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Sunday, June 9, 1996

Bruins garner a total of seven national championshipsBy Scott Yabroff

Daily Bruin Contributor

It's been a roller coaster ride that any thrill-seeker would enjoy. The last four years of Bruin athletics have provided the school with plenty of unforgettable moments of feeling on top of the world, yet enough twists, turns and disappointments to churn any stomach. And, most importantly, it has provided four football wins over USC.

But never did a team combine excitement and disappointment as did the 1995-96 men's basketball team. After beating arch-rival Arizona in a last-second victory and clinching the Pac-10 championship with a half-court shot by Cameron Dollar at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins appeared to be a team of destiny.

But then came the Tigers of Princeton and their clockwork brand of basketball, handing the Bruins a shocking 43-41 loss in the first round, ending March Madness much earlier than anticipated in Westwood.

Other teams finished the postseason at the opposite end of the spectrum ­ with championships. The men's water polo team captured its fourth national title and its first in over a decade, while the women's water polo team captured its first ever.

Al Scates' men's volleyball team also came up big in the postseason, capturing their 16th NCAA title, and third in four years. The Bruins defeated Hawaii in a five-game thriller in the finals at Pauley Pavilion, after losing to the Rainbows three times during the course of the regular season.

Other UCLA teams saw their goals slip away as their postseasons ended abruptly. The men's tennis team went through the entire season undefeated, only to lose to Stanford in the national championship match. The softball team lost in the semi-finals of the softball World Series, while the baseball team fell one game short of making its first ever College World Series appearance, losing to Miami in their regional finals.

Some individual athletes reached the pinnacle of their sports. Ato Bolden set a new meet record in winning the 100m at the national track and field championships in Oregon, and Amy Acuff again defended her high jump title.

Highlighting the football season, for the fifth year in a row, the Bruins beat USC, this time with a 24-21 upset over the conference champions ­ all without star running back Karim Abdul-Jabaar. That victory, Terry Donahue's 98th and last as coach of the Bruins, broke the Pac-10 career-win record.

The 1994-95 athletic year featured three NCAA titles, highlighted by men's basketball's first title in 20 years. The team, led by seniors Ed O'Bannon, Tyus Edney and George Zidek, defeated defending champion Arkansas 89-78. The Bruins overcame a wrist injury to repeat all-conference guard Edney that was suffered in the national semi-final victory over Oklahoma State.

The Bruins' championship, however, could not have been possible without Edney's heroics earlier in the tournament. In the second round of the NCAA tournament, the Bruins trailed Missouri 74-73 with only 4.8 seconds remaining. Sophomore Cameron Dollar inbounded the ball to Edney, who raced the length of the floor and scored a runner at the buzzer to give the Bruins the last-second victory.

Posting a 50-6 record, the UCLA softball team won its ninth NCAA title as they defeated Arizona 4-2 in Oklahoma City. Kelly Howard hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to secure the victory as World Series MVP Tanya Harding pitched a masterful game in holding the Arizona offense in check.

All-American Jennifer Brundage, winner of the Honda Award as the best softball player in the nation, led the nation with a .519 batting average and set six school hitting records.

Harding's postseason was more controversial, as she left school after only a quarter of attendance and before finals week, bringing the softball program under scrutiny.

Behind the performance of player of the year Jeff Nygaard, the men's volleyball team captured their 15th national championship, sweeping Penn State for the title. The Bruins finished the year with a 31-1 record, setting an NCAA record by being ranked first in the nation for 34 consecutive weeks.

Other teams posted success while falling short of the championships. Both the men's and women's track and field teams finished second nationally. Sprinter Ato Bolden was the NCAA champion in the 200m, while Amy Acuff defended her high jump title and Valeyta Althouse won the shot put. The women's gymnastics team finished fourth nationally, while Stella Umeh tied for first in the floor exercise. The men's soccer team advanced to the national semifinals with an 18-5 record.

UCLA tennis boasted individual champion Keri Phebus, who captured the NCAA singles title and also teamed up with Susie Starrett to win the double's championship.

Hampered by injuries all season, the UCLA football team finished the year with a disappointing 5-6 record. They finished strong, winning the final three games, including a 31-19 triumph over USC at the Rose Bowl.

UCLA's first year in over a decade without an NCAA championship, 1993-1994, had many postseason disappointments.

But it did feature the Bruins' first Rose Bowl appearance since 1986. The football team earned their Pac-10 title with an a 6-2 mark in the Pac-10. However, Wisconsin crashed the Bruins' New Year's party, beating UCLA 21-16.

The men's basketball team finished with a 21-7 record, tying for second in the Pac-10 standings. The Bruins began the year with 14 consecutive victories, but the Bruins' postseason was a different story. The Bruins were eliminated by upset-minded Tulsa in the first round of the NCAA tournament, 112-102.

The men's and women's volleyball teams each won their leagues with 19-0 and 17-1 marks respectively, but both faltered in the NCAA title matches. The men, led by national player of the year Jeff Nygaard, lost a painful five-game thriller to Penn State in the finals, finishing with a 27-2 record. Pac-10 player of the year Julie Bremner led the Lady Bruins to a 30-2 mark, but could not help the team overcome a Brigham Young squad in the NCAA finals.

Pac-10 all-around champion Leah Homma led the women's gymnastics team to a fifth place finish in the NCAA championships. The men's soccer team finished with an 18-3 overall record, while the women's' soccer team posted a 10-6-1 record in its first season as a UCLA varsity sport. In track, John Godina was the NCAA shot put champion while Karen Hecox won the 3000m and Amy Acuff won the NCAA high jump title.

The 1992-93 athletic year was highlighted by the men's volleyball team winning its 14th national championship, finishing the year with a 24-3 record and sweeping Cal State Northridge for the NCAA title.

The softball team came up barely short in another attempt for an NCAA title of their own. Lisa Fernandez's career, arguably the greatest in the history of softball, ended with six outstandingly pitched World Series games, during which she allowed one earned run. Amazingly, that was not enough. Fernandez allowed just one hit in NCAA title game against Arizona, but that single drove in a Wildcat that had reached base on an error for an unearned run.

In Glenn Bassett's final season as the men's tennis coach, the Bruins finished 24-3, losing to Georgia in the NCAA semi-finals. Bassett finished a long career as a Bruin with 592 career wins under his belt.

The men's basketball team finished the year with a 21-10 record and a third place finish in the Pacific-10 conference. The Bruins' season ended with a narrow loss to eventual NCAA runner-up Michigan after the Bruins led by 20 points at one point, but saw the game slip away in the final seconds, as Tyus Edney drove to the basket for a possible winning lay-up, but unsuccessfully passed off instead.

A tough football season was salvaged with a win over USC, as the Bruins spoiled USC's chances of sharing the Pac-10 title with a 38-37 victory in the final game of the season. Before 80,568 fans, the Bruins scored three touchdowns in the final 13 minutes to come away with the victory and a good finish to a 6-5 season.

Bruin linebacker Nkosi Littleton knocked down a Trojan two-point conversion attempt in the final seconds to preserve the victory. Former walk-on John Barnes threw for 385 yards, while sophomore wide receiver J.J. Stokes caught six balls for 263 yards, including three touchdown receptions.

Although suffering through the occasional postseason disappointment, the Bruins captured seven national championships over the past four years, increasing the total to 74 in the history of the school, tops among all collegiate athletics programs.

FRED HE/Daily Bruin

Members of the 1996 men's volleyball team celebrate their five-set comeback victory against Hawaii in the NCAA title game.Daily Bruin File Photo

Tyus Edney and Charles O'Bannon helped lead UCLA to wins in 1995.PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin

The 1996 UCLA national champion women's water polo team.STEVE KIM/Daily Bruin

Akil Davis, a regular cornerback for the Bruins, gets his chance on the other side of the ball in UCLA's 24-20 win over USC this year.PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin

Lisa Fernandez won the Honda Award three times as a Bruin.