W. polo: Freshman’s comments result in suspension

Upset at Gabrielle Domanic’s comments in Friday’s
Daily Bruin, UCLA women’s water polo coach Adam Krikorian
suspended the freshman driver for the Bruins’ next four games
starting with today’s match-up with Cal State Northridge.

Krikorian stated that the comments made by Domanic in regard to
her former Foothill High School teammate Brittany Hayes, who is
currently a sophomore at USC, were not representative of what he
expects from his players.

“I, as well as the rest of the team, was not happy about
the comments made by Gaby last Friday in regards to one of her
opponents and one of our opponents,” Krikorian said.
“We in terms of water polo and outside of water polo are all
held at a very high standard, and when we don’t meet those
high standards, there need to be some consequences involved.

“She’s going to suffer the consequences, but at the
same time Gaby is a huge part of this team. She’s going to
take the responsibility and she’s going to go through this
time with maturity. In the meantime, we’re going to support
her through the suspension.”

Domanic declined to comment about the situation.

The suspension stemmed from Domanic’s inference prior to
top-ranked UCLA’s victory over USC on Saturday that Hayes was
just “along for the ride” during Foothill’s run
of success.

“When I play against Brittany it adds to the
intensity,” Domanic also said. “Just to know my team
dominates her like that and to shove it back at her is great. As
long as I’m here, I’m going to make it a point that USC
doesn’t win a national title.”

On Monday, the Bruins had a team meeting to discuss
Domanic’s comments and that was where Krikorian informed the
team of his decision to suspend Domanic. Senior captain Natalie
Golda felt the suspension came as no surprise and was fair.

“I think the suspension is good and I agree with it;
I’m sure she does too,” Golda said. “I think this
is a good time for her to reflect on what she did and it’s a
tough lesson to learn and she’ll get it after this.

“Hopefully it’ll make her hungry when she comes back
into the water.”

Krikorian said that the decision to suspend Domanic was a
necessary learning experience for the team.

“It’s a good reminder for not just Gaby, but to me
that being part of this water polo program is more than just being
a good water polo player,” Krikorian said. “It’s
a good reminder for the rest of us.

“In no way am I making excuses for Gaby, but she is young,
and I feel confident that she’ll bounce back and she’ll
handle herself with maturity and class.”

Domanic is UCLA’s fifth leading scorer this season with 17
goals. She was also an alternate member on the 2004 Olympic team
that captured the bronze medal in Athens, Greece.

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