While Los Angeles dealt with unusual amounts of rain this weekend, the UCLA women’s water polo team braved freezing temperatures and snow as they opened their season by sweeping the University of Michigan Invitational this weekend.
The team maintained its No. 1 ranking with four dominating wins.
The Bruins began their weekend on Saturday with a 14-5 win against No. 11 Arizona State. Later that day, the Bruins defeated No. 8 UC San Diego by the same score.
“Saturday’s games were, for the most part a little more challenging,” coach Adam Krikorian said. “But we executed what we have been working on in practice fairly well and I’m happy with the way things worked out.”
Sunday, the Bruins continued their strong play, defeating Colorado State 15-2 and Indiana 15-6.
UCLA held Colorado scoreless for the first three quarters before allowing two goals in the fourth.
Defense also prevailed later in the day when UCLA started off against Indiana by opening up a nine-point lead in the first quarter, and continued its solid defensive play, keeping Indiana away from the goal.
“Our defense was definitely our strength this weekend,” Krikorian said. “Especially our halfcourt defense. I was really impressed with Brittany Fullen, our goalie. She played really well for her first time in goal during a game.”
Although the final scores do not hint at any struggles for the Bruins, Krikorian pointed out some concerns for the team.
“We need to work particularly on our power plays: our 5-man defense and 6-on-5 (offense) could have been better,” he said. “But mostly these are things that we hadn’t really worked on.”
The Bruins’ upperclassmen dominated the pool, with seniors Gabrielle Domanic, Brittany Rowe, Courtney Mathewson, and junior Katie Rulon leading the Bruins in scoring this weekend.
Also seeing some action in the games this weekend were the newest Bruins on the team. Six of the 11 freshmen had their first goals as Bruins, and most saw at least a few minutes of playing time in the pool.
“There were some really bright moments and some moments of frustration,” Krikorian said concerning the performance of his freshman class. “Those should be expected and the bright moments bring a positive hope for the future, and the frustrating times are just a hope for improvement.”
NEXT UP FOR THE BRUINS: Top-ranked UCLA returns to Southern California this week with a game against No. 12 Loyola Marymount (0-0) on Saturday, Feb. 2 at LMU’s Burns Recreation Center. Game time is scheduled for noon. The Bruins’ first home game of the year is on Feb. 5 against Hartwick.