Two weeks ago, the UCLA’s men’s water polo team rode
into the So Cal Tournament hoping to make a strong statement.
Consecutive losses to Stanford and Cal were not what the team had
in mind.
“I’m disappointed,” coach Adam Krikorian said.
“I expected much better, especially against Cal. Our effort
level was just not there against Cal.
“We had multiple leads, but we just didn’t put them
away.”
The two defeats came after earlier victories against Cal Baptist
and Pepperdine, during which the Bruins had very little trouble
putting their opponents away. But in the semifinal game against
Stanford and third-place game against Cal, the team did not perform
up to its own expectations.
“The defense needs to improve,” senior attacker
Brett Ormsby said. “We got away from our defensive
emphasis.”
Ormsby went on to say that he still feels that the Bruins should
be considered one of the top teams in the country.
“The other teams (Cal, Stanford and USC) have a slight
advantage after this tournament,” Ormsby said.
“We’ll just hope to beat them next time.”
The Bruins have already rebounded since the tournament with a
6-4 win over UC Irvine last Saturday, showing some strong defensive
play in the victory.
“I’m really happy with our extra-man play,”
coach Krikorian said. “We played much better
defensively.”
Senior center Ted Peck, who scored three of the Bruin’s
six goals, felt the victory over Irvine demonstrated the
team’s ability to play well in clutch situations.
“It was a real team effort,” Peck said. “The
goals all came off good passing. We all just felt the need to step
up after the So Cal tournament.”
Krikorian feels his Bruin team still needs to improve in
maintaining a high level of intensity throughout the game.
“Water polo is so physical and so demanding
physically,” Krikorian said. “We need to develop a
killer instinct and realize how difficult it is to win
games.”
Heading into the Nor Cal tournament this weekend, the Bruins are
more focused on the physical play that was lacking during parts of
the Stanford and Cal matches.
“We need to put together a strong showing at the
tournament,” Peck said. “We’re going to come out
very strong and very physical.”