She went to class. She passed tests. She really was a Bruin from Westwood with an Aussie accent.
So what, asks Tanya Harding, if she only stayed at UCLA long enough to help win a record-setting eighth NCAA women's softball championship?"I was not a hired gun," she said Friday. Harding finished her 10-week stay in the United States with a 17-1 record and was named the championship tournament's Most Valuable Player.
One of Australia's top softball pitchers, Harding has been at the center of criticism over how UCLA won the title this spring. She enrolled at the Los Angeles school for one trimester in March, then left at the end of the tournament in May without taking finals.
Back in her homeland, Harding said she and the school followed the rules, and that the protests are nothing but sour grapes.
"What I did wasn't illegal," she said. "I feel bad in a way because if I'd known it was going to cause this much trouble, I probably wouldn't have gone in the first place. I knew there would be a little bit of flak, but I didn't think it would be this bad."
Harding said UCLA cleared her eligibility with the NCAA before she even agreed to enroll.
"I went to school, I attended classes and even passed exams to get accepted," she said. "I never ever intended staying four years to get a degree. I made them aware of the date I was arriving and the date I was leaving."
Australian softball officials also rejected claims by rival college officials that Harding went to the UCLA specifically to gain experience for Australia's Olympic campaign. National coach Bob Crudgington said colleges in the United States regularly scout in Australia for talent.
"Three of our top eight pitchers are playing in the colleges and two of them (Brooke Wilkins and Leanne Tyler) have been voted All-American. You can bet they'll be back with their checkbooks again next year," Crudgington was quoted as saying by The Australian newspaper.
Harding arrived at UCLA on Mar. 22. She enrolled for the minimum courses allowed and left Wednesday. She said her priority now was to play for Australia at the 1996 Olympics, and that probably would prevent her returning to UCLA next year to complete her studies.
"Of course they want me to go back," she said. "But my first priority is the national team, and I doubt I'd be allowed go back because of all their commitments."