Daily Bruin columnists Jason Feder and Allister Wenzel face off over which team will bring home UCLA’s 100th title and who will really care when they do.
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Which team will win UCLA’s 100th national championship?
Feder: It will be the gymnastics team. They’ve got the first shot at No. 100 with NCAA Championships starting on April 26 and will capitalize. They’re coming off two straight victories at both the NCAA Regionals and the Pac-10 Championships and resemble a speeding train with one thing in mind “”mdash; a national championship. They’ve got one of the best gymnasts in the country in Tasha Schwikert, and coach Valorie Kondos Field has led the Bruins to five NCAA titles in the past 10 years. Bruin gymnastics is one of the premier programs in the country and it seems like it’s been forever since they won a title, even though it’s only been three years. The Bruins will return to national prominence by bringing home a title and will dominate the individual competitions.
Wenzel: Men’s volleyball. I actually think this is a toss-up between men’s volleyball and women’s water polo (and if neither one can do it, watch out for women’s soccer next year), but considering I have covered the volleyball team all season, I’m going to factor in my bias here and choose them. This would be an incredibly fitting achievement for them; the team with more national titles than any other sport winning No. 100 for the school. Before they played UCI, I honestly didn’t have much faith in their championship hopes. However, by defeating the No. 2 Anteaters, this team has finally proven they can compete with the very best. This team lifts weights in their free time, so while other teams may be fatiguing circa now, UCLA will be peaking and can push through all rounds of the postseason. If volleyball wants the championship, they will have to face a few rounds of tough, tough competition within their own conference from teams such as UCSB, Pepperdine, BYU and UCI. But if they play their best volleyball, they can get through those teams. If that happens, expect yet another volleyball title to come to Westwood.
How important is the 100th title for the school?
Wenzel: For the school, the 100th national title is the ultimate representation of the athletic accomplishment and tradition at UCLA. Being the first university to reach triple-digit national titles would give UCLA a stand-out statistic that puts us on a separate level than any other university. Everybody affiliated with the school would have ultimate bragging rights, recruiting for athletes and even students would improve, and Dan Guerrero would be a happy man. We would cement ourselves permanently as the all-around athletic powerhouse of an era.
Feder: It’s a great milestone and shows UCLA’s national prominence in recruiting and developing athletes. Reaching 100 first is a pretty big accomplishment, especially now with parity in collegiate sports making it harder and harder to bring home the hardware. It’s emblematic of the rich athletic tradition at this school and is a tribute to the student-athletes who have paved the way for UCLA as one of the top sports programs in the country. It also serves as a reminder that UCLA fans and students need to recognize the more minor sports that have more than their share of championships. Without the sports that get attendance in the hundreds (not thousands), this school would be no where near 100.
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Do students really care about reaching 100?
Feder: Probably not that much. Most of the people that really care are the ones who just want to be able to brag on other schools’ message boards. Students definitely see it as an accomplishment, but No. 100 is just a number ““ not any more important than any other championship. I think students would rather see just one championship in basketball or football in their time here than reach numerical milestones.
Wenzel: No. 100 doesn’t mean nearly as much to the students as it does to the school and the athletes. There is no question about that; take a look at the attendance at men’s volleyball and women’s water polo games and that point is proven. I think students would be proud of the achievement and certainly they would wear their UCLA sweatshirts for a few days, but at the end of the day, it’s just another number for people to brag about to students at other schools about why UCLA is better. The blood, sweat and tears that have gone into each and every one of the 99 championships cannot really be fathomed by many people. And that’s a fact.
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How should UCLA celebrate the milestone?
Wenzel: Have another fake bonfire in Wilson Plaza. That seemed to have been pretty effective when we had one before the UCLA-USC football game, so why not bless UCLA’s future with another frustrating and absentminded celebration? Or even better, we can celebrate the same way we did after the UCLA-USC football game. Actually, I don’t really remember how we celebrated …
Feder: Plans currently in place include adding “First to 100″ graphics on the court of Pauley Pavilion and having former UCLA championship teams presented at football games in the fall. This is a good start, but they should get students more involved in the celebration. I’m thinking something along the lines of a school-wide day off for students to watch tapes of UCLA’s championships. What better way to appreciate the great teams of the past than to devote class time to it? They could even make a movie about the 100 titles (this is Los Angeles, after all). It could be called “100: Prepared for Glory.”
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Which school will be the first to 200?
Feder: That all depends on a couple of situations. If coaches Al Scates (19 championships as a coach), Adam Krikorian (11) and Valorie Kondos Field (5) stick around, this university will be set for awhile. Krikorian and Kondos Field are two of the top coaches in the country in their respective sports (water polo and gymnastics), and Scates is the volleyball equivalent of John Wooden. There’s only one other situation that could really hurt UCLA ““ if the ice caps melt and L.A. goes under water, this school might have a problem. But barring an international climate fiasco or the mass exodus of coaching staffs, No. 200 should be UCLA’s for the taking.
Wenzel: Cornell will come storming out of the Ivy League and make history. They will become national powerhouses in football, basketball, baseball and lacrosse, winning 25 consecutive championships in each sport to take No. 200. Actually, I’m just kidding, that would be ridiculous if Cornell did that. It will be Harvard.