Looking to defend its title in the 2004 Northern California
Tournament and extend its five-game winning streak, the UCLA
men’s water polo team heads up to Berkeley this weekend.
Sixteen of the nation’s best teams will compete for the
tournament title and the Bruins will need four victories to repeat
as champions of the tournament, starting with UC Santa Barbara on
Saturday.
“We have a good history playing in Berkeley,” UCLA
coach Adam Krikorian said. “But we will have to work hard
because we have a tough draw this weekend.”
If the Bruins are able to defeat the Gauchos on Saturday, they
will face the winner of the match-up between Pepperdine and UC
Davis later on that same day.
UCLA has yet to face UC Davis this season, but in late September
the Bruins defeated Pepperdine, 7-5, in Malibu.
Should the Bruins reign victorious in both matches on Saturday,
they will likely face No. 3 Cal again on Sunday. This time,
however, UCLA will be on the Bears’ home turf and likely
facing a team fueled for revenge over the loss suffered in Pasadena
the weekend before.
“I want to kick their ass at their home pool,”
redshirt junior Will Didinger said. “I love going on the road
and beating teams in front of their home crowds.”
“I like opposing fans,” senior captain David Pietsch
said. “It’s motivation to prove them wrong.”
If UCLA manages to overtake Cal for the second time in a week,
it will face the challenge of competing against either USC or
Stanford.
The Bruins have yet to face USC this season and fell to Stanford
in overtime, 10-9, at the SoCal Tournament in mid-September.
“We will have real tough games in NorCal,” Krikorian
said. “I expect a lot from the team. I think we can
accomplish a lot.”
Already, the 2005 season is showing signs reminiscent of last
year when the Bruins earned fourth place in the SoCal Tournament
and then went undefeated until their appearance at the NorCal
competition.
The task is for the team to remain aligned with last
season’s national championship squad and take the title in
Berkeley.