After a three-game home stand, the UCLA women’s water polo team has proven they know how to bounce back from defeat ““ three times.
The Bruins suffered their first loss of the season to Stanford last Sunday, falling 8-4.
“Definitely Stanford has a talented team and it wasn’t a fluke,” senior center forward Kacy Kunkle said. “I mean they’re always really good and really competitive but I don’t think we played our game against Stanford. I think it could be a blessing in disguise to help people refocus and really understand how the season is going to go.”
The Bruins had plenty of time and managed to regroup for last Thursday’s game as the second-ranked UCLA squad suited up to face fifth-ranked Irvine, only to blow by the Anteaters 22-7.
Redshirt senior driver Kelly Rulon led the Bruins with four goals, with strong support from Kunkle and junior defender Jillian Kraus with a hat trick apiece. In all, 12 players scored to get the tally up to 22. Senior goalie Emily Feher had six saves.
Coach Adam Krikorian thinks the Irvine win was of special importance because he felt as if his team didn’t play up to their full ability the first time they faced each other, in which the final score saw the Bruins win, 11-7.
“I think we really did a good job against Irvine that first game,” Krikorian said. “They played us pretty tough the first time we played them, so we wanted to come back and show them that we were better than how we performed the first time, too.”
Thursday helped the Bruins gain momentum, and they blew by Cal State Northridge on Friday 14-3, making it look easy. The Rulon sisters, Kelly and sophomore driver Katie, had a combined eight goals. The elder, Kelly, scored five, which tied her personal record for most goals scored in one game.
Krikorian was also happy with the way Kelly played this weekend.
“Kelly Rulon did a great job,” said Krikorian. “I thought she could’ve performed a little better in the last tournament we played and she came back this week and had a couple of really nice games.”
The Bruins didn’t end their streak there, and on Saturday had a big win against Pomona-Pitzer 13-4, making their record 13-1 overall and also marking the halfway point of their season.
Junior driver Kamaile Crowell, sophomore driver Tanya Gandy and Katie Rulon scored two goals each with 10 players scoring overall. Sophomore goalie Brittany Fullen had six saves.
The Bruins hope to continue their streak next Saturday in Tempe, Ariz., against Arizona State at noon.