UCLA center Mike McCloskey has
been cleared to participate with the UCLA football team
after sitting out all of spring practice with pleurisy, an
inflammation of the lining of the lungs. McCloskey,
who sat out most of the 2003 season with a fractured
ankle, underwent extensive testing in the past month,
but the team announced Thursday that doctors cleared him
and he will return to the team. “As I said during spring
practice, we wanted to be careful and run all necessary tests prior
to determining Mike (McCloskey’s) status,” coach
Karl Dorrell said in a statement. “We are
excited that he will be able to play for us this fall.”
FOOTBALL: Highly touted offensive lineman
Aleksey Lanis from Crenshaw High School in Los
Angeles has reportedly committed to UCLA. “I knew I wanted to
stay close to home, and I’ve liked UCLA for a long
time,” Lanis told Rivals.com. Lanis is UCLA’s fourth
commit for the 2005 class and the second offensive lineman.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL: UCLA outside hitter
J.T. Wenger has signed on to play professional
volleyball in Puerto Rico with Plataneros de Corozal. He will play
as long as the team continues to await the arrival of more
experienced players from Brazil to complete the roster. “J.T.
is a very humble and proactive player,” Plataneros assistant
coach Steven Fenosik said in a statement. The
6-foot-4-inch Wenger completed his eligibility at UCLA last month,
averaging 2.84 kills per game and starting the majority of the
season as a fifth-year senior in place of Jonathan
Acosta, who was recovering from injury.
NCAA NEWS: CHICAGO “”mdash; An NCAA gambling
study showed 35 percent of male athletes and 10 percent of female
athletes have bet on college sports in the last year, and Division
III athletes are the most likely to gamble. Division I athletes are
the least likely to wager on college sports. The study, called the
National Study on Collegiate Sports Wagering and Associated Health
Risks, surveyed 21,000 athletes about their gambling practices. The
results were released Wednesday in Chicago. “The scope of
sports wagering among intercollegiate student-athletes is startling
and disturbing,” NCAA President Myles Brand
said in a statement.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL: The UCLA
women’s volleyball team announced on Thursday that they will
hold an intra-squad scrimmage game at the Wooden Center on
Wednesday night. The scrimmage comes before the team’s
departure to participate in the USA Volleyball Nationals from May
29 to June 1 in Atlanta, Ga.
With reports from Jessica Bach, Diamond Leung, Gilbert
Quiñonez and Bruce Tran, Bruin sports senior staff, and The
Associated Press.