Weekend in preview: Jan. 18
This post was updated Jan. 22 at 6:26 p.m.
Women’s water polo
Jack Perez, Daily Bruin staff
The Bruins kick off their season with familiar opponents at a familiar location.
UCLA women’s water polo will open its regular season with five games at the UC Santa Barbara Invitational. Last season, the Bruins went 4-0 at the tournament.
UCLA starts off with a game against CSUN and follows that up with games against UC Irvine, Cal Baptist, Michigan and UC Santa Barbara over the three-day tournament beginning Friday. This weekend will be the first games for each team.
Coach Adam Wright said he is not concerned with his team’s record at the tournament as much as how he wants to see consistency from practices translate to games.
“Success is ‘Are they carrying over the things we’ve been doing from the fall and the last couple of weeks?’” Wright said. “Whether it’ll be defensively, or in transition, or in the front court, if we can’t carry these things over from week in and week out, then we can never arrive to be the team we ultimately want to be.”
UCLA went 5-0 last season against three of the teams they are scheduled to play this weekend. It defeated both Michigan and UCSB twice, and their lone win over UCI came in a double overtime game.
“We know we have a challenging weekend ahead of us against really good teams,” Wright said. “The biggest test is how are we going to react under pressure and is that going to change the things we’ve been working on or not.”
Women’s tennis
Andreas Papoutsis, Daily Bruin contributor
The Bruins have one more weekend of preparation before season.
UCLA women’s tennis will travel to Las Vegas this weekend to face UNLV in the Freeman Memorial Championships hosted at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.
The Bruins are slowly shaking off the rust from break, and coach Stella Sampras Webster said she wanted her team to play one more weekend of matches before their ITA Kick-Off against Minnesota.
“A lot of them haven’t competed in a couple months,” Sampras Webster said. “So it’s going to be getting back into tournament mode.”
In addition to a nearly two-month break from competition, UCLA will have to warm up for the beginning of season in the face of low temperatures. Despite the weather, many Bruins will still be asked to play multiple matches per day.
“It’s quite cold there,” Sampras Webster said. “They really need to take care of their bodies and make sure they recover well.”
This weekend’s tournament will also feature multiple performances from the team’s freshmen, including nationally ranked Elysia Bolton, Katie LaFrance and Taylor Johnson. Sampras Webster hopes these freshmen can use their matches against UNLV as a building block for the rest of the season.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to get to know (Johnson) better and to see her play,” Sampras Webster said. “I think it’s important that (Bolton) understand how long the season is, and she’s going to have to get used to playing when fans are not supportive.”
Track and field
Peter Frederick, Daily Bruin contributor
The rest of the UCLA track and field team is beginning the 2019 campaign after a strong season-opener by the throwing team in which nobody finished lower than fourth.
The team will compete at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Collegiate Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Friday and Saturday. Among the Bruins making their season debuts is redshirt senior sprinter Leon Powell, who redshirted in 2018.
“(I’m looking forward to) competing,” Powell said. “Taking a year off, it was really a difference of being in a competitive mode every week; we also have five to seven new recruits so having a team (to compete with) is really exciting.”
Powell earned the Bruin Leadership Award at last year’s 2018 UCLA scholar-athlete banquet for making a significant impact on the UCLA student-athlete experience despite sitting out last season. Powell also earned All-American Honorable Mention honors in 2017 in the men’s 4×100 meter relay.
Other notable Bruins making their season debuts this weekend are redshirt junior Robert Brandt, who finished eighth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last year to earn First-Team All-America honors in the men’s 10K run and senior Lillianna Hebert, who finished fifth in the high jump and 15th in the triple jump at the Pac-12 championship.
Swim and dive
Robert J. Nevarez, Daily Bruin contributor
The Bruins officially launch into Pac-12 competition this weekend.
UCLA swim and dive (7-0) will welcome Oregon State (3-4) to Spieker Aquatics Center on Saturday as its first of five consecutive conference matches before entering the Pac-12 championship.
In their previous two Pac-12 meets, Oregon State suffered losses to Arizona State (2-3) and Arizona (3-2) by scores of 153-96 and 152-103, respectively. The Bruins defeated both schools earlier in the season with marks of 160-140 and 161-139.
While the swim team heads into the weekend riding the momentum of last week’s dual meet victory against UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara, the dive team enters on nearly two weeks of rest, last competing Jan. 7 against Harvard and San Diego.
Dive will additionally take part in the Bruin Diving Invitational, hosting 15 different West Coast schools. Among these teams, UCLA faces familiar Pac-12 foes USC, Utah, California and Stanford – the No. 2 swim and dive squad in the country.
Other participating schools include San Diego State, UNLV, San Diego, Cal Poly, Northern Arizona, Pepperdine, Air Force, Denver, Cal Baptist and San Jose State.
The Bruin Diving Invitational will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Men’s volleyball to play Long Beach State for first time since 2018 NCAA final loss
The Bruins have a chance to avenge their loss in last year’s NCAA championship final.
No. 6 UCLA men’s volleyball (5-1) will face No. 1 Long Beach State (5-0) Saturday at Pauley Pavilion in a rematch of last year’s title match that saw the 49ers claim their second championship in school history.
UCLA coach John Speraw said fans can expect Saturday’s contest against the defending champions to be the most electrifying home match of the regular season.
“There are going to be a lot of exciting volleyball players on the court,” Speraw said.
The Bruins’ starting roster is noticeably different than the one that was a set away from winning the national title last season.
Three of the starters from the 2017-2018 roster graduated, leaving senior setter Micah Ma’a, senior outside hitter Dylan Missry and junior middle blocker Daenan Gyimah as the remaining starters on team .
Gyimah said the new additions to the team, including redshirt junior opposite Brandon Rattray and junior outside hitter Austin Matautia – both transfers from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa – have helped change the dynamic of the team’s play in a positive way.
“It’s unbelievable,” Gyimah said. “We can play a lot faster, which is harder for them to block, and they can both bang the ball. (Matautia) can pass and play defense, it’s great.”
Many of the 49ers the Bruins faced in last May’s championship final will once again take the court. Six of the eight Long Beach State players that appeared in all five of the match’s sets are on the 2019 roster.
These returners include the 2017-2018 leaders in kills, outside/opposite hitter Kyle Ensing, outside hitter TJ DeFalco and the current national leader in assists per set, setter Josh Tuaniga.
Speraw said Long Beach State’s experience on the court will force UCLA to be at the top of its game.
“We’re going to have to play our best volleyball of the season at this point,” Speraw said. “In terms of their execution of systems and fundamentals, they’re just beyond where we are right now.”
Gyimah said the Bruins will need to improve in serving if they are to challenge the defending national champions.
“We’re going to have to serve well,” Gyimah said. “We’re going to have to serve them off the court.”
UCLA currently leads the country with 127 service errors. The 49ers committed 19 service errors in comparison to the Bruins’ 26 in last year’s championship final.
Ma’a said that a win against Long Beach State would help the Bruins moving forward.
“That I can say would be pretty cool,” Ma’a said. “It would be really good for morale.”
The match will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion.
Men’s basketball freshmen prepare for first game against USC
Jalen Hill may not have taken on USC last year, but he said he is fully aware of what’s at stake this weekend.
“It’s USC-UCLA: That’s historic,” said the redshirt freshman forward.
UCLA men’s basketball (10-7, 3-1 Pac-12) will take on crosstown rival USC (9-8, 2-2) on Saturday night in their first matchup of the season. The Bruins won both of the contests last season, by three points in Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 3 and by 11 points in the Galen Center on March 3.
The leading scorer for UCLA in those two games was then-junior guard Aaron Holiday, who has since moved on to the NBA. This year, sophomore guard Kris Wilkes has stepped in as the team’s leading scorer, averaging 17.3 points per game.
While that mark is good for third-best in the Pac-12, Wilkes is shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from 3-point range in conference play.
“The biggest thing with (Wilkes), he can really score,” said interim coach Murry Bartow. “The big thing we’re trying to sell to him is we want him to score, we want him to shoot it a lot, but he’s got to be efficient in his shots. We’ve got to make sure he’s getting good looks.”
Wilkes scored 13 and 22 points in his two appearances against the Trojans last season while shooting a combined 53.8 percent from the field.
“(USC is) definitely a fantastic team, ever since I’ve been here,” Wilkes said. “They were good last year and they’re good again this year. So (you know) it’s always good playing a crosstown rival.”
Wilkes may have logged two games against USC, but freshman center Moses Brown has yet to see the court against the Trojans. Despite his lack of experience in the rivalry, Brown said he knew just how much the game means to Bruin fans.
“This is my first experience playing USC, I know it’s a big rivalry,” Brown said. “We’ve got to get that ‘W’ just for the whole school.”
The Bruins’ five-star freshman may be looking forward to his first game in the crosstown rivalry, but the Trojans’ counterpart is unlikely to take the court.
USC coach Andy Enfeld indefinitely suspended guard Kevin Porter Jr. for conduct issues earlier this week. Porter has played in just two of the Trojans’ last 12 games due to injury, but he is still regarded as a potential lottery pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
The timeline of the suspension is unknown, and Bartow said his team is preparing for the Trojans under the assumption Porter will play.
One Trojan who will be suiting up for the game is forward Bennie Boatwright, USC’s leading scorer and most experienced starter. The senior scored a career-high 37 points in 43 minutes against Oregon State on Jan. 10, something Bartow said he is taking notice of.
“I like Boatwright a lot, he’s really skilled,” Bartow said. “Boatwright is a guy that can very easily go for 30, so you gotta make sure you’re aware of him.”
As for Hill – who will likely match up with Boatwright at times Saturday – said his goal for his first crosstown rivalry game is to do his duty down low.
“Keep boarding more, though, being more physical,” Hill said. “Limit second shots. It’s been a real big problem of ours.”
UCLA and USC will tip-off at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the Galen Center.
Women’s basketball hopes to get back on track with crosstown rivalry game
The Bruins have a chance to sweep the Trojans for the third consecutive season.
UCLA women’s basketball (9-8, 2-3 Pac-12) will battle its crosstown rival USC (10-6, 0-5) at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday. USC will be the first unranked opponent UCLA has seen since Jan. 4.
“(USC has) really good penetrators to the right,” said coach Cori Close. They (also) have really good physical rebounders and they’re athletic, and they like to pressure some.”
In the first contest between the two schools this season, USC forced UCLA to six turnovers in the first quarter. The Trojans took an 11-point lead into the half.
The Bruins, however, dominated the third quarter, shooting 57.9 percent from the field and putting up 31 points to overcome a 13-point deficit and win the game 72-65.
Sophomore forward Michaela Onyenwere, who has scored in double-figures over the past five games, said the team needs to stop the Trojans from dictating the flow of the game.
“I think we learned from last time that we weren’t doing well. … They were kind of just getting whatever they wanted,” Onyenwere said. “So for Sunday’s game, it’s just knowing what they are going to do, … like stopping them earlier and not letting them execute their game plan.”
The Trojans are shooting 40 percent from the field this season, but only average 6.5 3-pointers per game. In is last outing against Oregon State, USC went just 1-of-14 from beyond the arc.
Close said the Bruins will have to balance defensively in order to force the Trojans into taking contested shots.
“If we are going to take away their drives and their inside game, they are sometimes going to get outside shots,” Close said. “But they need to be out-of-rhythm shots and not out of their comfortable offense.”
USC guard Minyon Moore led the team in scoring with 18 points the last time it faced UCLA. Moore has scored in double figures in four of USC’s past five games, and leads the team in assists, averaging 6.1 helpers per game.
Her sister, guard Mariya Moore, leads the Trojans in 3-point shots. She recently boasted a career-high of 36 points in USC’s loss to California on Jan. 6, where she sank a season-high seven 3-pointers.
Redshirt freshman Lindsey Corsaro said containing the Moore sisters will require a team effort.
“(Moore) at the point guard has been getting downhill really well, so I think we need to work as a team to just stop her penetration,” Corsaro said. “I think if we can contain that and communicate on defense, we should be good to go.”
Despite facing some challenging opponents this month, the Bruins said that those matchups were positive learning experiences that will help them prepare for Sunday’s game.
“I think in both games combined we learned the importance of defensive rebounding,” Corsaro said. “And I thought even from Oregon State to Oregon, we grew in our defense a lot so now it’s just kind of putting the pieces together and becoming a more consistent rebounding team.”
UCLA gymnastics looks to floor Arizona State on Monday
The Bruins are in search of their first “Big 198.”
Following two perfect 10s and a first-place finish last weekend, No. 2 UCLA gymnastics (1-0) will meet No. 13 Arizona State at home Monday. The Bruins have yet to score a 198 in 2019, but hope to change that when they face off against the Sun Devils.
“(Success over the weekend) fuels us even more to really dial in on the little things so that we can limit those reductions and get that 198 score that we’ve been shooting for so far this season,” said junior Gracie Kramer.
UCLA emerged victorious in its first meet of the year, recording a score of 197.250. The Bruins scored a 197.700 the following weekend, good for a first-place finish at their first podium meet.
When the Bruins last faced the Sun Devils in a dual meet in 2017, they outscored them by almost three points. Junior Madison Kocian said she and the rest of the team have been preparing to face Arizona State with elevated attention to detail.
“This year is about going into every single meet and knowing that we can beat the other team and doing what we know how to do to win that competition,” Kocian said. “We all have little things that we can improve on so that we can get better with each meet.”
Kocian returned to the UCLA beam lineup for the first time since last season over the weekend. The Bruins’ lineup changes often reflect injuries on the team, as was the case with Kocian’s return. The Bruins said they expect more changes to their floor and vault lineups when they face the Sun Devils.
“I think in every event this weekend we are going to try to put somebody new in (who) hasn’t had the opportunity to compete yet so that they can actually shine just like the rest of our team,” said coach Randy Lane.
Arizona State won its only dual meet this season against Texas Women’s University, with a season-high 195.675. UCLA has not scored below 195.700 since its loss to California in 2016.
While UCLA has garnered recent accolades, including viral routines and Pac-12 honors, Kramer said the Bruins remain focused on competing well throughout the season with their sights set on defending their title at the NCAA championship in April.
“We maintain that energy and that chemistry so we can feed off each other and not worry about who we are up against,” Kramer said. “It could be Oklahoma, it could ASU, it could be anyone, and I think that as long as we stay in our Bruin Bubble we are going to be unstoppable no matter what.”
Out-of-state students say spending time on Hill during break is too expensive
Many students said staying through winter break is burdensome to international and out-of-state students due to high costs.
UCLA Housing charges $75 for students to stay on the Hill for one night after fall quarter finals, and $1,105.00 to stay over winter break. Members of the International Student Resource Task Force met with UCLA Housing fall quarter to discuss the possibility of lowering costs for the service. The task force is part of the Undergraduate Students Association Council General Representative 1 office.
UCLA spokesperson Katherine Alvarado said the $1,105 fee is the minimal cost needed to cover the limited operational staff, supplies and services that students need while staying over break. Alvarado said 95 students chose to stay through for winter break this academic year.
Ayesha Haleem, USAC general representative 1, said while she understands the logistical difficulties of allowing students to stay through the break, she hopes that UCLA Housing can reduce the stay-through costs for students.
Alvarado said UCLA Housing will work with students who need, but cannot afford, to stay on campus through break. This would involve working with a financial aid counselor to evaluate students’ eligibility for increased financial aid or creating a plan of long-term, smaller payments.
However, Alvarado said many international students are not eligible for financial aid, and would not be eligible for any additional funding.
Housing policy requires residents submit proof of travel arrangements or a Friday night final in order to be allowed to stay over an extra night after fall quarter finals week. Haleem said she thinks having to even apply to stay on the Hill is an inconvenience for international and out-of-state students.
“When you are signing the housing contract you don’t initially think it will exclude the winter break or the couple days after finals, which means for that time you cannot stay in the only place you have in LA,” Haleem said.
Haleem said she thinks requiring students to check out at 8 a.m. Saturday morning is too extreme because some people make travel arrangements for later in the day far in advance, and do not have anywhere to go after checking out of the Hill.
“Even hotels don’t make you check out until 10 or 11,” Haleem said.
Parth Agrawal, a first-year engineering student from India, said he was debating whether to go home or stay on the Hill over break, until he realized how much it cost.
“Going back to India was really expensive but the cost of staying here was equal to my flight,” Agrawal said.
Agrawal added he had to come back to campus a day before the residence halls opened for winter quarter due to flight arrangements. He said he thought paying $75 for one night was ridiculous.
Students said that the limited services on the Hill made life more difficult during the stay-through. Housing offers two meals a day at Cafe 1919 and closes all dining options for two three-day periods during Christmas and New Year’s.
Timothy Chung, a first-year psychology student who stayed on campus over winter break for work, said while he understands it may be difficult to reduce stay-through costs, he thinks international and out-of-state students should not have to pay this much because they already pay a lot in tuition to UCLA. He said he hopes there can be a way to help improve the experience while keeping costs low.
International and out-of-state students pay $28,992 more in tuition than in-state students.
Haleem said she hopes Housing will understand that costly and strict move-out and stay-through procedures can make international and out-of-state students feel like they don’t have a place at UCLA.
“UCLA is their home and there isn’t an alternate space that these people can be,” Haleem said.