Monday, 5/12/97 Champions, again Bruins win game with decisive
3-0 run, stingy defense
By Vytas Mazeika Daily Bruin Contributor While offense gets the
glory, defense is what wins championships. This is one of the most
overused cliches in sports, but for the UCLA women’s water polo
team, it turned out to be prophetic. With a balanced offense and a
stifling defensive effort, UCLA Coach Guy Baker and the rest of the
Bruins defended their national title by defeating Cal 6-3 in the
finals. "It feels great," Baker said. "I thought our team played
really well. … I think I’m still a little excited about the
game." The match was very much in doubt until the fourth quarter.
With the Bruins holding a slight 3-2 edge, UCLA freshman Serela
Mansur notched her only goal of the match to expand the Bruin lead
to 4-2. Mansur’s goal sparked a 3-0 run by UCLA that put the game
out of reach for Cal. Bruins Coralie Simmons and Amanda Gall each
scored their second goals of the match during the 3-0 fourth
quarter run, and the entire UCLA squad began to get ready for the
celebratory jump into the pool. "We went ahead 6-2 and we pretty
much knew we were going to win," Baker said. "So the celebration
started a little early … They’ll remember (the victory) for a
long time." Even though the Bruins (31-1) scored 301 goals during
the season, great defense is what made them so dominant. In the
four games UCLA played at Ann Arbor, the Bruins only allowed seven
goals. "(The team) put on a clinic as far as how to play defense,"
Baker said. "This feels great," Simmons said. "Our defense played
well, so it was easy to see where their shots were coming from."
The defensive dominance demonstrated by the Bruins throughout the
tournament can partly be attributed to two-meter defenders Mandy
McAloon and Katie Tenenbaum (who also scored UCLA’s first goal of
the game). But make no mistake about it: UCLA’s defense depends on
goalie Nicolle Payne, who was named to the Tournament All-American
first team along with Simmons. Payne also won the Trish Maguire
Most Valuable Tournament Goalie award for the second consecutive
season. "(McAloon and Tenenbaum) did a good job all season," Baker
said. "All the players help out on defense. But it all starts with
Nicolle. (Other teams) have to work hard to get open, and when they
do the fun really starts. Trying to score on Nicolle is not easy."
UCLA and Cal were expected to meet each other in a rematch of last
year’s final from the very beginning. Both teams faced each other
six times before the finals with Cal handing the Bruins their only
loss of the season. But a very resilient Bruin team bounced back
from that early defeat to start a 29-match win streak that they
hope to extend next season. UCLA returned a great deal of players
from last year’s national championship team, but the Bruin players
were not able to blow away their competition as they had in the
1996 campaign. Twice, the Bruins had to survive in overtime (once
against Stanford and once against San Diego State), and many times
their matches were up for grabs late in the fourth quarter. But the
Bruins always proved to be the better team and came out on top,
leaving Baker with a strong sense of this team’s will and desire.
"There were a lot of accomplishments this season," Baker said.
"This team has made the most progress out of any that I have
coached." During the collegiate tournament, the road to the finals
did not prove to be a challenge for the top-ranked Bruins. On
Friday, UCLA defeated both UC San Diego (9-1) and Maryland (10-0).
Then on Saturday, the Bruins played fourth-ranked San Diego State
and promptly demolished the Aztecs by a score of 10-3. UCLA was
then focused and ready to take care of their water polo rival Cal
and claim Baker’s fourth title in a row. He also coaches the
back-to-back NCAA champion men’s water polo team. "(The final) was
a real good game," Payne said. "It was so close until the fourth
quarter. … The team played well together. We’re happy!" The
Bruins are not only happy, but they are also collegiate champions
once again. KRIS FALLON CHARLES KUO/Daily Bruin Pictured:
All-American Coralie Simmons (top) and Amanda Gall (Bottom), who
scored twice en route to UCLA’s national championship victory
against second-ranked Cal. CHARLES KUO/Daily Bruin Nicolle Payne
minds the goal during a match in April.