Thursday, March 28

Pro Bruin Rundown: Kevon Looney wins another ring, Bronte Law adds third pro golf tournament victory


Former UCLA men's basketball forward Kevon Looney dribbles with the ball. Looney is now a three-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors. (Daily Bruin file photo)


This post was updated June 26 at 11:50 p.m.

As UCLA Athletics takes a break for the summer, professional sports are still in full swing, with many Bruin alumni representing. Each week during the summer, Daily Bruin Sports will take a look at the standout performances of former UCLA greats from the past week as we count down the days until fall.

Men’s basketball: Kevon Looney, Golden State Warriors

Kevon Looney is a three-time NBA champion.

The Warriors center averaged 21.7 minutes across six games in the NBA Finals, scoring five points per contest and grabbing 7.5 rebounds per game. Looney dropped 12 points while registering seven rebounds in a game two victory – his best showing of the series.

Before the 26-year-old was drafted 30th overall by the Warriors in 2015, he starred at UCLA for one year.

After coming to Westwood as a McDonald’s All-American and consensus five-star recruit, Looney lived up to the hype by earning second-team All-Pac-12 honors and being named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. In his only season donning the blue and gold, Looney averaged 11.6 points and a team-high 9.2 rebounds per game.

Although now a free agent, Looney could still return to Golden State, where he has won three championships in seven seasons with the Warriors.

Women’s golf: Bronte Law

When Bronte Law stepped up to the 18th green, she needed a two-putt to tie and force a playoff.

Instead, she holed it one putt as she secured the third tournament win of her professional career.

The 27-year-old former UCLA women’s golfer sank the 55-yard eagle putt to pick up a victory at the Aramco Team Series in London on Saturday.

The victory comes one week after Law finished in a tie for sixth at the U.S. Women’s Open – her best career finish at a major.

In her third and final season at UCLA in 2015-2016, Law became the second Bruin to be awarded the ANNIKA Award – given to the nation’s top female collegiate golfer.

Law garnered six wins in 34 starts during her time in Westwood, finishing in the top 10 on 18 occasions. She was named the Pac-12 Golfer of the Year in each of her final two seasons while also winning two consecutive English Women’s Amateur Championships in 2014 and 2015.

Women’s tennis: Ena Shibahara

Half a decade had passed since a Bruin had won a Grand Slam.

Ena Shibahara’s maiden major title put an end to that drought.

Shibahara teamed up with Wesley Koolhof, entering the French Open mixed doubles bracket with a No. 2 seed after meeting her doubles partner over social media the night before the tournament. The tandem took down Ulrikke Eikeri and Joren Vliegen 7-6(5), 6-2 on June 2 to secure the championship.

Although Shibahara and Koolhof fell behind 5-2 in the first set tiebreaker, they strung together five consecutive points to gain the one-set lead before riding two breaks in the second to lift the trophy at Roland Garros.

In her time with UCLA women’s tennis from 2016 to 2018, Shibahara assembled a 120-27 record across all contests and was selected as the Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year in both campaigns with the program. She capped off her sophomore season with 21 straight victories in doubles play to follow up a newcomer performance that earned her ITA National Rookie of the Year honors.

Men’s tennis: Jean-Julien Rojer

Jean-Julien Rojer cemented his name in the record books June 4.

At 40 years old, the former UCLA men’s tennis player became the oldest men’s doubles champion in the Open era. Partnering with Marcelo Arévalo as the No. 12 seed, Rojer defeated the pair of Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3 to snag the men’s doubles crown at Roland-Garros.

The Dutch-Salvadoran duo staved off three championship points to force a third frame before ultimately sealing the win.

The victory marked Rojer’s fourth major title on the ATP Tour, having already claimed men’s doubles titles at Wimbledon in 2015 and the U.S. Open in 2017 alongside a mixed doubles trophy at the French Open in 2014. Only the Australian Open stands in the way of a Career Grand Slam for Rojer.

Coming into Westwood in 1999 as a four-time state champion, Rojer’s first season with the blue and gold culminated in the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year award. He would go on to win more than 150 matches during his time with UCLA, finishing with marks of 83-34 in singles play and 83-25 in doubles action, respectively. Rojer and then-junior Marcin Matkowski were picked as the preseason No. 1 doubles team in the nation by the ITA for the 2002-2003 campaign after a 35-10 showing a year prior.

Sports staff

Fenn is currently a Sports staffer on the baseball beat. He was previously a reporter on the women's soccer beat and a contributor on the beach volleyball and men's and women's golf beats.

Sports senior staff

Nelson is currently a Sports senior staff writer. He was previously an assistant Sports editor on the softball, men's tennis and women's tennis beats and a contributor on the men's tennis and women's tennis beats.


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