only close match was against an unranked duo from Texas A&M, who they beat 7-6 after a tiebreaker.
McDonald is currently the No. 34 singles player in the nation, with a 5-1 record in singles and 4-1 in doubles. This is McDonald’s third weekly honor of his career.
A sense of relief
Redshirt junior reliever Tucker Forbes is one of 70 pitchers on the preseason watch list for the Stopper of the Year Award, which is presented by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association to the top reliever in the nation.
Unlike most members of the watch list, Forbes will not be his team’s closer. Instead, the 6-foot-8 righty will occupy an eighth-inning role after handling seventh-inning duties last season.
Freshman Brian Gadsby will take over the closer spot with former Bruin David Berg now at the Chicago Cubs organization. Gadsby throws with a similar side-arm motion to Berg, who last year became the first player to win the Stopper of the Year Award twice.
Compiled by Korbin Placet and Tanner Walter, Bruin Sports senior staff.