The Bruin men’s soccer team has been given the No. 1 ranking for its 2006 recruiting class, according to College Soccer News. The new recruiting class has seven former or current Youth National Team members and eight former All-Americans.

With UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo’s recruiting efforts, this is the third time in four years the Bruins have had the No. 1 ranking for incoming players.

Along with the No. 1 nod, the same source deemed UCLA No. 8 in its preseason poll.

Current Bruins Tony Beltran, Chance Myers and Sal Zizzo have been selected to play for the U.S. Under-20 National Team in the Milk Cup. The Cup will take place in Northern Ireland from July 31 to Aug. 4, where the U.S. is set to compete against Wales, Denmark and an unknown competitor from either Northern Ireland, Paraguay or Turkey for the final placement match.

UCLA boasts three players on the roster, which is more than any other collegiate team.

SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS: Members of the Bruin swimming and diving team will go their separate ways this week for their respective National Championships. The swimmers will travel to Irvine for the USA ConocoPhillips swimming nationals while four divers will compete at the US Diving Kaiser Permanente National Championships in Indianapolis. Both meets will begin Aug. 1.

“We are very excited,” diving coach Tom Stebbins said. “I don’t think we have a chance to win or anything but we do have one to be competitive and that’s what it’s about.”

CHEERLEADERS: Pac-10 cheerleaders may perhaps lose some options during performances, but their safety has been enhanced with the decision made by the conference to ban excessively dangerous moves. The banned skills include basket tosses, elevator tosses and other similar multi-based tosses; partner stunts in which the base uses only one arm to support the top person; flips or twists into or from partner stunts; two-and-one-half-person-high pyramids; and twisting tumbling skills.

The Pac-10 is following suit after the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators implemented new safety rules for basketball and indoor courts for 2006-2007. Along with the adoption of these rules, the Pac-10 is also banning the previously listed skills from any site where Pac-10 competition is taking place –including football fields.

Compiled by Erin Wagner, Bruin Sports senior staff.