MEN’S WATER POLO All Weekend MPSF Tournament
Irvine, CA
It’s do or die this weekend for the UCLA men’s water
polo team. After finishing their regular conference season with a
6-2 record, the Bruins head into the final tournament seeded third
in both the conference and the nation. As they travel to Irvine for
the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference tournament, they
will have to face off against the top teams in the nation in order
to continue to the NCAA tournament the following weekend. If the
Bruins want to ensure they appear in the NCAA tournament they will
need to win the conference tournament outright. Meaning, if the
seeding for the tournament is an indicator of how the individual
teams will perform, the Bruins will need to defeat No. 2 Cal on
Saturday and No. 1 USC on Sunday to extend their season and have a
shot at UCLA’s 100th title. “I think we have a really
good chance,” UCLA senior defender Michael March said.
“I have complete confidence in the team. When we are on, we
are so good. I have played with tons of different guys ““ all
kinds of UCLA and international players and I know we have a
talented group of guys.” Defeating both teams is something
the Bruins have yet to do this season. The Trojans are currently
riding a 23-game winning streak and are undefeated in the 2006
season. The Bears, on the other hand, fell to USC last weekend,
ensuring their No. 2 tournament seeding. Rather than traveling home
for Thanksgiving break, the men’s team will stay in the Los
Angeles area, practicing and preparing for the most important
weekend of its season to date. “It all depends on this
weekend,” coach Adam Krikorian said. “We have to win
the tournament in order to win NCAAs. “This is the biggest
weekend of the year for us.” On Friday, UCLA will face the
Pacific Tigers at 1 p.m. The last time the Bruins met the Tigers,
the Bruins defeated them by a margin of five goals. Despite the
relatively easy victory, the Bruins are not looking past the
strong, physical Pacific team. “I know it’s cliche, but
you have got to take it one game at a time,” Krikorian said.
“They (Pacific) are a tall, physical team and we need to
focus on that before we get on to anything else.” The team is
hungry for the title. The Bruins showed that they have the ability
to play with the top teams by taking the No. 1 Trojans into double
overtime in late October. The Bruins fell to No. 2 Cal by only a
single goal in early November. “We’ll go out and give
it our best,” senior Will Didinger said. “I know
it’s going to happen.” Confidence may prove to be a
central component in claiming the conference title and much of that
will be needed to accomplish a feat they have yet to achieve all
season.
BRUINS HONORED: For his outstanding performance
over the weekend, March was named MPSF Mikasa Player of the Week,
along with USC’s Jovan Vranes. March, a team captain, scored
a total of five goals against both Long Beach State and UC Irvine,
bringing his total on the year to 20 goals scored. The week before,
senior and fellow captain Logan Powell received the same honor for
his contributions in UCLA’s matches against Pepperdine and UC
Santa Barbara.