UCLA coach Adam Krikorian will have the chance to etch his name
into the record books for the second time in his coaching career
this weekend at the NCAA Women’s Water Polo
Championships.
Should the top-seeded Bruins capture the title in Ann Arbor,
Mich., it will mark the second time Krikorian has won the
men’s and women’s titles in the same year. USC’s
Jovan Vavic, who did the same thing last year, and former UCLA
coach and current U.S. National Team men’s coach Guy Baker
are the only other coaches to achieve that feat.
However, Krikorian is not even thinking about such an
accomplishment right now.
“It’s a completely different season,”
Krikorian said. “I’m not thinking at all about what we
did on the men’s side, as great as it was. But hopefully,
we’ll end up with the same results as with the men’s
team.”
It hasn’t necessarily been a breeze for Krikorian though.
Over the course of his career, he has taken numerous raw talents
and developed them into superstars. For instance, senior Natalie
Golda began her career on the traveling team and has since become
one of the most celebrated players in the nation.
“He’s always given me a lot of support,” Golda
said. “I came here and didn’t play that much as a
freshman, and I had some struggles with certain aspects of my game.
But I think I’ve been able to come into my own with Adam, and
he’s given me the tools to do that.
“He makes his players feel very confident. He knows how to
make each person shine.”
Though his encouraging and upbeat attitude may define his
coaching style, UCLA assistant coach Nicolle Payne also noted that
Krikorian’s competitiveness shouldn’t be
overlooked.
“I think that Adam has an optimistic personality and tries
to keep everything fun, but at the same time he’s kept the
same work ethic and intensity as Guy Baker,” Payne said.
As co-head coach of the men’s water polo team in 2000 and
head coach of the 2001 women’s water polo team, Krikorian won
two national titles in the same academic year for the first time in
his coaching career under the guidance of Baker. And he is well on
his way to reaching the same feat again.