The blue and gold barely had a heartbeat all season long.
Despite setting lofty standards for themselves, the Bruins
finished with a 15-8 regular season record this past year and
failed to make it to the NCAA tournament.
Not making it to the NCAA tournament was uncharted water for the
dominant Bruins, as they have taken four NCAA titles in the past
seven years.
“We came up a little short,” junior driver Peter
Belden said. “It was definitely disappointing that we
didn’t make it to the NCAA tournament last season, but then
again, it’ll fuel us for this upcoming season.”
Needless to say, the rest of their mercurial season played out
in an inconsistent pattern. The Bruins would string together
consecutive wins, but would follow up with disappointing showings
such as a double overtime loss to USC, a quadruple overtime
heartbreaker to Pepperdine and two consecutive losses to
Stanford.
As the conference tournament came around, the Bruins continued
their erratic play, falling to No. 1 Pepperdine. They did salvage
some dignity, ousting Stanford for a meaningless third place MPSF
finish.
 With this upcoming season approaching in just over two
weeks, the players will have to come to terms with the past and
take something positive from this past season. However, as the
season gets into gear, many questions exist for UCLA early
on.Â
With the loss of three seniors ““ center defenders Dan
Yeilding and Matt Flesher and especially goalkeeper Brandon Brooks
““ the Bruins will need to find talent elsewhere.
Sophomores John Blanchette and Michael March will likely fill
the vacant spots in the pool at center defender and junior Joseph
Axelrad will have the demanding task of manning the net at the
goalie position.
“It’s a big honor being able to play with Brooks and
now take over his position,” Axelrad said. “When I
play, I’ll try to put my best foot forward.”
The Bruins are an even younger squad this year, with 12 players
joining the team after redshirting their freshman year. And with
only one senior returning to the team, inexperience becomes an
issue. Meanwhile, both fans and skeptics will likely be in a
quandary over whether the Bruins will tackle and press their way
back to another title run.
“It’s a concern of mine,” head coach Adam
Krikorian said of his young team. “The biggest thing is
that communication suffers because it takes time to get accustomed
playing together.”
“We are a young team, but that’s an
advantage,” Axelrad said. “We’ll have a lot of
depth this coming season with everyone coming hungry to
play.”
The men’s water polo team opens its season Sept. 6 in the
Wasko Tournament held in Malibu. As an unofficial tournament, the
Wasko Tournament does not count against their record, but it will
be an early indicator of how the Bruins will fare this year.
“We’re going to be right there,” Krikorian
said. “It’s going to be a dog fight all year long, but
the guys are talented and have a lot of energy and
enthusiasm.”
Sept. 13 will mark the first official game when UCLA
participates in the Pepperdine Tournament in Malibu.