Just four days remain before the undefeated UCLA women’s
water polo team heads off to Ann Arbor, Mich.
And from this point forward, UCLA is just three wins away from
capturing its third national title in five years.
But before the Bruins (30-0) can even think about walking away
with the title, there lies a moment in senior Natalie Golda’s
memory that UCLA will undoubtedly have to pay attention to.
The situation the Bruins are in this season is eerily
reminiscent of what the 2001 Stanford team went through.
Undefeated until the final game of its season, the Cardinal,
which boasted three Olympians ““ as the Bruins do this season
““ won every tournament.
In the NCAA Championship game, however, the Cardinal dropped a
5-4 decision to UCLA. The Bruins hope ““ and are working hard
““ to avoid the fate of the Cardinal this year.
“That’s definitely been in the back of my mind this
entire time,” Golda said.
“I feel like we have to undertake the underdog mentality
and keep with that train of thought,” she said.
“If we buy into the best team ever (mentality),
we’re going to lose. I don’t want this to happen this
time.”
This year appears to be a role reversal for the Bruins, as every
team is eager to give UCLA its first loss of the season.
And after being part of the championship team in 2001, Golda has
been adamant during team meetings. She has been telling her
teammates not to be passive and to continue to be the
aggressor.
“(Stanford) was ready to take it, and to watch our team
win that game against a team that was supposed to win it all was
pretty awesome,” said Golda, who, along with Thalia Munro,
was a freshman on that squad.
“It just showed the true grit of our team. We never gave
up. We never let anyone discourage us from thinking we can
win,” she said.
That’s the same mentality that UCLA has had this year.
With the target on their backs the entire season, the Bruins
have responded consistently.
And that’s because of one thing ““ confidence.
Golda alludes to John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, which
reads: “Respect without fear; confident not cocky; may come
from faith within yourself in knowing you are prepared.”
“I think that defines our team,” the UCLA
women’s water polo captain said. “We’ve put all
the work in. We’ve trained, swam, we’ve done a ton of
leg work, we’ve drilled. We’ve done everything.
“By this point, you have to be confident in how you
prepared yourself.”
What lies ahead for the top-ranked Bruins is the opportunity to
win their third title in five years.
They’ve been tested in every facet all season, facing
teams that would relish the opportunity to put a blemish on the
Bruins’ flawless record.
“I think they know about it, but we don’t talk about
it,” UCLA coach Adam Krikorian said of that 2001 game.
“This group is so focused on what we want to try to get
accomplished, and we’re not thinking about anything
else,” Krikorian said.