Bruins’ Wright Eligible Again

UCLA men’s water polo player Adam Wright had his eligibility restored after a temporary restraining order was granted Friday by the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Wright, one of the team’s top players, has not played since Oct. 28 after being declared ineligible by the NCAA and the Pacific 10 Conference. He will be eligible to play in today’s nonconference match against USC as well as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament next weekend.

UCLA, the defending NCAA champion, is 17-3 and ranked No. 3 in the nation.

Wright, a senior, was ruled ineligible after it was revealed that his redshirt freshman year in 1996 did not count because paperwork for a medical hardship waiver was not filed with the NCAA. He played in one quarter of the Bruins’ first match of the season and injured his shoulder, sitting out the rest of the year.

The NCAA ruled that the freshman year counted against his eligibility and that Wright would have exhausted it last year. A three-time All-MPSF player, he has played in 17 matches this season and leads the team with 36 goals.

Wright’s attorney, Julian Bailey, said the restraining order was filed because his client was being penalized for a mistake not of his doing. Bailey filed the order Friday morning in a Santa Monica courthouse and Judge Stanley Weisberg later granted the motion.

A hearing is schedule Dec. 4 in Santa Monica for a continuance of the order.

“It seemed to me that he was not getting fair treatment from the NCAA,” Bailey said. “He assumed his coach got the medical redshirt paperwork taken care of and the coach had completely forgotten to do it.

“This is the end of his [Adam’s] career. To take this away from somebody, I feel is wrong.”

UCLA co-Coach Guy Baker said the oversight was his fault and believes Wright should not be punished. He was pleased that his star playmaker will return after having to sit out three matches.

“I am glad that Adam is going to be able to continue his season and finish out his career,” Baker said. “It was a bad mistake on my part. He should be playing.

“This is a mistake that I made four years ago based on the wrong assumption of what the medical hardship rule required.”

UCLA was named as a defendant in the temporary restraining order along with the NCAA, the Pac-10 and the MPSF. Pac-10 and MPSF officials were unavailable for comment.

It is not certain if UCLA will be penalized for playing Wright this season. The Bruins remain eligible to compete in the MPSF tournament and, if they qualify, the NCAA tournament.

Baker said Wright has handled the situation well. “I think Adam has done an admirable job considering the circumstances,” he said. “It definitely has had an impact on the team, but I think the team has handled the situation fairly well.”