Daily Bruin

Balance of power shifts in Pac-10 as California turns table on
UCLA

By Randy Satterburg

Daily Bruin Staff

BERKELEY — The times, they are a changin’.

UCLA’s football team is in the Pac-10 cellar at 0-3, Washington
State occupies first place with an undefeated conference record,
and Lyle Lovett is married to Julia Roberts ­ all of which
prove that in today’s day and age, anything can happen.

And with Cal’s 26-7 win Saturday, the Golden Bears became the
first Pac-10 team ever to beat the Bruins in five consecutive
seasons ­ after having lost to UCLA in their previous 18
meetings.

Who’d have thunk it?

But with the dreaded "P-word" ­ parity ­ rearing its
ugly head in the Pac-10, nowadays the only sure thing is that there
are no sure things.

It’s happening all over the conference.

USC’s National Championship plaques and Heisman Trophy winners
were of no use last week in an embarrassing home-field loss to
Oregon as an obscure back-up quarterback making his first
collegiate start.

Bill Walsh’s three Superbowl rings don’t guarantee anything for
Stanford’s football team except high expectations.

And 18 years of UCLA dominance over Cal no longer means a thing
when those two teams meet these days.

Past histories are thrown out and the slate is wiped clean.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, they can’ t take their trophy case
out on the field.

In the past, a banged-up and struggling UCLA team might have
managed to sneak past the Golden Bears for a victory. But now,
improvements in Cal’s program, and in every Pac-10 team for that
matter, have leveled the playing field to the point where no
match-up is a gimme.

After Saturday’s game, UCLA Athletic Director Pete Dalis
explained the changes he’s seen around the conference in recent
years that make 18-year winning streaks unlikely in the future.

"As soon as we reduced scholarships, it created parity," Dalis
said. "I think there are better coaches in the Pac-10 (now) than
there were 15 years ago. I think everybody has (improved).
Washington State has as good a defense as anyone and I don’t think
that 10 years ago anybody would have predicted that."

This explanation offers little consolation though for a UCLA
team that cannot figure out how it has managed to come out on the
losing end against Cal for the fifth consecutive time.

Of course there are a number of factors which may account for
one team having an inordinate amount of success against another
­ including talent, timing, and luck, among others.

On this day however, it was clear that UCLA never gave itself a
chance to win the game.

"It’s embarrassing," quarterback Wayne Cook said. "And I think
its embarrassing to go out there, screw up the way we screwed up,
and just not look good. We practice way too hard for that."

But crippling injuries on both sides of the ball have rendered
the UCLA depth chart a mere shell of what it was supposed to be at
the start of the season. The loss offered testimony that the Bruins
have not been able to overcome the injuries and come together as a
team as soon as head coach Terry Donahue had anticipated last
week.

"Obviously, that assessment wasn’t right," Donahue said. "It was
very upsetting and disheartening to see us play as poorly as we
played."

The pain is the worst for a group of seniors who will leave UCLA
without knowing the feeling of defeating the Golden Bears. The
taunt of the Cal student section chanting "five more years" will be
hard to forget for several Bruin seniors.

"When (Cal) had us down and they chanted that, it really hurt me
because I’m a senior and I’ve lost five years in a row," defensive
tackle London Woodfin said. "Now there’s nothing I can do but just
bear it, I guess."

Polo ends dismal road trip with UOP loss

No. 4 Bruins blow

third-quarter lead,

lose 6-5 to Pacific

By Scott Yamaguchi

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

STOCKTON-After falling to Stanford and California in its annual
visit to the Northern California schools this weekend, the
fourth-ranked UCLA men’s water polo team had hoped that its first
ever game at University of the Pacific would provide some positive
note on which the Bruins could end an otherwise uninspiring road
trip.

Instead, UCLA was handed its third consecutive loss, a 6-5
heartbreaker that was decided in the final minute of Sunday’s game.
With 1:08 remaining in regulation, UCLA junior Tommy Wong was
ejected, leaving the Tigers with a 6-on-5 advantage. UOP was unable
to convert while Wong sat in the corner, but as the referee waved
Wong in, Pacific’s Antony Cullwick hurled a shot from beyond
eight-meters that slid past UCLA goalie Matt Swanson.

The two-point goal, which came with 0:46 left in the fourth
quarter, left the score at 6-5 and capped a Pacific comeback that
saw the Tigers erase a three-point third quarter deficit with four
points in the final period. More importantly, the result evened the
teams’ head-to-head competition record at 1-1, which could have a
dramatic effect on the distribution of NCAA Tournament bids later
this season.

Evidently, the UCLA squad that showed up Sunday was not the same
one that had hammered Pacific, 11-6, a week ago en route to a
third-place finish in the NorCal Tourney in Palo Alto.

The Bruins were sluggish from the outset, even sloppy at times.
Still, they led 1-0 at the end of the first quarter and 2-1 at
halftime. Mark Sutter had opened the scoring with 1:26 remaining in
the first quarter, and Jeremy Braxton-Brown put the Bruins ahead
2-1 with 0:46 left in the first half after Pacific had tied the
score at one on a four-meter penalty shot by Rey Rivera.

"If we had played the first and second quarters the exact same
way we played the third quarter, there could have been a completely
different result," UCLA head coach Guy Baker said. "We had so many
opportunities early in the game where we were up on our fast
breaks, but we weren’t finishing our counter attacks like we were
in the third quarter."

Had UCLA played the entire game as they did the third quarter,
the outcome would probably have been reminiscent of last week’s
game in Palo Alto. After Pacific tied the score again at 2-2, the
Bruins ran off three unanswered goals, starting with Sutter’s
second score with 4:27 remaining in the third period. Wong followed
with a goal of his own less than 30 seconds later, and
Braxton-Brown notched his second goal with 1:53 remaining in the
period to give UCLA a 5-2 advantage. That, however, would finish
the scoring for the Bruins.

"We had a big lead going into the fourth quarter, but it was
over – the guys just didn’t want to work hard during the game to
finish it off," Baker said.

Rivera began the fourth quarter barrage for the Tigers by
scoring with 6:36 remaining, and Jude Allen opened the door for
Cullwick’s heroics with a 6-on-5 conversion 3:48 into the
period.

"(UOP head coach John) Tanner just told us to take it one goal
at a time," Kipp said, " and he let us know that the game was by no
means out of our reach.

"But we all knew that."

Deafening defeat for water polo in Berkeley

No. 3 California turns back UCLA

as Bears roll over No. 4 Bruins 8-5

By Esther Hui

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

BERKELEY — The tall walls surrounding the Berkeley pool loomed
threateningly as the No. 4 UCLA men’s water polo team was crushed
by No. 3 California 8-5 before a raucous, filled-to-capacity crowd
last Saturday.

The Bruins’ (10-6 overall, 1-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports
Federation) communication faltered amidst the frightening echoes of
the arena-like pool. UCLA converted on only one of eight man-up
situations, while Cal was able to convert four of eight man-ups for
points. Several Bruin passes sailed over the receivers’ heads and
out of bounds or into the arms of the opposing team.

The Bruins had hoped to defeat the Bears again, after upsetting
them, 12-10, for the first time in three years at last weekend’s
Northern California Tournament.

"(Man-up) situations were the difference in this game," UCLA
head coach Guy Baker said. "(Scoring on) one out of eight is really
bad. We knew what to do, we talked about it, we had the ball in the
right spot. We just didn’t do a good job. I think our inexperience
showed. We looked rattled the whole game."

The game remained scoreless until the final four minutes of the
opening quarter when an unguarded Mike Sparling scored the first
point for Cal. UCLA answered when Jeff Porter got off a shot at the
buzzer to tie the game 1-1 going into the second period.

Ten minutes into the second quarter, Cal capitalized on a UCLA
ejection with an inside shot to take a 2-1 lead which they never
relinquished.

Although the first half was characterized with nail-biting
closeness, the second was marked with frustrating errors by the
young Bruin squad.

UCLA won the opening possession, but when a Tommy Wong pass to
Jim Toring went out, Cal’s Brian Dilaver broke for a fast drive to
score.

Things looked up for the Bruins when Wong scored the only
two-point goal of the game to tie the score at 3-3 with less than
five minutes to play in the third quarter. But breakdowns in the
defense resulted in unanswered points by the Bears, including one
in a man-up situation.

"Thinking-wise, we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be," UCLA
assistant coach Matt Emerzian said. "We weren’t playing smart water
polo. This was the first big crowd we’ve played in front of, we
were nervous. It’s hard to hear each other out in the pool. The
smarter you play, the easier it is to play."

UCLA’s only goal during a man-up situation came 10 minutes into
the final quarter when Mark Sutter scored on a follow-up to a
blocked shot to bring UCLA within one point.

As time ran out, the shouts and boos of the crowd were
deafening. Cal scored three more times, interrupted by just one
UCLA shot, as the Bears went on to an 8-5 victory.

"We didn’t do a good job controlling the things we could
control," Baker said. "When you’re on the road the home team gets
certain advantages. We didn’t do a good job on the counterattack,
the fast break, and man-up situations. We were very poor in those
areas."

M. soccer takes two on road

No. 10 UCLA shuts out UNLV,

New Mexico at end of travels

By Tim Costner

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

It’s all downhill from here. Well, sort of.

With seven games left in the regular season, the UCLA men’s
soccer team completed it’s road schedule last weekend, topping New
Mexico, 1-0, on Sunday and rolling past Nevada-Las Vegas, 3-0, on
Friday.

So now the No. 10 Bruins (10-1 overall) are poised for a strong
finish, but – in addition to their league rivals – they will have
to face No. 2 Indiana at the end of this month.

Even so, UCLA proved once again this weekend that they could
find ways to win, which is good news for a team that will have to
contend with the Hoosiers in three short weeks.

***

Against the Runnin’ Rebels (4-7) at Peter Johann Memorial Field,
the Bruins were able to create chances on goal despite the home
team’s trademark physical style of play.

The Bruins scored their first goal in the 41st minute after UCLA
midfielder Caleb Meyer set up fellow midfielder Justin Selander
with a cross pass from the right side.

Selander volleyed the ball from the top of the goal box and into
the net to put UCLA up, 1-0.

In the second half, the Bruins resumed the scoring as UCLA
defender Adam Frye assisted forward Ante Razov on a breakaway,
which put the striker into a one-on-one with the Rebel goalie.

Razov buried the ball in the 63rd minute to give the Bruins an
insurance goal and a 2-0 lead.

Then, in the 89th minute Frye tallied a goal of his own on an
assist by UCLA midfielder Eddie Lewis. With a chip shot over the
goalie’s head, Frye put the Bruins up 3-0 and dashed all hopes of a
Rebel comeback.

All in all, the game featured six cautions and one ejection –
with UCLA garnering just two of the bookings. UCLA goalie Chris
Snitko had five saves on the evening.

***

Sunday’s game against the Lobos (7-5) featured another classic
1-0 squeaker by the Bruins, who have won six games this season by a
one-goal margin.

And, in what has become typical for UCLA, the game-winner came
late in the second half.

The Bruins found redemption in the 74th minute, scoring on their
only shot on goal in the second half.

Razov orchestrated the play, crossing the ball from the left
corner to UCLA midfielder Tahj Jakins, who put a one-touch past the
Lobo goalie to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead and an eventual
victory.

The shutout was Snitko’s third consecutive.

***

With the two victories, the Bruins have improved their Mountain
Pacific Sports Federation record to 2-1. UCLA will play its last
four conference games over the next two weeks.

Falling down

Football drops fifth straight to Cal Bears, falls to Pac-10
cellar

By Scott Yamaguchi

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

BERKELEY — Yes, the urgency has finally turned to panic.

For the fourth consecutive week, the UCLA football team found
itself on the embarrassing end of a lopsided score ­ this time
a 26-7 loss to California Saturday at Cal’s Memorial Stadium ­
and still, the Bruins have yet to find an answer.

"We’re just not making the plays on offense or on defense," UCLA
head coach Terry Donahue said. "Everything seems so hard for us
right now."

Things are very hard for the Bruins, and with an 0-3 record in
Pacific-10 play, it would seem that a return trip to the Rose Bowl
on New Year’s Day is almost impossible. But this game, against a
Golden Bear squad which had already lost to San Diego State and
Hawaii, was supposed to mark the beginning of a turnaround for UCLA
­ an end to the three-game skid in which the Bruins were
outscored 107-31.

In fact, following his team’s 37-10 loss to Washington last
week, Donahue pointed to the intensity with which UCLA had played
the Huskies. That, he said, was an indication that the Bruins were
on the brink of snapping the streak.

Instead, for every stride made against Washington, UCLA (2-4
overall, 0-3 in the Pac-10) took two in the opposite direction
against Cal (3-2, 2-0). The Bruins, who entered the game as the
least-penalized team in the conference, were flagged nine times for
96 yards.

Perhaps it was fitting, then, that Bruin kicker Bjorn Merten’s
opening kickoff was followed immediately by a 15-yard dead-ball
foul on UCLA, and that on Cal’s final drive, while the Bears were
being forced to punt on fourth down, the Bruins were called for a
defensive holding penalty that gave Cal a first down and allowed
for the clock to be run out.

"We just made a lot of bad decisions in terms of blocking in the
back, and in terms of holding," Donahue said.

Penalties, however, were not the only disheartening aspect of
the game for UCLA. If it was not a penalty that stalled the Bruin’s
offense, it was a turnover. The three quarterbacks that played
combined for four interceptions, two of which led to Cal
points.

Following Paul Guidry’s touchdown-saving interception of Cal
quarterback Dave Barr’s pass in the end zone on Cal’s first drive,
the Bruins were forced to punt. The Bears received the ball on
their own 18, and after eight plays, Brian Longwell was wide left
on a 52-yard field goal attempt.

UCLA took over on its own 35, but on a third and ten from the
50, starting quarterback Wayne Cook threw into the hands of Cal’s
Artis Houston, who returned the interception 52-yards to the UCLA
11. Three plays later, Cal was on the scoreboard with a four-yard
scoring strike from Barr to tight end Tony Gonzalez with 2:53
remaining in the first quarter.

Cook returned to the field and seemed to redeem himself,
engineering an 80-yard drive that culminated in what ended up as
UCLA’s only score, when Daron Washington burst up the middle and
ran 26-yards into the end zone.

After punts by both teams, Longwell split the uprights on a
38-yard attempt, and UCLA took the ball on its own 20. On the
second play of the series, however, Cook was stripped of the ball
on a broken play, and Chad Sauter recovered for the Bruins in their
own end zone ­ a safety.

"There’s not a guy in the locker room that likes football right
now," Cook said. "It’s just not fun when you lose four in a
row."

Darren Schager’s free kick was returned to the Cal 40, and with
Barr knocked out of the game with a broken collarbone, Cal back-up
quarterback Kerry McGonigal led the Bears 60-yards in six plays,
the last of which was a 20-yard touchdown pass to Iheanyi
Uwaezuoke, and Cal entered the locker room with a 19-7 halftime
advantage.

"I think that series before the end of the first half was huge,"
Donahue said. "When you’re a team like us struggling right now, you
don’t have the same response as a team on a roll, making plays. It
becomes a downer.

"We just gave Cal all the momentum and they made the plays."

Both teams were scoreless in the third quarter, and when UCLA
took the ball on its own 5-yard line with 30 seconds left in the
third quarter, Donahue benched Cook in favor of sophomore Ryan
Fien.

"When you’re not making plays, the focal point becomes the
quarterback," Donahue said. "I wanted to see if a change would help
us. Obviously, it didn’t have much impact."

It had an impact, albeit undesirable. On his third play of the
game, Fien dropped back and threw to Bryan Adams, who was hit
immediately. The ball bounced off of Adams and into the hands of
Cal safety Dante DePaola, who returned the interception 25-yards
for the Bears’ final touchdown.

Fien was intercepted again on the Bruins’ next possession, and
after two punts by Cal and one by UCLA, third-string quarterback
Rob Walker entered the game for the Bruins, only to be intercepted
on his third pass.

On the day, Cook completed 9 of his 15 attempts for 92 yards,
while Fien was 3-of-5 for 28 yards. Tailback Sharmon Shah rushed 17
times for 83 yards, and Skip Hicks ran the ball six times for 25
yards. As usual, flanker Kevin Jordan and linebacker Donnie Edwards
turned in outstanding performances for UCLA. Jordan caught five
passes for 70 yards, and Edwards had ten tackles, including a sack
that dropped Barr for an eight-yard loss. Inside linebacker Shane
Jasper led the defense with 12 tackles, including two for
losses.

For the Bears, Barr was 7 of 12 for 116 yards, and McGonigal was
6 of 9 for 82 yards. Reynard Rutherford ran the ball 22 times for
98 yards, and Uwaezoke caught four balls for 74 yards.

While the loss was the fourth straight for UCLA, it was the
fifth consecutive time that the Bruins have fallen to California,
making the Bears the first conference team in 60 years to beat UCLA
five times in a row. Donahue fell to 14-5 versus California.