After playing an impressive pair of matches in two UCLA
men’s water polo victories, junior goalkeeper Will Didinger
was named MPSF/Mikasa Player of the Week.
Didinger had 14 saves over the course of the two games.
“It feels good,” Didinger said. “There are a
lot of good athletes, and it’s nice to be up there with the
best of the best.”
Didinger held California to its lowest point total of the
season, effectively shutting them out the entire third period of
the game.
On Sunday against a lesser-ranked Princeton, Didinger was able
to hold the Tigers to three goals in three quarters of play.
“He deserves it,” UCLA coach Adam Krikorian said.
“He played really well in the biggest game of the
year.”
Over the course of 13 matches, Didinger has tallied a total of
87 saves (6.69 per game) and now he boasts a 5.00 goal average for
the current season.
“It’s nice to know you are playing well, and it
definitely has helped my confidence,” Didinger said.
“In water polo, confidence is key, and if you know you are
playing well it helps you perform better.”
Player of the Week is the first award Diddinger has received
during his collegiate career, as he only started to play regularly
at the start of this season.
“The more excitement and hype there is, the better he
plays,” Krikorian said.
“At the same time, we played well defensively, which helps
take the pressure off of him.”
Krikorian is hoping his original observation holds true for both
Didinger and the Bruin defense throughout the season, as the team
has a tough schedule. Starting this weekend, UCLA faces a difficult
road trip to Berkeley at the NorCal Tournament.
“If we come out this weekend 4-0, we will set ourselves up
for a great second half of the season,” Didinger said.
After a disappointing fourth-place finish at the SoCal
Tournament in September, Krikorian quickly adopted a different
coaching approach to smooth things out.
To make the schedule seem less intimidating, Krikorian had his
team break the season up into sections, rather than view the whole
year as one undertaking.
The philosophy has proved beneficial thus far, as his players
have responded.
“After SoCal, we talked about shrinking the season until
NorCal,” Krikorian said.
“We have accomplished our goal by going 5-0 in our
“˜mini-season.'”
After losing to Cal earlier this season, the win Saturday evened
the Bruins’ record against the Bears to 1-1 on the
season.
In this weekend’s tournament, it will be the Bruins’
last opportunity to finish the season with a winning record against
their Pac-10 opponent.
The team has an added incentive this weekend, as a win would
also give bragging rights.
“(Cal is) already talking revenge,” Didinger said.
“It’s a great feeling beating teams on the road. I love
it.”