Whenever “USC” is mentioned on campus, jeers and
curse words come to mind. The rivalry has lasted as long as the two
schools have co-existed, but things are a lot different for
men’s water polo.
“Nothing needs to be said about this rivalry,” UCLA
head coach Adam Krikorian said.
“Water polo is a small world and there are rivalries
between all the teams. USC is a good team, but a win is a
win.”
And the No. 3 Bruins look forward to winning this weekend at the
McDonald’s Swim Center.
Dating back to the 2000-2001 season, the Bruins are 7-1 against
their so-called rival. They have dominated the No. 5 Trojans on
both fronts, with their one loss coming at a neutral site.
This matchup marks the Bruins’ (3-2) conference opener.
Krikorian feels he needs the team’s best play for every game,
conference or not.
But USC (8-2, 1-0) has faced twice as many opponents as UCLA,
with one of their losses coming against the Bruins two weeks ago,
in a 9-7 overtime match.
Both teams understand past games mean nothing, and they will
only look forward to this game.
“We’re not doing anything different, and I’m
not worried about UCLA,” USC head coach Jovan Vavic said.
“I’m only worried about preparing my players for
each game.”
And the Bruins are not getting ahead of themselves either.
“We’re definitely prepared for them,” senior
center Dan Yielding said. “‘SC is always an intense
game, but we need to give a complete game effort.”
And in a water polo world where national ranks mean little and
every game counts, regardless of rivalry, any game demands
everything from its athletes.
According to the Bruins, the Trojans should still be a bit wary
of their opponent. The rivalry is strong, but the numbers give an
edge to UCLA.
“Expect the most action-packed match of the season,”
junior driver Nick Pacelli said. “This one’s not going
to overtime.”