82-year-old set to graduate with bachelor’s degree almost 45 years in the making

Simone King is a painter, runner, golfer and tennis player, and will be graduating from UCLA at the age of 82 with a bachelor’s degree in Korean.

But despite her impressive feats, King said her degree did not come easy.

King started her education in the mid-1970s at Los Angeles Pierce College, but dropped out to take care of her children. Over the next nearly 45 years, she returned to her education multiple times, but had to leave again each time for her family or business.

However, King is a woman who always completes what she starts.

“Once I set a goal, the only way out is completion,” King said. “When the goal has reached completion, it is an automatic mechanism to build confidence. The confidence gives way to tremendous strength and heightened self-esteem.”

King was born in South Korea in 1936, during the Japanese occupation of Korea when Japan held Korea as a colony from 1910 until the end of World War II in 1945.

Growing up, she witnessed both World War II and the Korean War. She said, as a child, her family moved farther south to escape the turmoil of war. However, King was asked to stay behind with her uncle’s family as an independent.

King was forced to miss two years of schooling, but she was able to catch up and become one of the top students in her junior high school despite her difficulties.

“I learned the meaning of life (at) the age of 13,” King said. “I learned from my mother, who said, ‘In order to survive, don’t lose your consciousness,’ meaning mentally (and) physically (one should) always (be) active or continue (to) mobilize. You can achieve self-actualization.”

King immigrated to the United States in 1967, when she married her first husband who was already living and studying in the U.S. with a student visa. They divorced shortly after.

King met her second husband in 1972 while she was traveling abroad in Paris.

King said she had always wanted to pursue an education, so in the mid-1970s she enrolled in Pierce College to study psychology.

After exploring her interests by taking art, math, statistics and science courses at Pierce, King said she eventually hit the college’s unit maximum and was asked to transfer to a four-year university.

King transferred to UCLA to study psychology in 1988 due to its close proximity, but left in 1989 to continue raising her children.

“When you produce children, a woman’s No. 1 responsibility is to raise them well (and) educate them well until their independency comes,” King said.

She also assisted her second husband with his real estate business in Bel Air, serving as the business’ vice president. King’s Court, a street in West Los Angeles, is named after her husband, she said.

King returned to UCLA in 2000 to finish her degree, but left shortly after once again after the death of her second husband.

Even though she took many breaks to raise her children, King said she never lost sight of her goal to complete her education. She said the fact she had never been able to complete her degree weighed on her, so she once again returned to UCLA in 2017.

King said even though she started as a psychology student, she knew she would not be able to enter a professional career at her age. She said she changed her major to Korean in order to better understand the past, present and future of Korea and to potentially aid in improving Korean-American relations.

Her greatest challenge in returning to UCLA at the age of 80 was her difficulty understanding English, King said.

King added that she had to watch a lot of American television, as well as read different works such as the Los Angeles Times to familiarize herself with the level of English required for her rigorous workload.

Jennifer Jung-Kim, an Asian languages and cultures lecturer who taught King, said no matter the work thrown at King, she never lost her positive attitude and determination.

“It’s one thing to be able to go about your daily business, (or) even to work speaking English, but it’s quite another to be doing UCLA-level reading and writing,” Jung-Kim said. “And so not all of it came easy for her, but she just kept trying and trying, and I really admire her work ethic and her persistence.”

King also made sure to be an active participant in class and never let her voice go unheard, Jung-Kim said.

“King was really good about not feeling shy about getting to know other people in the class, sharing her thoughts, listening to their life stories,” Jung-Kim said. “So I think she’s been a real delight to have in the class.”

King said although she had difficulties with her English as well as the rigor of UCLA, she had great teachers and students to help her along the way. Fellow students went out of their ways to be supportive of her studies, King added.

Ina Na, a fourth-year history student, helped King upload assignments onto CCLE. King was grateful for the assistance and asked Na if they could have lunch together, Na said.

Na added their lunch together helped her connect with King, who was not shy to share stories with someone much younger than her.

Despite her age, King said she often remarks to her close friends and family that she is ageless and there is nothing she cannot do if she puts her mind to it.

“She’s really inspirational in that you should never stop learning, you should never stop going after your goals, whatever they may be,” Jung-Kim said. “And don’t give up. Don’t let other people tell you what you should or shouldn’t be doing.”

King said after graduation, she would like to work as an intermediate in American and Korean relations and help bridge the culture gap between the two countries. She would also like to continue her painting as well as spend more time with her family.

Michael Skiles to graduate from UCLA, has no plans to retire from Westwood

Michael Skiles was at a meet-the-candidates event in 2017 while running unopposed for Graduate Students Association president when he heard a new brewery wanted to open in Westwood.

It started a chain of events that would see him help subdivide Westwood into two.

Skiles, a graduate student in philosophy, former three-time president of the GSA, former president of the Weyburn and Hilgard Residents’ Association, leader of Westwood Forward and former president and current renter stakeholder of the North Westwood Neighborhood Council, is graduating this year.

Skiles said he has wanted to pursue a career in politics for as long as he can remember.

“I remember when I was in fifth grade, watching, intently, the 2000 election, and the Florida recount and what’s going to happen,” Skiles said. “How would you manage these situations? And then, (in school), you’ll learn about these cases and you learn about inspiring people who’ve changed the community.”

Skiles ended up making his start in community organizing at UCLA volunteering on the WHRA board, which represents the 2,000 graduate students living in Hilgard’s graduate student housing. At the end of his third year, the officers decided he should step up as president.

While president of Hilgard’s graduate student housing, he said a big issue came up – UCLA was going to tear down the Kinross Recreation Center, a gym for graduate students.

“I was seeing needs for the urban community, and I thought, you know, though I was able to impact the discussion about the gym and about rents in my Weyburn capacity, I thought I had an opportunity to influence these conversations more and bring a broader coalition together as president,” Skiles said. “So I ran for GSA president.”

Skiles won the office of GSA president for the first time in fall 2016. Early in his first term, his Save KREC Task Force succeeded and the administration agreed to build a new $5 million gym to replace the old one.

In his new role as GSA president, Skiles began working with the other graduate student advocacy clubs on campus to accomplish initiatives to benefit students.

Under Skiles, the GSA successfully advocated for prenatal care at the UCLA Arthur Ashe Student Health & Wellness Center, helped expand parking for graduate students during weekends and negotiated with UCLA to slow rent increases for graduate students in university housing.

Then, as he ran for his second term as GSA president, he learned the Broxton Brewery was attempting to open in Westwood.

The brewery had to first receive its liquor license from the Westwood Neighborhood Council during its meeting that night. After his speech at the meet-the-candidates event, he and about seven other students left early to attend.

There, Skiles gave a short speech to the WWNC advocating for more entertainment options for students in Westwood. But after a council member claimed she thought students shouldn’t have as much of a say in managing the Village because they don’t own property there, Skiles said he and the other students walked out enraged.

“You know, she gave this speech thinking that there was justification in her speech,” Skiles said. “But what I saw in that speech was an elitist disregard for our community.”

He said it made him wonder how long the WWNC had been dismissive of student concerns.

Research into past WWNC meeting minutes revealed the neighborhood council had opposed Rocco’s Tavern and Barney’s Beanery, tried to prohibit Target from selling alcohol and once denied an alcohol license to a cafe run by an Iranian immigrant because council members argued he wasn’t able to speak English well enough to understand California liquor laws, Skiles said.

Furthermore, he found that voting for WWNC council members took place far from UCLA. Residents couldn’t remove council members from office or force them to move the polling station, so the only way to effect change was to split the neighborhood, he said.

“And I knew that if only there were an opportunity for all of us to inclusively be able to decide the direction of Westwood, that the informed electorate would move to vote Westwood forward,” Skiles said.

It was then that Westwood Forward was born.

Westwood Forward is a coalition that led the movement to subdivide jurisdiction of Westwood between the WWNC and a new North Westwood Neighborhood Council. In 2018, the movement received enough votes to establish the NWWNC, and Skiles was chosen as its president.

“Skiles deserves the credit,” said Andrew Thomas, executive director of Westwood Village Improvement Association. “He led the effort, he put together the coalition.”

Thomas said Skiles started the Westwood Forward movement with UCLA students, but succeeded because Skiles was able to reach out to different stakeholders in Westwood and form a coalition to advocate for Westwood as a whole.

“So (Skiles) had a message, and I think that message really resonates,” Thomas said. “It is notable that he met with stakeholders all over the district, he didn’t just talk to folks who agreed with him. He talked to people who vehemently disagreed with him.”

Cristina Farkas, a resident at UCLA Health and Skiles’ fiancee, said she thinks Skiles’ optimism and curiosity ultimately helped him meet and enjoy the challenges he faced.

“With starting the neighborhood council, for example, (he) reached out and figured out how to submit all the paperwork,” Farkas said. “You know, things that other students may have found a logistical challenge. (Skiles) knows that he’s capable and focused, (and he) keeps going for it until he figures it out. And he always figures it out.”

Skiles said he kept the staffers in his offices focused by following exciting, but nearly impossible goals – similar to “Game of Thrones.”

“When there are great injustices in the community that students can work together to tackle … the common foe that people can fight are like the white walkers, and the squabbles among student leaders are like squabbles between whether Jon Snow or Sansa should rule Winterfell,” Skiles said.

Farkas said she and Skiles intend to stay in Westwood to focus on their careers.

“Other than taking care of my cat, and balancing our growing careers, we don’t have any concrete plans,” Farkas said. “See our friends and family as much as we can. Continue to play strategy board games.”

Student organizations reconstruct systems of support for women in engineering

Some professors and student groups at UCLA said they think the university has made progress in increasing the number of women in engineering, but more work still needs to be done.

A $5 million endowment was awarded to the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science to provide funding for Women in Engineering at UCLA, according to a university press release in April. The gift was made by Stacey Nicholas, who completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UCLA.

The endowment will allow for the expansion of the program to pre-college students, graduate students and alumnae.

The program was started in May 2017 to increase the number of women in engineering majors at UCLA, said Audrey Pool O’Neal, the director of WE@UCLA and a lecturer in mechanical and aerospace engineering.

“Our mission is to enable the full participation, success and advancement of women in engineering and computer science,” O’Neal said. “However, WE@UCLA is open to all school of engineering students who support this mission.”

Jayathi Murthy, the Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean at the school of engineering, said when she started in this field, the percentage of women in engineering was in the single digits. Increased involvement of women in engineering has always been one of her concerns, she said.

“I was the first woman to get a Ph.D. out of my department,” Murthy said. “It’s been like that all along, and so I’ve been keenly aware of how difficult it can be. … It’s been a passion of mine.”

The idea behind WE@UCLA is to address the entire pipeline for women, whether through working with high schools to attract more women in engineering or holding programs that address the happiness and retention of women in engineering, Murthy said.

Before WE@UCLA, women made up 26% of the freshman class in the school of engineering. In 2017, the first year of the program, the percentage of women went up to 30%. By 2018, the percentage of women increased to 33%, O’Neal said.

“That’s the largest percentage of women in a freshman class that we’ve had in the school of engineering ever, and so we’re very pleased by those numbers,” O’Neal said.

UCLA was listed as one of the best online colleges supporting women in STEM with a score of 78.18 out of 100 according to a list created by the Guide to Online Schools. The list features schools which have high percentages of female students in STEM fields, degrees in STEM offered and extensive online support for female students in STEM. Other schools on the list include Columbia University, Stanford University and the University of Southern California.

WE@UCLA runs two academies – the WE@UCLA Leadership Academy and the WE@UCLA Aerospace Academy – which enable small groups of undergraduates to work on career skills, make connections and learn more about their field of interest from professionals and alumnae.

The leadership academy focuses on professional development and empowerment of women, while the aerospace academy was created to introduce opportunities and careers available in the aerospace industry, she added.

O’Neal said she plans to use the endowment to implement more academies for cybersecurity, environmental health and safety, equality and reliability, and engineering in fashion.

“We know that these cohort-based academies really give women a sense of community and a sense of support and belonging, … but we’re also also adding future academies, and that’s where this gift will help us to do those kinds of things,” O’Neal said.

There are also other organizations on campus which work to encourage more women in engineering. The Society of Women Engineers focuses on outreach, advocacy and mentorship while combating the lack of diversity in STEM fields.

Ikaasa Suri, incoming president of SWE and a third-year computational and systems biology student, said she has felt the contrast in learning styles between men and women in her engineering classes.

“Oftentimes, guys (were) asking questions either related to the subject or a tangential question and it was a little bit intimidating to see how people were digesting the material so quickly, … whereas I just didn’t feel comfortable doing that,” Suri said.

Suri said she thinks the endowment is an incredible step in the right direction because it not only encourages women to join STEM, but to stay in STEM. However, she said she thinks work still needs to be done to actively decrease the gender gap.

“While at UCLA it might not be something that’s incredibly noticeable, it’s definitely noticeable outside the bubble of UCLA, and that’s what I feel like these professional development and advocacy programs are trying to prepare students for,” Suri said.

Above all else, the Daily Bruin gave me lasting friendships and memories -30-

I’ve spent several years thinking of what to write in this very column.

I’ve tried multiple times to make this about journalism. I’ve tried to explain all of the wonderful opportunities I’ve had with The Bruin and all of the hard skills I’ve learned during my time here.

Ultimately, though, I find myself coming back to the friendships and memories I’ve made over the years.

During my time at The Bruin, I’ve laughed, cried, had crushes and been on too many adventures to count. I’ve spent many nights past 2 a.m. in Kerckhoff Hall and made some damn good newspapers in the process. I’ve also shot a basketball game in front of Kobe Bryant, told the world about my crush on a football player in a pregame prediction and trained in six other sections (shout out to Photo, Graphics, Illustration, Video, Online and Sports!).

I can’t overstate the impact everyone at The Bruin has made on my life. To LeAnn Woo, Tanner Walters, Hannah Brezack, Emaan Baqai, Claire Fahy, Korbin Placet, Matt Cummings and Anji Das: Thank you for being the friends and support system I needed during the time my first year when I felt more alone than I ever had. I’ll look back fondly on the dinners we made and the nights we spent up on Korbin’s roof – those were some of the simplest moments of my college career, and undoubtedly some of the most fun.

To Umbreen Ali, Megan Le and Mike Zhang: I wouldn’t have wanted to be a Design director with anyone else, and I hope you all continue to create beautiful things. We had an amazing year and I am so proud of what our section has become. The late runs sucked, but I wouldn’t take back a single one.

To Pentagram: Keep putting that chaotic energy out into the world. I look forward to more brunches and dinners.

To the editors of the 2016-2017 school year – especially Nate Nickolai, Michael Zshornack and Mackenzie Possee: The memories I have with you will stay with me forever, and we better keep seeing Marvel movies together. I love you all to the moon and back.

To Hannah Burnett, Aileen Nguyen and Sarah Sullivan: Thank you for being some of my closest friends; I will miss you dearly in the real world. Don’t forget about me while you’re still busy being cool college kids.

I came into our office a nervous young design media arts student who wasn’t sure she deserved to be at UCLA, let alone a Daily Bruin staffer. I’m leaving a proud, confident designer and photographer. Daily Bruin has done wonders for both my friendships and my professional life, and for that, I’ll always be grateful.

And now, finally, after four years at an amazing newspaper: -30-

Roy was a designer 2015-2016, an assistant Design director from 2016-2017 and senior staff from 2017-2019.

Baseball remains in running after comeback defeat of Michigan in extra innings

This post was updated June 9 at 1:18 a.m.

The Bruins were six outs from elimination.

But for the fourth straight time, they escaped its grasp.

No. 1 seed UCLA baseball (52-10, 24-5 Pac-12) defeated Michigan (45-20, 16-7 Big 10) 5-4 in extra innings Saturday night behind junior first baseman Michael Toglia’s game-tying homer in the eighth and sophomore shortstop Kevin Kendall’s go-ahead double in the 12th.

Freshman infielder Jake Moberg reached base in the top of the 12th when Michigan pitcher Walker Cleveland bobbled the ball – the Wolverine’s fifth error of the game. With one out, Kendall stepped to the plate and ripped a double into the right-center gap to bring in the game-winning run.

“I wasn’t thinking much,” Kendall said. “I probably blacked out. I was just looking for a ball to hit.”

Kendall entered the game as a pinch hitter in the ninth and went 0-for-2 in his first two trips to the plate.

Sophomore right-hander Holden Powell tossed a career-high 77 pitches, going from the eighth through the 11th. He threw five strikeouts in his five full innings of work.

“I was really confident in my pitch ability,” Powell said. “It was kind of unusual because I hadn’t thrown that many innings this year. But I’ve definitely thrown that many innings in my life because I’ve been a starting pitcher my whole life.”

However, the Bruins would not have made it to extras without Toglia.

With UCLA trailing 3-2 in the top of the eighth, Toglia entered the batter’s box to lead off the inning. He tied the game with one swing, launching a solo shot over the left field wall for his 17th home run of the year and UCLA’s first of the series.

The Bruins took a 4-3 lead in the ninth thanks to another Michigan fielding error.

After junior shortstop Ryan Kreidler drew a two-out walk and stole second, junior second baseman Chase Strumpf hit a towering fly ball that popped out of left fielder Christian Bullock’s glove, allowing Kreidler to cross the plate for the go-ahead run.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Powell gave up a leadoff double to first baseman Jimmy Kerr – who later scored on a sacrifice fly to tie the game – in the bottom of the ninth. Michigan’s Joe Donovan almost won the game with his second home run of the night, but junior left fielder Jack Stronach caught the ball at the wall to send it to extra innings.

Sophomore right-fielder Garrett Mitchell reached on a throwing error by the second baseman in the 11th, and a medley of errors followed to load the bases twice for the Bruins.

Kreidler hit a ground ball to third baseman Blake Nelson, whose throw to second sailed into right field. Right fielder Jordan Brewer fumbled the ball, allowing Kreidler to move to second and prompting Michigan to intentionally walk Strumpf to load the bases.

Senior designated hitter Jake Pries hit into a double play at third, leading the Wolverines to intentionally walk Toglia to load the bases again. The gamble paid off, as freshman catcher Noah Cardenas grounded out to second to end the inning.

Overall, the Bruins went 0-for-5 with the bases loaded.

“Credit to our staff and players to keep on competing,” said coach John Savage. “We’re fortunate to come out on top. … You’ve got to tip your hat to both teams for being on the field for five hours and playing for a trip to Omaha.”

Nearly four hours earlier, the Bruins struck in the top of the first after they loaded the bases for Toglia, who drove in a run with a chopper to second to give UCLA its first lead of the series.

Michigan designated hitter Jordan Nwogu led off the bottom of the inning with a double into the left-center gap and came home on back-to-back groundouts to tie the game. The Wolverines went ahead in the next inning on Donovan’s two-run shot over the left field wall – the first homer of the series for either team – off junior right-hander Jack Ralston.

The series finale will start at 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Lisa Fernandez shifts focus to pitchers in 12th year as assistant softball coach

This post was updated June 10 at 12:20 a.m.

Lisa Fernandez first met Rachel Garcia at a game in Garcia’s hometown when the redshirt junior pitcher was just a kid.

“I was lucky enough to be a bat girl, and I ended up on (Fernandez)’s team, and I got to run out her jacket when she was a runner on first base,” Garcia said. “So that was my very first memory of her … and I just remember being so intimidated by her.”

Fernandez has been responsible for working with Garcia and the other UCLA softball pitchers all year after coach Kelly Inouye-Perez made the decision to transition Fernandez from a general assistant to a pitchers-only coach for the 2019 season.

Inouye-Perez said Fernandez has used her prior experience as an elite pitcher to prepare them for harsh conditions and long games, a tactic the Bruins used during their 2019 championship run.

The former UCLA pitcher developed a conditioning program she dubbed “Champ Camp” to prepare Garcia and her fellow pitchers. One of the exercises involves pitching and exercising with layers of clothing on to add to the players’ fatigue, meant to help them prepare for long games in possibly harsh weather.

“The whole idea behind it is that if we’re fatigued in that moment, that we’ll know what the feeling will be like in the end,” Garcia said. “If we can get through that, we can get through anything.”

UCLA failed to advance past the semifinals in 2018 after Garcia gave up 12 runs in four Women’s College World Series games. So Inouye-Perez knew heading into this season that endurance would be the key to the team making it all the way to the end.

“Bottom line, I just wanted them to be tougher in 2019, and they are,” Inouye-Perez said.

This year, Garcia was able to pitch five games in six days during the WCWS – including both championship games just a day after a 10-inning marathon victory. Garcia said her performance was a testament to the workouts Fernandez put her through.

When UCLA was recruiting Garcia in 2015, Inouye-Perez said she saw the resemblance between Garcia’s style of play and Fernandez’s styles of play, from their control of multiple pitches to their ability to excel both in the circle and at the plate.

During Fernandez’s time as a player at UCLA, the three-time Honda Award winner led the Bruins to two national championships during her four years – in 1990 and 1992 – while finishing runner up in the other two years. And as a member of Team USA, Fernandez won three gold medals at the Olympics.

Garcia’s career is following a similar path, as she won the Honda Award in 2018 and is a finalist for the honor this year. And after winning this year’s NCAA championship, she will have the the opportunity to join the Olympic team for the 2020 Olympics.

Fernandez wrapped up her career as a player in the mid-2000s, and soon after that, Inouye-Perez was offered the UCLA head coaching job. Inouye-Perez said her first move was to hire Fernandez as an assistant coach – a position Fernandez said she didn’t hesitate to accept.

“I’m innately loyal … and when I had the opportunity to coach at UCLA, I speak from the heart, there’s no better place to be,” Fernandez said. “Why wouldn’t you want to represent your alma mater when you have the opportunity to represent something that you are so proud of?”

Fernandez is now 12 years into her UCLA coaching career, and she led the next generation of Bruins to a national championship this year.

Garcia said that throughout the season she and Fernandez have developed a bond beyond their partnership on the field. Garcia said the two love spending time just talking or watch horror movies together.

“One hundred percent I feel like she’s that person that I can always just pick up the phone and give a call to, when I’m just needing a chat,” Garcia said. “It’s funny, we bond by watching scary movies, and we’ll invite people to watch scary movies with us, or we’ll do haunted houses, so it’s the little things that often just make our bond stronger with her individually.”

In reflecting on Fernandez’s bond with Garcia, Inouye-Perez said she had never doubted that Fernandez would be a great coach, but the way that she has been able to build relationships with her pitchers has been a big part of what has helped UCLA succeed as a team this year.

“When she first started coaching, it was very much just focused on just the game.” Inouye-Perez said. “I think she’s now just well-rounded and one of the best coaches in the game … That’s where she’s had the most growth, I think in her personal relationships with the players.”

And with Fernandez staying on staff for the next season, she will have a chance to lead the Bruins to another championship in 2020.

A year’s review of UCLA-USC’s crosstown rivalry filled with highs, lows

UCLA and USC faced off in the Crosstown Cup this year with the Trojans prevailing over the Bruins by a score of 105-85. In a year filled with exciting matchups, here are a few that the Daily Bruin staff think warrant a second look.

Football – Nov. 17, 2018
Jared Tay, assistant Sports editor

One word can describe the Bruins’ victory over the Trojans in November’s crosstown clash.

Payback.

Just two days after the Bruin Bear statue was found vandalized with red and yellow paint, UCLA football brought the Victory Bell back to Westwood by securing its first win over USC since 2014.

Fired up Trojan fans tore down the protective walls that have encased the bear each rivalry week since the last time it was vandalized in 2009. But that weekend, it was redshirt junior running back Joshua Kelley who broke down USC’s defense with a career-high 289 rushing yards.

Kelley set a record for most rushing yards by a single player in the 90-year history of the rivalry. He carried the Bruins to their first game with 200-plus yards on the ground since 2015.

Trailing by six in the fourth quarter, Kelley’s 55-yard, untouched run down the left sideline tied the game at 27. Junior kicker JJ Molson’s extra point gave the Bruins their first lead since the start of the second quarter.

The Trojans’ ensuing possession ended with an interception by sophomore defensive back Darnay Holmes, and the Bruins were able to hold the lead to secure the victory.

It didn’t matter that red and yellow splattered the Bruin Bear statue. It was the fans decked out in blue and gold who exploded in cheers as the Rose Bowl scoreboard projected the final score.

Women’s volleyball – Nov. 23, 2018
Dylan D’Souza, Daily Bruin staff

Coming off two losses, the Bruins needed a victory to remain eligible for postseason play.

UCLA women’s volleyball, unranked for the first time since September 2014, nearly mounted a comeback victory against then-No. 15 USC in its final game of the season. The Bruins fought back to force a decisive fifth set after dropping the first two, but lost the final frame to the rival Trojans 15-9.

The loss locked in the Bruins’ first sub-.500 record in program history. Postseason eligibility seemed nearly guaranteed for coach Michael Sealy’s squad in mid-October, with the team sitting with an 11-5 record.

But UCLA concluded the season dropping 9 of its last 11 encounters – culminating in the heartbreaking loss to USC.

The Bruins held a 22-16 lead in the first set, but lost nine of the last 10 points to concede the set 25-23. In the second set, UCLA was leading 17-14 but dropped five straight to eventually lose the frame 25-22.

The loss to the crosstown rivals concluded the careers of two seniors – libero Zana Muno and middle blocker Kyra Rogers – who had previously made it to at least the regional semifinals in each of their first three seasons in Westwood.

Men’s water polo – Dec. 1, 2018
Jack Perez, Daily Bruin staff

The Bruins failed to defend their 2017 national title. And even worse, they gave it up to their crosstown rivals.

UCLA men’s water polo fell 8-7 to USC in the NCAA championships semifinals at Avery Aquatic Center in Stanford, California.

The Bruins had a two-goal lead in the second quarter, but the Trojans fought back to tie the score before halftime. The two teams were neck and neck through the rest of the game, and freshman attacker Jake Cavano’s third goal of the game made it 7-7 with 2:21 left to play.

Redshirt junior goalie Alex Wolf, a First Team All-American, had a career-high-tying 16 saves. But the Trojans’ last shot was just beyond his fingertips, and the ball slipped past Wolf into the back of the net with only five seconds remaining on the clock.

The Bruins could not score a goal before the final seconds ticked away and their season came to a heartbreaking end.

The Trojans went on to win the national title against the Cardinal, while the Bruins went home to begin preparing for 2019 and another shot to win the title.

Women’s basketball – Jan. 20, 2019
Vinny Lavalsiti, Daily Bruin reporter

The Bruins cut an 11-point Trojan lead to two points as the clock ran down to the final 30 seconds.

But before UCLA women’s basketball had a chance to even the contest, USC guard Aliyah Mazyck drew an and-one foul. Those subsequent four points clinched the Trojans’ first win over the Bruins in three years.

The Bruins’ 72-67 loss to USC on Jan. 20 dipped their record back down to .500 and stretched their losing streak to four.

Junior guard Japreece Dean and sophomore forward Michaela Onyenwere – two of the Bruins’ top-3 scorers this season – were held to a combined six points in the first half.

The Bruins’ 16 turnovers were its highest turnover total against Pac-12 opponents at that point in the season. The Trojans translated the opportunities into 24 points.

UCLA’s defeat, however, marked a pivotal point in the Bruins’ turnaround. UCLA embarked on 10-win run in its final 12 games of the regular season to secure a No. 4 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament behind Oregon, Stanford and Oregon State, three top-15 teams.

Men’s basketball – Feb. 28, 2019
Jason Maikis, assistant Sports editor

The Bruins may not have made the NCAA tournament this year, but they ended their home campaign on a high note against their biggest rivals.

UCLA men’s basketball avenged its Jan. 19 loss to USC with a thrilling 93-88 overtime victory in its last home game of the season. Although both teams were far from postseason contention – short of an upset conference tournament run – the win was still a monumental moment for the Bruins’ lost season.

There were 15 total lead changes and neither team led by more than ten points the entire game. A three by forward Bennie Boatwright gave USC an 82-80 lead with 1:18 to go in regulation, but sophomore guard Chris Smith immediately answered with a short jumper to knot the score at 82.

Both teams traded three point attempts, but neither could get them to fall, and the game went to overtime. UCLA’s 5-0 run over the first 3:15 of the extra period gave the Bruins a lead they wouldn’t surrender.

Sophomore guard Jaylen Hands hit a three-point dagger to extend the lead to four with only 20 seconds left, sealing the Trojans’ fate.

Hands put together a double-double with 21 points and 10 assists. Freshman center Moses Brown added a double-double of his own with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Freshman guard Jules Bernard chipped in 16 points off the bench on 6-of-9 shooting.

Boatwright led USC with a 25-point, 15-rebound performance, but UCLA managed to effectively limit USC’s star freshman Kevin Porter Jr. to only 10 points.

The win guaranteed the Bruins a .500 season, and better still, it gave them sweet revenge against their crosstown rivals.

Beach volleyball – May 5, 2019
Jack Matull, Daily Bruin reporter

The Bruins are going back-to-back, they’re going to back-to-back.

No. 2 seed UCLA beach volleyball (35-3) secured its second straight NCAA championship – which was UCLA’s 117th national title – with a 3-0 sweep over crosstown rival No. 1 seed USC (32-6). The Trojans were the only team to beat the Bruins all season, but UCLA overpowered every opponent it faced in the national championships – including USC.

The Bruins faced the Trojans five times before the rivals squared off in Gulf Shores, Alabama. UCLA went 2-3 over those five matches, with the three losses coming in its three most recent matches against USC, including the Pac-12 championship.

The match for the national title started at courts four and five, where UCLA made quick work of USC as senior Izzy Carey and freshman Lindsey Sparks won their match in just 39 minutes on court five. Five minutes later, on court four, juniors Savvy Simo and Madi Yeomans put the Bruins within one match win of a national title victory with another straight set win.

The Bruins’ court three duo of freshman Abby Van Winkle and senior Zana Muno put the dagger in the Trojans’ heart. With the score 22-21, 20-13, Van Winkle stuffed an Alexandra Poletto tip at the net, clinching the title.

In NCAA beach volleyball’s brief history, all four of the national championships have been split between USC and UCLA. However, it is the Bruins who are now two-time defending champions, while the Trojan title drought has been extended to a second year.