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In its first couple of races at the NCAA Championships, the UCLA women’s rowing team learned how far it was from the nation’s most elite programs. By the last race, the Bruins saw how closely they compared to the second-tier programs. After finishing a distant fifth in the five-boat elimination heat, the Bruins placed fifth in the eight repechage race. Those results left them vying for the 13th to 16th spot in a race that came down to the wire. UCLA finished less than a second behind Michigan State and Wisconsin, which took 13th and 14th place. The Bruins finished comfortably ahead of Syracuse to finish 15th. California captured the national championship.

WOMEN’S TENNIS: Northwestern’s third-seeded Audra Cohen defeated UCLA freshman Riza Zalameda 6-4, 6-4 in Friday’s semifinals of the NCAA singles tournament, thwarting the Bruin freshman’s hopes of becoming UCLA’s first player to capture the singles title in nine years. One day earlier, Zalameda had defeated second-seeded Julie Coin, but the three-set match took its toll on her Friday. “I didn’t have fresh legs today, and if I had been fresher maybe things would have been a little different,” Zalameda said. “I also missed too many shots.” Though she did not walk away with the trophy, the tournament was still considered an overwhelming success for Zalameda, who played No. 2 singles for the Bruins during the season. After her quarterfinal match against Coin, she acknowledged that she had exceeded even her own expectations about the event.

MEN’S TENNIS: Benjamin Kohlloeffel will have to settle for one trophy leaving College Station, Texas. The Bruin sophomore fell to Old Dominion’s Izak van der Merwe, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA singles draw on Saturday, ending his hopes of capturing an individual title to go along with the team title he helped the Bruins earn last Tuesday. Kohlloeffel was the lone Bruin to participate in the individual event. His other eligible teammates dropped out after the Bruins won the team event.

Compiled by Andrew Finley, Bruin Sports senior staff.