The UCLA men’s water polo team may have its back against a
wall. The team has not won a conference game in two tries despite
posting an overall 8-4 record.
In order to gain momentum for the Mountain Pacific Sports
Federation tournament, they will need to win some conference
match-ups.
“We definitely need to get on the positive side of the
conference,” senior defenseman Dan Yielding said.
And there is no better way to achieve the feat than defeating
two of the top three teams in the nation — No. 1 Stanford and No.
3 Cal this weekend.
“This is the most challenging weekend this year,”
UCLA head coach Adam Krikorian said.
“Playing both of these teams on the road and in their home
pools is a challenge, but it will be good preparation for the
conference tournament.”
The tournament, which is set at the end of the season,
guarantees its winner an automatic bid to the NCAA Finals. But road
experience will not earn a high seeding. It will depend on a
team’s record.
No. 4 UCLA will first play Saturday, against Cal (9-3, 2-1) in
their lone conference match-up. And despite an 11-8 loss to the
Bears in the So Cal Tournament, the team is still confident in
their ability.
“There will be more emphasis on Cal obviously,”
junior driver Nick Pacelli said.
“But I think we’ve built up a rivalry with Cal and
there’s more bad blood between us.”
The team must beat Cal before they can even consider facing the
Cardinal — the uncontested best team in the nation.
Stanford (14-2, 2-1) is led by 2001 NCAA player of the year Tony
Azevedo, who has accumulated 55 goals on the season in only 16
matches.
UCLA will need to play their best, but they must be driven by
the momentum of a Cal victory.
“We know we have Stanford the next day,” junior
driver Albert Garcia said.
“And both teams are just as equal, but a win over Cal
would just be great.”
Krikorian emphasized that it will also be more difficult to
match-up against Stanford because UCLA has yet to face them.
Regardless, a win is a win, and a conference win is
precious.
The Bruins will play tough though the odds may be against them.
And they will try to come out the better team of the three.
The team knows one win will not cut it either.
“We’re not looking to split, we’re looking to
sweep,” Garcia said.
“It would do a lot for our morale, and our
confidence,” he said