Check out a breakdown of the UCLA sports stories you might have missed this week.
Adam Krikorian named Pac-12 Women’s Water Polo Coach of the Century
In his 11 years as the coach of UCLA’s women’s water polo team, Adam Krikorian compiled a career 287 women’s wins and won eight national championships.
Like the fall 2015 men’s water polo team, two of Krikorian’s women’s teams had perfect seasons. His teams won 33 games in both 2005 and 2008, before culminating his last season in 2009 with another national championship.
Since then, he has coached the women’s senior national team to a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics and will be at the Olympic games this summer for his second turn at the helm of Team USA.
Five of UCLA’s six women’s players to also make the Pac-12 All-Century team played for Krikorian at UCLA, the sixth graduating the year before Krikorian took over.
Two women’s golfers named WGCA All-American
Junior Bronte Law and freshman Lilia Vu were named to the Women’s Golf Coaches Association First-Team All-American roster this week.
Vu closed off her freshman season on a high note as she was the top scorer for the Bruins at the NCAA championships – tied for sixth overall.
Law is no stranger to awards. Along with being named to the first team, Law was recognized as the PING WGCA Player of the Year. The annual award is known as the top honor in women’s collegiate golf. She is the first Bruin to ever win this award. This is the third time Law was named as an All-American in her three years of collegiate golf.
During the regular season, Law was also the top-ranked collegiate golfer and finished off the year with eight top-10 finishes in nine events.
Crowding the century team
Coaches, athletes, media members and administrators voted 51 women’s track and field athletes to the Pac-12 All-Century team announced two days ago.
UCLA athletes, including Pac-12 Women’s Track & Field Coach of the Century Bob Kersee, make up 17 of the members on the list, 10 more than the next closest team. His wife Jackie Joyner-Kersee took home the title of Pac-12 Women’s Track and Field Athlete of the Century.
Joyner-Kersee improved on her heptathlon world record at the 1988 Olympic Games, and still holds the world record today 28 years later. A three-time Olympic gold medalist, she is also the only Bruin woman to currently hold an NCAA track and field record.
Her husband coached at UCLA for 32 years. As the head coach, his women’s team took second three years in a row at the national championship meet from 1988-1990 and his men’s team won two national championships in 1987 and 1988.
Also headlining the list are Bruin alumna Florence Griffith-Joyner, who holds the world record in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints, and 2004 Olympic gold medalist and UCLA sprints, hurdles and relays assistant coach Joanna Hayes.
