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Junior golfer Charlotte Mayorkas (left), senior gymnast Jeanette Antolin (middle), and senior sof

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Four members of the UCLA softball team celebrate back-to-back national titles. UCLA softball has

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There aren’t many schools at which athletes can host a party with the theme “National Champions.” But UCLA is not many schools. The winningest institution in the history of collegiate athletics, NCAA titles are commonplace around Westwood. They are so commonplace, in fact, that a party open only to national champions would be well-attended almost every single year. But this year, if the national champion stipulation was enforced, there’s one particular section of the student-athlete population that would be conspicuously absent – males. And that’s becoming something of a trend. Of the four NCAA championships won this school year, all were won by women’s teams. Of UCLA’s last 10 national titles, nine have been captured by women. At a school that measures athletic prowess on NCAA titles won (94), women have been keeping the athletic department at the top of the heap. “It’s awesome,” said junior golfer Charlotte Mayorkas, who helped lead the Bruins to the NCAA Championship in May. “It’s really good for women’s sports in general. We’re just as good as the guys.” Just as good might be something of an understatement. While men’s teams have undoubtedly had tremendous success, they simply haven’t had the championship success of the women. In the last four years, women’s gymnastics has captured three championships, softball has won two, track has won two with their NCAA Championship on Saturday, and women’s water polo, and golf have won a championship apiece. Men’s soccer, which won the title in 2002, is the only men’s sport that has been able to share championship glory with the ladies in that span. “The UCLA program is more known for the male sports, so it’s good that the women are stepping up and getting recognized for their hard work,” senior gymnast Jeanette Antolin said. While the recognition from the media and the public at large may be progressing at a snail’s pace, the athletic department certainly appreciates what the women have been doing. “What it is indicative of is the commitment to a broad-base program of excellence,” UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said. “The women have demonstrated that excellence.” But everyone within the athletic department is quick to say that it is a team effort. There is no sense from the athletic administration that women’s athletics is carrying the torch while the men are floundering in oblivion. Top-10 finishes year in and year out are far from floundering. “We’re one program,” Guerrero said. “We’re UCLA Bruins. When one team wins a championship, we all win a championship.”

The role of Betsy Stephenson Part of the credit for many of the recent championships goes to Betsy Stephenson, former associate athletic director and senior women’s administrator at UCLA who recently left her post to assume the athletic director position at Emory. Stephenson was responsible for overseeing many of the women’s sports during her time at UCLA, a time that saw those sports flourish. Gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field dedicated the team’s national title to Stephenson, and coach Sue Enquist did the same with her team’s softball championship. Stephenson has been an integral part of providing the support many of the women’s teams have needed over the years, whether it be in the form of funding, exposure or just a friendly face. “Betsy (Stephenson’s) just helped us get things we’ve needed,” said senior Keira Goerl, who has pitched the Bruins to consecutive softball championships. “She’s been there, supportive. She keeps us on track.” But Stephenson is quick to deflect some of the praise. “I haven’t dropped one bead of sweat or developed one blister,” she said. “But they’re certainly sweet for saying that.” Still, the story of women’s athletics isn’t a feel-good story all the way around.

All sports are not created equal In spite of the success and the glory, the hearts and minds of UCLA fans are still situated squarely upon football and men’s basketball. Success of other sports teams at UCLA is generally an afterthought, a mere mark on the national title tally. That’s the way it’s been, and that’s the way it will probably always be. “When you have the best team in the country right in Pauley Pavilion and you can’t even come out and watch, it is frustrating,” Antolin said. Explanations vary as to why gymnastics, a team that has won four championships in five years, struggles to build a fan base, while basketball seems to fill Pauley Pavilion regardless of the team’s success. Some, including Kondos Field, say that it’s related to being located in Los Angeles where there are just so many other things to do. Antolin suggests that women’s and men’s sports are simply not viewed at the same level. “The Sparks are not going to get as many fans as the Lakers,” she said. “I don’t think everyone sees women’s sports as serious as they see men’s sports. It’s getting progressively better, but it’s still not up to par. They’re not equal at all.” This lack of equality is undoubtedly frustrating, especially because the women are the ones winning the titles. “It’s frustrating on everyone’s part,” Stephenson said. “The attention isn’t equitable.” Guerrero said the athletic department is taking steps to broaden the fan base of many of the women’s sports, but the fact remains that men’s basketball and football will continue to get the exposure, while the women continue to get the titles. “The fact that the women are getting it done is great,” Enquist said. “It does reflect positively on our gender.” Enquist’s team is the most recent Bruin squad to bring championship hardware back to the Morgan Center, having defeated Cal in the Women’s College World Series for the second consecutive season. Goerl wasn’t explicitly aware of the dominance of the women in her four years in Westwood, but when it was brought to her attention, it invoked a feeling of pride. “I didn’t know that, but that’s kind of cool,” Goerl said. She then joked a bit about her male counterparts. “It kind of sucks for the guys because they’re not picking up their side.”

Why the women win Though it was somewhat veiled with a chuckle, facts are facts. This begs an obvious question – why have the women been able to have such unprecedented championship success in recent years, while the men have been just a little less than championship caliber? The answer isn’t quite as obvious as the question. It’s a complicated situation with no easy explanation. According to Enquist, many men’s sports have been around much longer than their female counterparts and therefore have much more parity. It is consequently much more difficult for a football team or a men’s basketball team to sustain championship success every year. But women’s gymnastics and softball are fairly young as far as NCAA-recognized sports are concerned. UCLA softball has a decided advantage over many up-and-coming programs from conferences outside the Pac-10 simply because Pac-10 softball has been around for decades. Non-Pac-10 schools like LSU and Florida State, both with emerging softball programs, have only been in existence for about 10 years. But as they establish their programs and receive the funding and support of their athletic departments, support that Enquist says is unrivaled at UCLA, other teams will undoubtedly catch up. “As membership goes up, parity goes up,” Enquist said. “In 10 years, the Pac-10 won’t be dominating.” Women’s gymnastics experiences a similar phenomenon. Like the Pac-10 in softball, just a couple of gymnastics teams have dominated the national scene. In fact, only Georgia, Utah, Alabama and UCLA have ever won titles in the 23-year history of NCAA women’s gymnastics. As other schools develop their programs, that trend should stop. But until then, the Bruins will undoubtedly be challenging for the national title every single year. Stephenson doesn’t subscribe fully to the theory about the ages of various sports. She feels many UCLA coaches deserve a ton of credit for handling the immense pressure to succeed, and even thriving in the face of it. “The reason they’re winning is because they’re recruiting at the highest level and coaching at the highest level,” Stephenson said. But Stephenson’s answer may be too simplistic. There are plenty of coaches at UCLA who are recruiting and coaching well, but not winning national championships. Softball and women’s gymnastics are still maturing on a national level, but UCLA has benefitted from being there from the time they became NCAA-recognized sports. This gave the Bruins a leg up on the rest of the country, and has translated into prolonged success.

The will of a champion The explanation may go even deeper than that. Antolin, who has had remarkable success in her four years as a Bruin, feels that championship success is tied to work ethic. “From the women’s sports that I know, we’re all really dedicated in what we do,” she said. “During our season, we’re not out partying, we’re not out getting drunk. We’re really dedicated to everything we’re doing and dedicated to our team.” Contrast that to Antolin’s feelings about some of the men’s teams at UCLA. “Some of the men’s sports, I know that they don’t take themselves as seriously because they don’t see themselves as national champions, and all of us do,” she said. “Even if we don’t win a national championship, we still see ourselves as national champions.” So it might just come down to attitude. At least that’s how the other champions explained their success. “Maybe it’s work ethic,” said Goerl, adding that softball’s continued success is based on the ability to recruit the best talent around. “Everybody needs to have high expectations,” added Mayorkas, who feels that the women’s golf team has a great chance to repeat as champions next year. “Everybody is going to keep getting better.” Antolin, Goerl and Mayorkas were far from accusing the men of not working hard. But as champions, they clearly know what it takes to get it done. That’s one way that Stephenson accounts for the success. “National championship success seems to breed national championship success,” she said. And the recognition seems to be coming, slowly but surely. Mayorkas speaks of people she comes across at country clubs, congratulating her on her team’s title. Goerl and Enquist are recognized in airports because of all the ESPN coverage of softball. Antolin has seen more and more fans become thoroughly engrossed with UCLA gymnastics as attendance continues to rise. But the road remains an uphill battle because men will probably continue to get more attention, regardless of their success. “We work just as hard, if not harder, than all of the men’s sports,” Antolin said. “Personally, I feel like I’ve worked so much harder than a lot of people, but I’m not always going to get the recognition that someone else does. “I can’t dwell on that. I just have to know that I’m putting everything I have into it, and regardless if I get the publicity or the fans, I’m still a winner.” She has the rings to prove it.

With reports from Seth Fast Glass, Bruin sports senior staff.