UCLA's First NCAA Baseball Championship Named Number One Local Sports Moment

The UCLA Bruins winning the NCAA College World Series for the first time in school history was named the top sports moment for 2013 at the 9th Annual LA Sports Awards, held Wednesday night at the Beverly Hilton.

UCLA completed a two-game sweep against Mississippi State in the finals to capture its first-ever baseball national title. The Bruins wrapped up the title on June 25 with an 8-0 win in the clinching game, played before a stadium-record crowd at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.

UCLA ended the season with an overall record of 49-17, marking the second-highest single-season win total in school history.

Bruins head coach John Savage, along with outfielder Brian Carroll and pitcher David Berg were among the 525 people in attendance at the awards gala.

The LA Sports Awards are presented annually by the Los Angeles Sports Council to celebrate the greatest moments of the year in sports in the Los Angeles/Orange County area.

In other award presentations, Clippers All-Star guard Chris Paul was honored as 2013 Sportsman of the Year and record-setting long distance swimmer Diana Nyad and Sparks star Candace Parker were co-named the Sportswomen of the Year. UCLA head baseball coach John Savage received the Coach of the Year award and Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten was the recipient of the Sports Executive of the Year.

A special High School Moment of the Year award was presented to the St. John Bosco football team for winning its first California state championship.

During the festivities, the overall Top 10 moments of 2013 -- as selected by a blue-ribbon Media Panel combined with the results of online fan voting -- were revealed in ranked order. They are:

1. UCLA Wins its First-Ever College World Series Title-The Bruins defeated Mississippi State, 8-0, to win their first College World Series championship, at Omaha (June 25).

2. Clayton Kershaw Wins Cy Young Award-The Dodger left-hander led the National League in strikeouts and earned run average in winning his second Cy Young Award in the last three years, receiving 29 out of 30 first-place votes (November 13).

3. Dodgers Advance to NLCS-Powered by Juan Uribe's come-from-behind 8th inning home run, the Dodgers defeated the Braves, 4-3, to clinch their Division Series and advance to the National League Championship Series (October 7).

4. Clippers Win First-Ever Pacific Division Title-The Clippers beat the Lakers, 109-95, to clinch their first division title (April 7).

5. UCLA Defeats USC for the Second Straight Year, 35-14-Led by quarterback Brett Hundley's 208 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns, the Bruins recorded their first victory at the Coliseum since 1997 (November 30).

6. Myles Jack of UCLA Named Pac-12 Freshman Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year-A rare two-way player, at the time of his award Jack had 70 tackles and an interception as a linebacker and ran for 7 touchdowns as a running back (December 2).

7. Kings Advance to Western Conference Finals-The Kings defeated San Jose, 2-1, in a grueling Game 7 at Staples Center to advance to the NHL Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row (May 28).

8. Puig-Mania Sweeps L.A.-Dodger rookie Yasiel Puig closed out a remarkable first month with the team, batting .433 and recording 44 hits - more than any player in National League history in his first calendar month, and second in Major League history to Joe Dimaggio (June 30).

9. Record Number of Coaching Changes-An unprecedented wave of marquee coaching changes swept L.A. teams in 2013, including newcomers Steve Alford (UCLA basketball), Andy Enfield (USC basketball), Doc Rivers (Clippers), Ed Orgeron and Steve Sarkisian (USC football), and Reggie Theus (Cal State Northridge basketball).

10. Scott Neidermayer Inducted to Hockey Hall of Fame-The smooth skating defenseman became the first member of the Ducks named to the Hall of Fame for his accomplishments with the team, which included being named playoff MVP in the Ducks' Stanley Cup-winning season in 2007 (November 11).

For further information, please visit the Sports Council website at http://www.lasports.org.