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The third-ranked UCLA women’s water polo team has now won seven straight, after defeating fourth-ranked Loyola Marymount on the road Sunday, 8-2. The Bruins (17-2, 7-0 MPSF) have held their last seven opponents to under six goals. In 13 of the past 30 quarters, UCLA has held its opponents scoreless. The Bruins’ defense was on display in a non-conference bout against the Lions (9-3), holding LMU to just 15 shots for the game, compared to UCLA’s 32. UCLA broke the game wide open in the third period, scoring four goals and holding Loyola Marymount scoreless. Freshman Anne Belden, senior Thalia Munro and senior Kristina Kunkel led the Bruins with two goals each. UCLA goalie Emily Feher finished with four saves. UCLA will host Maryland and Occidental this coming weekend at the Sunset Recreation pool. SWIMMING: Senior Kim Vandenberg ended her collegiate career in high fashion by placing second in the 200-meter butterfly at the third and final day of the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Vandenberg swam a season-best time of 1:56.02 in the race, earning her 16th All-American honor and the highest place of any UCLA swimmer at the meet in Athens, GA. On the second day of racing, Vandenberg earned All-American honors for her 10th-place finish in the 100-meter fly with a time of 53.87. Vandenberg also helped three of the four relays place in the top 16. Those relays included Vandenberg, senior Eileen Seissen, juniors Katie Arnold and Amy Thurman, sophomore Chiemi Yamamoto and freshman Anna Poteete. With the points contributed from those events, the team placed 20th overall out of 46 teams. Other All-American honors went to junior Katie Nelson for her eighth place finish and season-best time of 16:15.23 in the 1650-meter freestyle. The first freshman ever sent to the meet by eighth-year coach Tom Stebbins, and the only diver representing the Bruins this year, Marisa Samaniego placed 32nd in the 3-meter and 38th in the 1-meter. WOMEN’S TENNIS: Yet again, the rain has halted the UCLA women’s tennis team’s chances to compete in a dual match. The Bruins’ matchup against cross-town rival USC was postponed twice this weekend, and a new date for the match will be scheduled during the week after the coaches discuss the matter. The two top-20 teams were scheduled to face off on Friday at USC, but the rainy conditions forced the match to be pushed back to Saturday. However, the two teams were forced to reschedule yet again due to a lack of umpire availability. The Bruins will now focus on finals before heading to Hawaii, where they will take on Hawaii Pacific in a match that won’t hold any impact on their national ranking. Upon returning from the trip to Hawaii, the Bruins will play host to Arizona State and Arizona in their second pair of Pac-10 dual matches on March 31 and April 1. The Bruins have already defeated both teams 7-0 during a trip to Arizona, and look to do so again.

GYMNASTICS: The gymnastics team lost its third straight meet of the year 196.825-195.975 on Friday against Southeastern Conference powerhouse LSU. The meet marked the return of injured gymnasts freshman Melissa Chan and sophomore Tasha Schwikert, but it wasn’t enough for the Bruins. Senior Kate Richardson led UCLA with a 39.475 in the all-around to place second, and freshman Kristina Comforte had another strong meet, scoring a 39.4 to place third. But the Tigers put the meet out of reach on floor in the final rotation, with a meet-high 49.475. Although all six Bruins stayed on the beam, UCLA had to count a 9.425 among its marks and finished with a 48.65. UCLA’s mark of 195.975 was its second highest road mark of the season.

Compiled by Sarah Fernbacher, Bruin Sports contributor, and Bruin Sports senior staff.

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