Not much is expected to change in the world of Pac-10 softball.
The UCLA softball team has been predicted by the conference coaches
to win the 2006 Pac-10 championship, and continue its run as the
elite softball program the conference has to offer. The Bruins
received the maximum 49 points, including seven first place votes
in the annual coaches poll. Coaches are not allowed to include
their own team when voting in the poll. Arizona was selected to
finish in second place with 41 points and garnered one first-place
vote, while Stanford was picked third with 37 points. California
finished fourth with 27 points, while Oregon State and Washington
finished fifth and sixth with 26 and 23 points, respectively.
Arizona State, with 12 points, and Oregon, with nine points, were
predicted to finish at the bottom of the conference. UCLA finished
last season with a 40-20 overall record and an 11-10 Conference
mark (fifth place). The Bruins started slowly and were plagued by
inconsistency until they took off at the end of the season. They
advanced to the 2005 NCAA Championship Series, falling to Michigan
in three games.
BASEBALL: The UCLA baseball team was selected
to finish eighth in the Pac-10 Conference last Wednesday, garnering
17 points. Defending conference champion Oregon State was predicted
to repeat and successfully defend its title. The Beavers received
seven of nine first-place votes, earning 58 points overall.
Second-place USC received one first-place vote and 51 points
overall, while Stanford and Arizona State shared third-place
honors. Arizona and California tied for fifth, followed by
Washington, UCLA, and Washington State (8 points). The Bruins are
coming off one of the worst seasons in conference history after
posting a 15-41 record that included a school record 19-game losing
streak. However, coach John Savage collected what has been ranked
as the No. 5 recruiting class in the country for his second year at
the helm.
SWIMMING/DIVING: UCLA senior diver Paige
Thompson has been named Pac-10 Women’s Diver of the Month for
December, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced on Friday, Jan. 20.
Thompson placed in the top-10 in the springboard events at the
Bulldog Invitational at the University of Georgia from December
2-4. She finished third on the three-meter event with 296.25
points, a season best. Thompson also finished sixth on the
one-meter board with 249.95 points. Thompson was one of six divers
named to the Senior National Diving Team this summer. She was the
Bruins’ most accomplished diver at the Pac-10 Championships
last season, placing fourth on the three-meter (472.70), seventh on
the one-meter (261.415), and eighth on the platform (316.55). This
is the first monthly honor for Thompson and UCLA’s first
Diver of the Month all-time.
Compiled by Adam de Jong, Bruin Sports senior
staff.