M. polo: Men’s water polo shows potential at season’s end

Finishing third in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
tournament is nothing to brag about.

But for the men’s water polo team, it’s a
statement.

“We needed to show everyone that we are one of the best
teams in the country,” coach Adam Krikorian said.
“People didn’t give us a lot of credit the whole year,
and deservedly so, but the guys did a great job in the second half
of the season responding and showing the type of character, heart
and pride that we have.”

Before the season began, many had UCLA counted out for one
reason.

The lack of experience.

However, a team that was given close to no chance at making any
impact in the water polo world turned it around the second half of
the season. The team finished 20-7 in the regular season and tied
for first in its conference (7-1) with USC and Stanford.

“I actually wasn’t surprised at all and I could see
the potential in our team from the very beginning,” captain
Peter Belden said. “We finally showed it halfway through the
season as soon as the chemistry started coming together.”

Still, UCLA’s season would be gauged by their performance
in the MPSF tournament at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach, Calif.

Going into the tournament, the No. 3 Bruins knew what they had
to do in order to secure a NCAA position.

Win all three games.

UCLA faced off against a dangerous opponent in the first round
in No. 6 Pepperdine, but sophomore center defender Michael
March’s hat trick kept the Bruins’ season alive with a
7-5 victory.

The Bruins were faced with one tall feat going into the second
round.

Defeating Stanford.

Over the past few years, Stanford has been a thorn in the
Bruins’ side.

“They got our number,” Krikorian said. “The
previous losses seemed more like a mental thing if anything, but in
the past game I didn’t feel like they were in our
head.”

The match was an individual showdown between UCLA driver Brett
Ormsby and Stanford driver Tony Azevedo. Ormsby helped UCLA
maintain a large lead throughout the competition with his
tournament-high five goals, but Azevedo kept Stanford in the match
with three goals of his own.

Stanford finally caught the Bruins at the end of the third
period, and went on to shut out UCLA in the final period for a 9-7
win.

“Our defense was solid the entire way and our offense was
reeling for the first three quarters,” Belden said.
“But, our offense fell asleep in the fourth period and it
just buried us.”

With the loss to Stanford, any type of NCAA hopes were
dashed.

However, a third-place finish was still up for grabs between
UCLA and Cal.

“After last night we knew that our NCAA chances were
over,” Ormsby said. “It definitely changed our outlook
a little, but we know now that we were playing for pride,
especially because we didn’t want to lose the last game of
the season.”

Both teams were deadlocked in the first two periods at five
apiece. But, Ormsby proved to be the deciding factor as he
connected on two of his game-high five goals in the third period to
give UCLA the lead that they never relinquished for the remaining
periods of the game.

“I’m really happy at the way these guys came back
after last night’s game,” Krikorian said. “As for
the season, disappointment is too harsh of a word.

“We’re upset that we’re not playing for a
championship, but I’m pleased, but not satisfied, with our
finish this year.”

Next year UCLA will be returning all of its players.

“I think we can only improve from where we are,”
junior goalie Joseph Axelrad said. “I’m excited about
next year and we’ll have to take it one game at a time, but
we’ll be back.”

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