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Monday, June 15, 1998

Bruins find highs, lows in four fun years

RETROSPECTIVE: UCLA thrives, struggles through many surprises, obstacles

By Traci Mack

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

From championships to heartache, from suspensions to celebrations, from "We hope ..." to "we will ..."; the past four years in the world of UCLA sports have been turbulent, to say the least. Over their four years here, graduating seniors have had a chance to witness a Bruin athletic evolution of Darwinian proportion.

Many would compare these last four years to a roller coaster ride, but they are actually more like a seismograph: full of sharp peaks and valleys, replete with dizzying highs and depressing lows. UCLA teams have gone from the Pac-10 basement to NCAA championship hopefuls, or from standing atop the NCAA to scrapping for a playoff spot. Some have been consistent champions, upholding a tradition of excellence all four years; others are barely recognizable from the ones that existed in 1994.

Perhaps nowhere is the up-and-down nature of the last four years more evident than with the women's basketball team. In 1994, the Bruin women were a young team with an up-and-coming head coach with little experience. Kathy Olivier was just welcoming her first recruiting class to campus, one that included Aisha Veasley, Jamie Oenning and Tawana Grimes. Despite consistently drawing quality recruits and competing well in a tough conference, the team's the next three years held no playoff berths for the team.

"Every year it was something different," recalled Olivier. "One year, we lost some crucial games, the next, we're missing our star point guard (All-American Erica Gomez, who redshirted in '96-97 due to injury). This year, everything came together."

However, everything that came together for the UCLA women's basketball team fell completely apart in their first NCAA tournament in six years. A botched call by the referees at the end of their game against Alabama led to their elimination in the second round, even though the call was later admitted to be wrong by the NCAA.

Controversial decisions by the NCAA have peppered the last four years of Bruin athletic history. The softball team was stripped of their 1995 national title and suspended from NCAA tournament play because of recruiting violations. The men's basketball team also felt the wrath of the NCAA when top recruit Schea Cotton had his SAT score revoked and was subsequently disallowed from participation on the team.

Not all Bruin squads have been shafted by the NCAA, however. UCLA has amassed 11 national championships in six different sports from 1995-1998, proving Bruin superiority once and for all. Women's water polo and men's volleyball, perennial championship teams, continued to reach the pinnacle of excellence, each winning three championships in the space of four years. Conversely, the women's gymnastics team took home their first national title ever after making a name for themselves by dominating their competition in virtually every meet. Yet another championship was gathered up by men's soccer, their first in eight years. Bruins were not without individual accolades this year either, with athletes such as Mebrahtom Keflezghi and Selaila Sua bringing home individual NCAA titles in cross-country and discus, respectively.

Over the past four years, the emotional lifts of winning a championship have also been balanced by somber moments for the men's water polo team. They started off with two consecutive championships in 1995 and 1996, but those moments were somewhat overshadowed earlier this year by the death of former team member and standout Jim Toring. An outpouring of sentiment and love once again united the team but under completely different circumstances.

"He was a future Olympian and a gift to all who knew him ... I know I am not alone when saying that he will be missed greatly. Jimmy was a teammate, but mostly he was a good friend, and I love him," stated teammate Mike Coppin, summing up the sentiments of all who knew Toring.

Change has been the one constant for Bruin athletics in all aspects these past four years, and football is definitely no exception. UCLA has never been known as a "football school," but the football team exemplifies the evolution of Bruin sports over the past four years. In 1994-1995, the UCLA team was coming off of a Rose Bowl season, with high expectations for such veterans as Heisman candidate J.J. Stokes, Sharmon Shah (now Karim Abdul Jabbar) and Wayne Cook. However, Stokes suffered a deep thigh bruise in the first game of the season, and from that point the entire season seemed to go downhill. The next two years were marked by so-so recruiting, sub .500 records and slim Bowl hopes. No matter how mediocre the team however, UCLA still managed to maintain a winning streak over crosstown rival Southern Cal.

In 1997, everything fell into place for the Bruins. Under second-year coach Bob Toledo, now-departed defensive coordinator Rocky Long, and the popular newly installed strength and conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall, a new team took shape, and they would soon erase all memories of past disappointing seasons.

A team that was not even ranked in the preseason shot out of the gates, overcoming close losses to Washington State and Tennessee, and ending the year tied for first in the Pac-10, ranked fifth in the nation. As a result, the Bruins landed what many experts call the best recruiting class in the nation. The progression from a losing team to a championship contender is a prime example of what a difference four years as a Bruin can make.

The men's basketball team could certainly testify as to the trials and tribulations that four years can bring. In 1995, the team, led by Tyus Edney, Cameron Dollar and Ed O' Bannon, rode a wave of emotion all the way to a national championship. It was a victory that many believed would confirm Jim Harrick as the next "Wizard." He would lead the Bruins to multiple titles, silencing his critics ... or so we thought. Post-victory, Harrick went so far as to thank Athletic Director Peter Dalis and Chancellor Charles Young for their support.

"I'm really happy for them because they stuck by me through thick and thin, and they've always been here for me ... this is the pinnacle for me," said Harrick, unaware of the irony that his words would take on in the future.

The championship also spurred "rioting" in the streets of Westwood, and a mobbing of the student store for anything remotely concerned with the team. Students' school spirit reached an all-time high.

"We want to show our pride in this school," fifth-year political science student Jerome Garret was quoted as saying during the swarming of Ackerman Union. "Everyone will know I'm a Bruin. They will bow down at my feet. I'm a Bruin and I want my shirt!."

High expectations met the Bruins the next year, which came crashing down when the team was ousted from the NCAA tournament by upstart Princeton.

The next season was no less remarkable, beginning with the firing of Harrick and the hiring of assistant coach Steve Lavin as a replacement, a decision that was much debated. The season went on, however, climaxing with the signing of the No. 1 high school player in the nation, Baron Davis.

In 1997-1998, Davis led an all-freshman backcourt that teamed up with the veteran nucleus of Toby Bailey, Kris Johnson and J.R. Henderson in a quest for a return to glory. The path back to the Tournament was not smooth, as Johnson and Jelani McCoy were suspended just as the season kicked off. McCoy would ultimately quit the team, but this did not stop the Bruins from posting an impressive season. The team came back and fought with all the heart they could muster, running over higher-seeded Michigan on their way to the Sweet Sixteen.

Although UCLA did not defeat Kentucky and advance, Coach Lavin and his team proved their guts, heart and conviction.

Lavin followed by landing the top recruiting class since Michigan's famed Fab Five.

The memories of these last four years in Bruin athletic history will not soon be forgotten.

Our teams have proved their worth time and time again, despite adversity and extreme circumstances.

At times, it seemed as if certain obstacles were insurmountable for Bruin teams.

Over the last four years, however, they have proved that nothing is impossible for the "gutty little Bruins".

After winning the 1996-1997 national

championship, the women's

gymnastics team returned home and was greeted at the airport with congratulations from their fans.

JAMIE SCANLON-JACOBS/Daily Bruin

Carly Funicello is blocked while attempting to make a layup.

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