UNIVERSITY BEAT: SCORE ONE FOR TROJANS' ALVAREZ.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

Of the 163 points scored in the UCLA-USC women's track and field dual meet Saturday, the most unlikely one came from Barbara Alvarez, a midfielder on the Trojans' soccer team.

Alvarez finished third in the 3,000-meter event and earned a point that might have been crucial had the Trojans sprinters performed to expectations. UCLA won 85-78 to extend its winning streak against USC to nine years.

But Alvarez got a rousing ovation after her event for a surprising finish. She began working out with the track team after soccer season ended, and the UCLA meet was her competitive debut with the Trojans.

``This is a girl who just kept plugging along and eventually made a great contribution,'' said coach Ron Allice, who frequently relies on athletes from other sports to boost his teams. ``There are some disadvantages to being a private school with high tuition. In some ways, we're like a small school because we have to share athletes.''

--Chance for history: UCLA can win the first-ever NCAA title in women's water polo this weekend, when the Bruins battle for the championship in Hawaii against Stanford, Brown and Loyola Marymount.

Saturday's semifinals feature UCLA vs. LMU and Stanford vs. Brown, but those are formalities since the Pacific-10 Conference teams should win easily. That would set up a Sunday championship between UCLA and Stanford, the Cardinal having won the teams' previous two meetings this year.

The Bruins are going for their fifth water polo championship in six years, but this is the first season the sport has been recognized by the NCAA.

--Right at home: UCLA's second-seeded men's tennis team plays host to the first two rounds of the NCAA Championships this weekend on campus at the L.A. Tennis Center.

In Saturday's first round, the Bruins face Sacramento State at 1 p.m., following the South Carolina-South Florida semifinal that begins at 10 a.m. The winners of those matches meet Sunday at noon for the regional championship.

The USC men, ranked No. 24, travel to Mississippi for the first two rounds. The Trojans face Virginia in Saturday's first round, then would meet either Mississippi or Jackson State in Sunday's regional final.

On the women's side, 10th-seeded USC travels to Virginia for a regional against Old Dominion, South Alabama and Maryland-Baltimore County, and the Bruins women are in Fresno with Georgia Tech, Cal State Northridge and Fresno State.

Also, Pepperdine's men and women travel to Indiana State and Baylor, respectively.