Coming off a blowout victory against UC Irvine last week, the
No. 3 UCLA men’s water polo team looks to maintain that
momentum against No. 4 Stanford this weekend in the Mountain
Pacific Sports Federation season opener. Immediately preceding the
scheduled football game versus Stanford, the Bruin water polo team
(5-1) will face the Cardinal (5-3) at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center
at 3 p.m.
The Cardinal is coming off a disappointing loss to No. 7 Pacific
in double overtime. Before that matchup, Stanford fell to the
Bruins at the NorCal tournament, 7-6.
Despite the early upsets of the season, the Bruins are not
taking the Cardinal lightly ““ it is a top contender for the
national title year in and year out. Like UCLA, Stanford repeatedly
finishes the season in the top echelon of water polo teams and will
be a serious threat despite its record thus far.
“I expect a tough battle (against Stanford,)” coach
Adam Krikorian said. “They lost to University of the Pacific
recently, which was a pretty big upset, so they’re going to
be excited to come back and play us.”
The Bruins have yet to play Pacific, but it is surprising when
any of the top four or five teams lose to lower-ranked opponents in
the water polo world. The Cardinal will certainly be out for
redemption.
“They’re a tough, smart team,” Krikorian said.
“They’re not going to beat themselves; they’re
going to make us beat them.”
Already the Bruins are showing signs of differentiating
themselves from the fifth-place team of last season. With three
losses to Stanford last season, the Bruins are hoping to go 3-0
this year against the Cardinal but will take the season one game at
a time.
“Every game is so crucial,” Krikorian said.
“We cannot afford to give up any games at any time during the
season.”
With a season- and career-high five-goal game against UC Irvine
last week, senior captain Logan Powell knows the capabilities of
his veteran squad. With seven returning seniors, it boasts more
depth than the Cardinal.
“We’re a really deep team, so we’re looking to
push it and really keep the tempo going,” Powell said.
Offensively, UCLA is led by sophomore Krsto Sbutega, who has
netted 12 goals over the first six games. Powell finishes a close
second with 10.
The home pool for the Bruins is typically the Sunset Canyon
Recreation Center Pool, but as in years prior, the location was
moved to the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in hopes of attracting more
spectators already in Pasadena for the night football game. The
facilities in Pasadena accommodate far more fans and will likely be
filled with fans wearing either blue and gold or red and white.