May 26, 2002

LOS ANGELES - USC baseball completed a three-game sweep of UCLA with a win today at Jackie Robinson Stadium to clinch the first-annual Lexus Gauntlet trophy presented to the Trojans by the Southern California Lexus Dealer Association. Although both teams scored 55 points in the year-long all-sports competition, USC's baseball sweep gave the Trojans the advantage in the tiebreaker.

The battle for the Lexus Gauntlet trophy saw the Trojans and Bruins compete against each other in 18 sports. Five points were awarded to the winner of the each sport's season series or, for those sports that did not meet head-to-head, the team that placed higher in the conference championship (10 points were awarded in football, men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball).

The trophy will be presented to USC athletic director Mike Garrett by Lexus representatives on Wednesday, May 29. The presentation ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. at Heritage Hall.

"What a great competition it was to come down to the wire like this," said Garrett. "We are extremely delighted to win the first-ever Lexus Gauntlet trophy. It just goes to show how evenly matched these two great universities are and what a fantastic rivalry this is. I want to thank the Southern California Lexus Dealers for celebrating this rivalry in such a unique way."

The Southern California Lexus Dealer Association is the title sponsor of every USC-UCLA athletic competition. This is the first time the two universities have partnered with a corporate entity for complete rivalry sponsorship. In the fall of 2001, the schools signed a four-year contract of undisclosed terms with Lexus, America's best-selling luxury automotive manufacturer for two years in a row. For recaps of the year-long competition visit www.gauntlettrophy.com.

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