Beach volleyball
Sevginaz Gurleyici, Daily Bruin contributor
In its final regular season matchups of the year, UCLA is set to face off against two rivals in the Los Angeles area.
No.1 UCLA beach volleyball (28-4, 1-0 Pac-12) is set to take on No. 9 Loyola Marymount (29-9) and No. 2 USC (27-4) in LA this Thursday.
Having just defeated both LMU and USC 3-2 this past weekend in the Center of Effort Challenge tournament in San Luis Obispo, the three teams will have a chance to face off once again this week, this time closer to home.
As they prepare to face their crosstown rivals, the Bruins will be ready to show up on the sand, said redshirt freshman Kenzie Brower.
“You’re always going to get a great game out of USC,” Brower said. “I think we always just go in as, ‘let’s just go out there and play our game, and let’s show them what we have.’”
Although higher-stakes matchups approach, the Bruins emphasize staying present and focused.
“I practice the same way I’m going to play, so I feel like making it as normal of a day as possible is the best way for us to kind of center in,” said graduate student Devon Newberry.
Following these final matchups in LA, the Bruins will spend the rest of the year on the road, heading to Tempe, Arizona late next week.
After the Pac-12s, the only thing left is the national championships in Gulf Shores.
Baseball
Mika McCaffrey, Daily Bruin contributor
Another weekend will provide the Bruins another shot to rise out of the bottom of the conference.
UCLA baseball (13-21, 6-12 Pac-12) will face off against conference foe Arizona State (17-21, 7-11) in a three game series at Jackie Robinson Stadium this weekend.
“I’m really looking forward to it, you know, back into conference play,” said coach John Savage. “I love the Pac-12. I love playing in the Pac-12.”
The team is coming off of a 6-0 shutout loss to non-conference opponent UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday.
The Bruins have lost the last three of their conference series to Arizona, Oregon and Washington, respectively. However, they will look to break the pattern.
“This weekend coming with Arizona State is really going to be a big one,” said senior outfielder Carson Yates. “I mean they’re right at us in the Pac (Pac-12), and if we can take two out of three, or sweep, that would be really good for us going forward throughout the year.”
With its run in the Pac-12 coming to a close, this is the final year that UCLA baseball will play Arizona State before moving to the Big Ten next season.
The Bruins will also play against two former team members — outfielder Nick McLain and left-hander Ben Jacobs. Jacobs left UCLA after the 2023 season, making this upcoming series the first time he will face off against his former team.
“We have a really good opportunity to get back in the middle of the league if we have a good weekend,” Savage said. “There’s a lot to look forward to.”
Rowing
Gabrielle Siegel, Daily Bruin senior staff
Next season’s conference competition is arriving early for the Bruins.
UCLA rowing will travel to Sarasota, Florida, this weekend to compete in the Big Ten Invitational. The competition will include Big Ten programs as well as 10 invitees, including No. 5 Brown, No. 9 Michigan, No. 12 Ohio State and No. 13 Rutgers. The Bruins will meet all teams for the first time this season.
Coming off four wins at the Lake Natoma Invitational on April 6, coach Previn Chandraratna said building consistency is pivotal for the Bruins.
“We need to find more speed,” Chandraratna said. “The crews need to work on consistency, and in some cases, it’s a question of finding rhythm quickly. In others, it’s a question of maintaining it.”
The third-season head coach said the results at Lake Natoma proved the program’s capabilities for high performance, but added that all the crews need to achieve those strong moments at the same time to move forward as a team.
The Bruins will launch competition Friday at 9:10 a.m. and wrap up Saturday morning.The event will be the team’s penultimate regular season meet before the Pac-12 Championships begin in May.
Senior starboard Emily Sutherland said her varsity eight crew’s physical strength, along with experience, has built confidence prior to competing against top programs.
“This crew is the fittest, strongest crew I’ve ever been a part of,” Sutherland said after the Lake Natoma meet. “We can take confidence in that moving forward, and now it’s just an analysis of mental game.”
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