LOS ALAMITOS “”mdash; In 1950, when the UCLA men’s tennis team won the first NCAA championship for the Bruins, no one thought that in less than 58 years UCLA would have achieved the mark of 100 national championships.
Since women’s water polo’s victory in the 2006 NCAA Championships added No. 99 to the total number of team NCAA titles, the UCLA campus has been filled with buzz about who would win the 100th championship.
Many put their money on the men’s basketball team when they traveled to Atlanta for the Final Four; others banked on men’s soccer, who made it to the national championship game but lost to UC Santa Barbara. It wasn’t until all others failed in their quest that people started to remember the excellence of the small and quiet Bruin water polo team that had won the 99th title.
Sure enough, the women’s water polo team was able to capture their fifth overall national title and their third in a row against No. 1 Stanford.
Upon their victory, the team was bombarded with a collection of specially produced No. 100 banners, posters and logos. The Bruin crowd that dominated the stands chanted “No. 100″ exuberantly in between hugs and 8-claps.
In addition to breaking the 100 mark for UCLA, Sunday’s victory also marks a new record for NCAA water polo, as no other team has ever been able to win three national titles in a row since the tournament’s creation in 2001.
But to the women with the trophy, the victory is about their last time playing as a group, the last time this very special team would put on those blue caps together.
“Winning this championship is not about No. 100, it’s about No. 1 for this team,” coach Adam Krikorian said.
“This group winning this championship is going to go down for me as one of my favorite years I’ve ever coached. And that has nothing to do with No. 100.”
The players to his left and right could only nod in agreement.
The Bruins made it very clear that the 100th championship would not have been as special if it weren’t for their teammates.
“It’s going to be great to celebrate with this group of girls,” junior Courtney Mathewson said. “I love them all. It’s great to be No. 100, but there’s going to be 100 more.”
Senior goalkeeper Emily Feher concluded that the reason the team was so successful was because they were able to ignore all the hype surrounding the Athletic Department and their running total of team championships.
“I think we never mentioned the No. 100 within our group,” Feher said. “We hear it a lot on the outside, but we never talked about it. That was part of the reason we were successful, because we didn’t focus on it. Now that we are the champions, I think it’s pretty cool. It’s just a number, but it’s a pretty nice number.”
The UCLA Athletic Department was excited to celebrate being the first school in the country to win 100 national titles.
“To be the first school to win 100 NCAA championships is a great tribute to all of the outstanding student-athletes, coaches and support staff who call UCLA home,” Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said.
“UCLA has a rich athletic history and it is important to remember and celebrate those who built the foundation and earned the early championships as well as those who have contributed to the recent successes.”
Even the defeated Cardinal could not help but recognize the achievements of the UCLA Athletic Department.
“I take my hat off to the UCLA student-athletes now and throughout time for building that record,” Stanford coach John Tanner said.
Krikorian recognized what his team’s victory on Sunday symbolized for the department.
“I’m happy for the department, for UCLA, and for all the UCLA fans,” said Krikorian. “But it is just a number. There had to be a No. 98, and a No. 1. If it wasn’t for all the teams before us, we wouldn’t be in this position.”