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UCLA TOP MOMENTS 2005
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UCLA Meets President Bush
Three UCLA NCAA championship teams traveled to Washington DC to meet President George W. Bush on "Champions Day" at the White House. With three teams honored -- men's water polo, women's water polo and men's tennis - UCLA, along with Georgia, was the most represented university amongst the 15 NCAA championship teams honored that afternoon. Each team had the opportunity to meet the President and present him with a gift. All the teams were then honored at a ceremony in the Rose Garden. |
UCLA Wins The NCAA Men's Tennis Championship
The men's tennis team, seeded seventh, fashioned three consecutive upsets to capture the 2005 NCAA championship, the program's first since 1984, at College Station, TX. In the quarterfinals, the Bruins defeated No. 2 seed Virginia. The Bruins then bested No. 3 seed Mississippi in the semifinals to advance to the championship match against No. 1 seed Baylor, which entered the final with a 57-match winning streak. UCLA lost the doubles point and fell behind 3-1 before mounting a fantastic comeback to win the final three singles matches. At No. 5 singles, Alberto Francis won in three sets to make the score 3-2. At No. 6 singles, Philipp Gruendler rallied from a first-set loss to win the second set and then rallied again to force a tiebreaker in the third set. He bolted to a 5-1 lead and captured the tiebreaker, evening the match at 3-3. It came down to No. 3 singles, and Kris Kwinta rallied to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 and give the Bruins their 16th men's tennis title. |
UCLA Women's Water Polo Completes Perfect Season
The women's water polo squad, one of the greatest in the history of the sport, capped a perfect 33-0 season by defeating Stanford, 3-2, to win the NCAA championship in Ann Arbor, MI. It was UCLA's third NCAA women's water polo title in the last five years. In the championship match, Olympian Natalie Golda's score put the Bruins ahead 1-0 and Brittany Rowe gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead. Rowe's second goal put the Bruins ahead, 3-1. Stanford closed the gap to 3-2 with 4:12 remaining in the contest but the Bruin defense and goalie Emily Feher held the Cardinal scoreless the rest of the way, giving the Bruins the NCAA title. Golda was named the Division I Player of the Year while Kelly Rulon and Thalia Munro Feher were named first-team All-Americans. Head coach Adam Krikorian was named National Coach of the Year. |
UCLA Defeats No. 9 California at the Rose Bowl
UCLA twice rallied from double-digit deficits to defeat the No. 9 California Bears, 47-40, before 84,811 fans at the Rose Bowl. It was UCLA's first win over a Top-10 team since beating No. 10 Washington in 2001. UCLA took its first lead of the game with 7:33 remaining in the third quarter when Maurice Drew returned a punt 81 yards for a score, his third punt return TD of the year. However, California scored the next 13 points and with 2:30 remaining UCLA still trailed 40-35. Olson completed passes to Marcus Everett for 38 and nine yards, then found Maurice Drew in the right flat and the speedy tailback broke a tackle and raced down the sideline for a 28-yard touchdown and a 41-40 lead with 1:35 to play (UCLAÕs two-point attempt was unsuccessful). On Cal's ensuing possession, Trey Brown intercepted a pass to seal the win; Drew scored from the two-yard line on the game's final play. Drew finished with 299 all-purpose yards and tied his own school record with five touchdowns. |
UCLA 30, Stanford 27 (OT) at Stanford - Winner
UCLA's 'Cardiac Kids' did it again at Stanford, rallying from a 21-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Cardinal, 30-27, in overtime. It was UCLA's fourth double-digit, fourth-quarter comeback in the last five weeks. Stanford led 24-3 with just 8:26 remaining in the game before the Bruins caught fire, scoring touchdowns on their final three possessions in regulation in drives of 65, 72 and 66 yards, tying the score with just 46 seconds left. In overtime, Stanford kicked a 42-yard field goal to take a 27-24 lead but on the second play of UCLA's possession, Olson found Brandon Breazell in the left corner of the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown and the victory.
On the day, Drew Olson completed 24 of 35 yards for 293 yards and two touchdowns (no interceptions). In the fourth quarter and overtime, he connected on 15 of 20 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns. Maurice Drew accounted for 175 all-purpose yards, including fourth quarter touchdown runs of six and one yards, despite bruising his right knee in the fourth quarter. |
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