For the second straight year, the UCLA women's lacrosse team has been selected for the US Lacrosse Women's Division Intercollegiate Associates (WDIA) National Championship Tournament, to be held in Denver, Colorado from May 7th-10th, 2008. Of the more than 150 WDIA teams in the country, only 16 are selected for the tournament. The Bruins are ranked 9th nationally and earned the 9th seed in the tournament. They will play 8th-seeded Lindenwood University in the first round. The US Lacrosse press release announcing the field can be found here.

UCLA will be among four teams from the Western Women's Lacrosse League (WWLL) that were selected for the National Tournament, the highest number of tournament berths for any conference in the country. The Bruins competed last weekend in the WWLL Tournament in Chico, California, where they placed fourth after beating San Diego State (ranked 20th nationally) in the quarterfinals, then losing to nationally top-ranked and eventual WWLL champion UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals, and sixth-ranked Santa Clara in the third place game.

At the Western Women's Lacrosse League (WWLL) awards ceremony in Chico, California, three players from the UCLA Lacrosse "A" team were named to the WWLL Division I All-League Team. Junior attacker Sarah Strock (Encinitas, CA / San Dieguito Acad.) and senior captain and midfielder Jane Jun (Lafayette, CA / Acalanes HS) earned First Team recognition, while sophomore attacker Lauren Ariniello (Encinitas, CA / La Costa Canyon HS) was named to the Second Team.

Three players from the UCLA "B" team were named to the WWLL Division II All-League Team. Junior midfielder Gina Isaacs (San Francisco, CA / St. Ignatius College Prep.), sophomore midfielder Hannah Jorgensen (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA / Trabuco Hills HS) and sophomore attacker Heather Manske (Fair Oaks, CA / Bella Vista HS) all earned First Team honors. Shanta Loecker, the head coach of the UCLA "B" team, was honored as the WWLL Division 2 Coach of the Year.

Congratulations to these seven Bruins and all their teammates for an outstanding year in the WWLL!

The UCLA Women's Lacrosse team made history on Saturday by beating cross-town rival USC in the first-ever lacrosse game held in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. The fabled stadium hosted its first football game in 1922. The UCLA-USC lacrosse game was the opening contest in the first annual East West Challenge.

Bruin senior midfielder and captain Devon Rudberg (Dallas, TX / Hockaday School) became the first lacrosse player to score a goal in the Rose Bowl when she found the back of the net 54 seconds into the game. UCLA controlled the midfield and was dominant early, taking a 9-0 lead before USC's first goal came with just under 11 minutes remaining in the first half. UCLA took a 10-2 lead into halftime.

UCLA maintained its lead by adding 10 goals in the second half to cruise to a 20-9 victory, despite a 7-goal second half rally by the Trojans. Ten different Bruins scored in the winning effort, and seven of the 20 goals were assisted. Sophomore Lauren Ariniello (Encinitas, CA / La Costa Canyon HS) led all scorers with seven points on four goals and three assists, followed by junior Sarah Strock (Encinitas, CA / San Dieguito Academy) who pitched in five goals and one assist. The defensive performance was led by sophomore goalkeeper Emily Beugelmans (Portola Valley, CA / Woodside HS) who made ten saves. All eighteen players on the UCLA roster played in the historic game, making the victory a true team effort.

UCLA Women's Lacrosse and head coach Nick Liebman wish to extend their thanks to East West Challenge organizer Paul Ramsey and his staff.

The 11th-ranked UCLA Women's Lacrosse team split a pair of games over the weekend, coming up short against the top-ranked UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, then cruising to an 18-3 win over the Arizona Wildcats. On Saturday, the Bruins came out strong at UCSB to take a 4-1 lead in the early going, but the Gauchos came back to take a 10-8 lead into the half and never relinquished the advantage. A complete recap is available here.

Returning home to the North Athletic Field at UCLA to face Arizona on Sunday, the Bruins dominated the visiting Wildcats. UCLA jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead and never looked back, leading 12-2 at halftime and finishing strong for the 18-3 victory.