A sweep of USC and Pacific this weekend would have serious
implications for the UCLA men’s water polo team.
Ranked No. 5 after dropping two spots following a loss to UC
Irvine last Thursday, the Bruins (18-6, 4-2 MPSF) would certainly
work their way back up the national rankings, pour in points for
the Lexus Gauntlet rivalry, and likely build up confidence shaken
by inconsistent Bruin play as of late.
More importantly, if they score dual victories this weekend, the
Bruins will position themselves for a run at capturing the MPSF
Tournament title. The conference championship is essential for the
Bruins if they want to make a consecutive run at the NCAAs.
The Bruins will face No. 1 USC (20-1, 7-0 MPSF) on Saturday and
No. 8 Pacific (18-10, 2-4) on Sunday, both matches taking place at
the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center with starting times of 1
p.m.
The Bruins have yet to face either of the teams this season, and
the fact that the Bruins have not played USC this late into the
season is something of a rarity. Usually by this time the Bruins
would face the Trojans in preseason tournaments, but the Bruins
have not gone very far in the tournaments USC has done well in.
“It’s an awkward situation,” UCLA coach Adam
Krikorian said. “It is strange to not have played them yet,
especially this late in the season.”
Due to the fact that the Bruins have not faced the Trojans this
year, they have been using alternate resources to prepare for the
meeting.
And because they swept their matches against USC last season,
the Bruins may be less primed for revenge than the Trojans.
“There are a lot of unknowns with both teams,”
Krikorian said. “I’d like to use it to our advantage
but we cannot because it goes both ways. We’re on a very
level playing field.”
Both UCLA and USC have winning streaks at stake this Saturday.
The Trojans are on a roll with a winning streak of 13 games, and
the Bruins will look to continue their 20-game home win-streak.
In anticipation of an atypically large crowd, extra bleachers
will be brought out to accommodate the fans, something coach
Krikorian feels may highlight the blatant inadequacies of the
Bruins’ home pool.
“It will be packed on Saturday,” Krikorian said.
“We love Sunset but it has some definite seating capacity
issues and it will definitely become obvious that we need a new
facility.”
As an added incentive, UCLA’s athletic fan club ““
the Den ““ will be giving out free pizzas to encourage student
attendance.
Sunday’s matchup against Pacific, who has won eight of
their last nine games, will mark the end of regular conference play
for the Bruins.
It is the last opportunity for the Bruins to build confidence
through experience before heading across town to the MPSF
conference tournament held over Thanksgiving weekend.
“We’re excited for this weekend,” redshirt
freshman Patrick Morrison said. “We are excited to play and
the home crowds will definitely give us an advantage over
them.”