2016 was an up and down year for UCLA Athletics; men’s water polo setting the NCAA record for most consecutive victories and the Rio Olympics were among the highlights, but there were also lowlights such as UCLA football’s season. To reminisce on 2016, Daily Bruin Sports created a quiz of various events that occurred last year. How well do you know UCLA sports?
1. In the same win in which UCLA men’s water polo broke a 29 year-old record for consecutive NCAA victories, Adam Wright notched his 200th career victory at the helm of the program. What team did the Bruins beat that day for both milestones?
a. UC Santa Barbara
b. Stanford
c. Pacific
d. UC Davis
2. Redshirt senior goalie Garrett Danner and senior attacker Ryder Roberts were both named finalists for the Peter J. Cutino Award – the Heisman Trophy equivalent for collegiate water polo – after the national championship tournament. Danner won the award in 2015, and if he wins this year, he’ll become the first repeat-winner for the men’s program since who?
a. Sean Kern
b. Adam Wright
c. Alex Rousseau
d. UCLA men’s water polo has never had a back-to-back Cutino award winner
3. In April, this member of the men’s track and field team moved into fourth place in the all-time UCLA record books for his event. He would go on to become a first-team All-American and represent Greece at the 2016 Olympics.
a. Nick Hartle (800 meters)
b. Nicholas Scarvelis (shot put)
c. Sergey Sushchikh (10K)
d. Leon Powell (100 meters)
4. 2016 was a year of milestones for UCLA men’s tennis, as Billy Martin recorded his 500th career win in his 23rd year as the Bruins’ head coach. Which school was UCLA’s opponent when Martin reached this landmark?
a. University of San Francisco
b. SMU
c. University of San Diego
d. Georgia
5. Mackie McDonald became the first UCLA player ever to win both the NCAA men’s tennis singles and doubles championships in the same year. Who did he defeat in the singles title match?
a. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Virginia)
b. Tom Fawcett (Stanford)
c. Mikael Torpegaard (Ohio State)
d. Joao Monteiro (Virginia Tech)
6. This men’s tennis team member won his first 16 singles bouts in 2016, before losing against USC’s Jake DeVine in the final regular season dual match. He also captured his 100th career singles win in April against Stanford’s Nolan Paige.
a. Mackie McDonald
b. Gage Brymer
c. Joe Di Giulio
d. Karue Sell
7. In her first season at UCLA, 2016 bronze medalist Jessie Fleming finished No. 1 in Top Drawer Soccer’s women’s soccer freshman rankings, after leading the Bruins in goals. How many did she score?
a. 13
b. 17
c. 10
d. 11
8. In addition to Fleming, many past, current and future Bruins represented their countries at the Rio Olympics. How many UCLA athletes in total participated in the Games?
a. 50
b. 44
c. 36
d. 30
9. Which player on the 2016 UCLA men’s soccer team scored a team-high of seven goals during the season?
a. Brian Iloski
b. Abu Danladi
c. Jose Hernandez
d. Felix Vobejda
10. How many players are turning to the MLS next season instead of returning to UCLA?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
11. Which of these men’s volleyball teams did UCLA play in the NCAA semifinals?
a. Ohio State
b. BYU
c. Long Beach State
d. UC Irvine
12. How many consecutive games did UCLA men’s volleyball win before its first loss last season?
a. 0
b. 5
c. 10
d. 12
13. UCLA leads the country with 113 NCAA championships. How many did the Bruins win in the 2016 calendar year?
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 3
14. Before going 4-8 on the year, the UCLA football team entered the season in the AP top-25. What was its rank?
a. 13
b. 16
c. 17
d. 10
15. One of the highlights in a 15-17 year for UCLA men’s basketball was then-junior guard Bryce Alford’s game-winning three that lifted the Bruins past then-No. 7 Arizona. Which former men’s basketball player was being honored at the game?
a. Matt Barnes
b. Jrue Holiday
c. Kevin Love
d. Russell Westbrook
16. The women’s basketball team was 26-8 entering the the third round of the NCAA tournament. What seed were they in the big dance before bowing out to Texas?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
17. UCLA softball reached its second consecutive Women’s College World Series but exited the tournament without a single win. What school did the Bruins defeat in a best-of-three series to reach the WCWS?
a. Auburn
b. Cal State Fullerton
c. Oregon
d. Florida State
18. In an injury-filled season, UCLA baseball finished 25-31, its worst season since 2005. Despite the subpar year, how many Bruins were selected in the 2016 MLB draft?
a. 4
b. 5
c. 7
d. 10
19. UCLA gymnastics’ then-senior Sophina Dejesus performed a floor routine that went viral across the nation, but the Bruins came up short in their quest for a national title. In what place did UCLA finish at the NCAA Super Six?
a. 5th
b. 6th
c. 3rd
d. 4th
20. A year after finishing third at NCAAs in 2016, UCLA women’s water polo will add a freshman Rio gold medalist to its roster for the upcoming year. Who is she?
a. Rachel Fattal
b. Maddie Musselman
c. KK Clark
d. Courtney Mathewson
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Answers: 1. d, 2. a, 3. b, 4. a, 5. c, 6. d, 7. d, 8. c, 9. b, 10. d, 11. a, 12. c, 13. a, 14. b, 15. d, 16. c, 17. c, 18. b, 19. a, 20. b