Paralympian Blake Leeper forges path to Rio on Drake Stadium track

If you walk into Drake Stadium on a weekday around 11 a.m., you’ll see a group of elite-level athletes working out with legendary sprint coach and UCLA alum John Smith. Allyson Felix, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, could be there one day. Tyson Gay, a sprinter for the U.S. Olympic Team, could be there another. Fellow […]

Verner combines academic experience, philanthropy to inspire children

Alterraun Verner calls himself “just a normal guy.” The UCLA alum posts pictures on Instagram of his family on vacation, friends goofing off in a photo booth at Mayfair High School’s 10-year reunion and himself working out and playing football. But Verner, who now plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, also puts up hundreds of […]

Foundation keeps former basketball manager’s inspirational spirit alive

Brett Tashman was irate and frustrated. Not because of the constant whirring machinery, the IV drips scattered around his room or the rounds of chemotherapy he had endured for his soft tissue cancer over the last two years.

Dedication to tennis takes walk-on player to starting lineup

Laura Luca sat in a classroom at UCLA waiting for a sign of hope. The third-year senior couldn’t focus on the class lecture because her mind was completely occupied by something else. When was he going to call back? A few weeks earlier in the fall quarter, Luca talked to Rance Brown, associate head coach […]

Men’s water polo manager’s behind-the-scenes work reinforces team efforts

Fifty. Give or take an hour or two, Eitan Peled accumulates nearly 50 demanding hours a week working for the UCLA men’s water polo team. When water polo season is in full swing from September to early December, the head manager runs around campus – from the pool to the coach’s office to training – […]

Women’s lacrosse captain finds voice by stepping into leadership role

Sam Fletcher: the quintessential team captain. The senior midfielder from Virginia finished her final season on the turf for UCLA and prepares to, temporarily, hang up her cleats. Though her collegiate playing days are now behind her, Fletcher has left a legacy unequaled by any UCLA lacrosse player before her. Having found unprecedented success during […]

Baseball seniors reflect on historic 2013 College World Series win

A group of UCLA baseball seniors sits in the locker room and thinks. The players look back to June 2013, and try to describe what it was like to win the first College World Series in school history. It takes them a few seconds, but one eventually speaks. “You try to explain it to people, […]