DAVE HILL/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Senior Coralie
Simmons, named the NCAA tournament MVP, reaches for the
ball in the championship game.
By Emily Whichard
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s water polo team began the 2001 season
with the force of a strong 2000 campaign behind it and drew this
season to a close with even greater momentum for the season to
come.
The Bruins returned for the inaugural season of women’s
water polo as an NCAA sport to defend the national championship
they clinched last year.
They boasted a record of 30-5, the return of Olympic team
members senior Coralie Simmons and sophomore Robin Beauregard, 2000
National Player of the Year junior Elaine Zivich and four national
titles in the past five years.
The odds certainly began in their favor.
“Our goal has always been to win the National
Championship,” Head Coach Adam Krikorian said.
UCLA opened its season with Stanford’s Invitational
tournament in February. After a 6-4 defeat of then-No. 4
California, the Bruins went on to face the team that would prove to
be their biggest adversary ““ the Stanford Cardinal.
The Cardinal set the tone for a regular season full of
domination with a 7-6 defeat of the Bruins in the finals of their
tournament.
The following weekend at the UCSB Invitational tournament, UCLA
experienced a case of dejá vu with a semi-final defeat of
California and a loss in the finals to Stanford. The Cardinal had
asserted its position as the team to beat.
“We had a lot of opportunities,” sophomore Ashley
Stachowski said. “We just weren’t putting it away like
we can. Stanford was always on.”
In UCLA’s home opener of regular season play, the Bruins
trounced the San Diego State Aztecs with a score of 21-3. This
lopsided win set the tone for the rest of the season.
Every team faced by the Bruins throughout regular season play
was defeated with an average margin of nine goals. The only
exceptions came from the USC Trojans and Stanford.
The Bruins entered the MPSF tournament with an almost
unblemished record of 14-3. Up against undefeated Stanford,
UCLA’s bid for the NCAA tournament was on the line.
In the semi-finals of the MPSF tournament, USC attempted to
assert its claim to that bid when its players took the Bruins into
triple overtime before falling 9-8. UCLA starting goalie sophomore
Jaimie Hipp posted a career high of 13 saves in the game.
Though Stanford defeated UCLA in the finals, the Bruins moved
on. It was hardly ideal, but the Bruins got what they came for
““ a bid for the NCAA tournament and one more chance at the
Cardinal.
“We needed a close game,” freshman Thalia Munro said
after the loss to Stanford. “It’s that kind of pressure
that will prepare us for Stanford at NCAAs.”
After defeating UC Irvine 11-1 in the semifinals of the NCAA
tournament at Stanford on May 12, UCLA went on to face Stanford
once again in the finals.
Putting the past behind them, the Bruins came out firing and
never let the Cardinal gain an advantage on the scoreboard.
Not accustomed to a losing position, Stanford didn’t know
what hit them. Simmons, the tournament MVP, posted the game
clenching goal for the Bruins with one minute 28 seconds remaining,
her 41st for the season.
As the clock ran out, Krikorian tumbled into the pool to
celebrate the victory.
The win not only marked the first NCAA title for women’s
water polo, but it also marked the 86th National Championship title
for UCLA.
“All year, no one gave us a shot at the title ““ not
the media, not the other programs,” Krikorian said after the
win. “We knew if we improved on our power play we had a
shot.”
Finishing the season 18-4 and clenching the NCAA title against
the expectations of the entire water polo community, the Bruins
will possess even greater force as they head into the 2002
season.