It’s rare that a collegiate water polo match can attract
crowds in the thousands, but it happens a few times a year in the
state of California. One of them will be this Saturday, when No. 1
UCLA plays No. 4 California in Berkeley at 1 p.m. ““ three
hours before the same two schools play their football game.
It’s tradition for the UCLA, USC, California and Stanford
water polo teams to play each other on the same day and place as
their school’s football teams play each other. With that
scheduling, bigger crowds attend the water polo matches because so
many fans of those schools are already tailgating well before the
game. The crowds at these water polo games generally range from
2,000 to 4,000 spectators, depending on how good the football teams
are, UCLA coach Adam Krikorian said. “Those games for these
guys are some of the most fun games they’ll play while
they’re at UCLA,” Krikorian said. “Hopefully,
they take advantage of it and enjoy the atmosphere.” Junior
center defender Michael March vividly remembers the last time UCLA
played in Berkeley before a football game. In 2002, the Bruins
upset the Golden Bears, 4-3. “That game was fun,” March
said. “The best feeling in the world is silencing a big
crowd.” One pre-football water polo match has already been
played this year. Back on Sept. 25, No. 2 Stanford beat No. 3 USC,
9-8.
MPSF PLAY BEGINS: The full conference schedule
for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation begins this weekend.
Conference play is different from the first half of the season,
when teams play weekend tournaments and multiple non-conference
games in one weekend. In conference play, teams typically play only
one match per week, giving them more time to prepare specifically
for one team. “You go into every single game knowing we can
play as hard as we can and leave it all in the pool,” March
said. “It’s an exciting time of the year,”
Krikorian said. “We can focus on giving a consistent effort
for 28 minutes.”
SKIP SHOTS: UCLA has won seven matches in a row
for the first time since 1999. With their 12-2 record through 14
matches, the Bruins are off to their best start since 1999. UCLA
won the NCAA Championship that year. … Krikorian has switched his
emphasis in practice this week to defense. … An MRI will be done
on backup goalie Will Didinger today to determine how serious his
elbow injury is.