PALO ALTO “”mdash; As the final horn echoed across Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Complex, one fan amid a sea of blue and gold held up a sign that read “UCLA SENIORS 4 for 4.”
It was simple math. For the five Bruin seniors, Sunday’s NCAA championship defeat of the Trojans marked their fourth title in as many years and solidified them as the most successful class in the sport’s history.
Over the last four years, UCLA women’s water polo has been the team to beat ““ and very few teams have. The Bruins’ record over that span is a staggering 123-6, bookended by undefeated seasons in 2005 and this year. One reason for that success has been the leadership and experience of the five seniors: Courtney Mathewson, Gabrielle Domanic, Brittany Rowe, Jillian Kraus and Kamaile Crowell.
“I’m very lucky to be on a team with such great leaders, five seniors that just from the first day of practice led this team, and they did a great job,” said junior Tanya Gandy, the NCAA Tournament MVP. “I have a lot of confidence in them.
“Hopefully, the five of us (juniors) next year can do the same.”
After three years of leaving the NCAA Tournament with trophy in hand, the Bruins’ desire for more hardware did not fade. UCLA’s fierce defense, a staple of coach Adam Krikorian’s championship teams, was as tough as ever, even down to the last seconds of Sunday’s 6-3 victory.
“You would think they would be a little complacent and not as hungry to get back there, but that has not been the case at all,” Krikorian said. “That’s a credit to them and their personalities, their drive to become better players and for us to become better as a team.”
All but one of the seniors started on a team that ran through the 2008 season like a freight train. Individually, they collected a slew of awards for their play in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular season and the NCAA Tournament.
Mathewson and Kraus were two of the three finalists for the Peter J. Cutino Award, which is given to the country’s best player. Both were also all-tournament first-team selections and MPSF co-players of the year.
Rowe was named to the all-tournament second team and was an all-MPSF honorable mention selection. On a team filled with dangerous outside shooters, Rowe provided a strong inside presence for the Bruins.
Domanic scored a first-quarter goal on Sunday to help stake UCLA to an early lead and also had game-winning goals against USC and Stanford earlier in the season.
But all these accolades would not be complete without the memory of four years spent in the pool, fine-tuning shots and powering through workouts when the stands were empty and the scoreboard was turned off.
“Practice is hard, extremely hard, and there are definitely days when you don’t want to do it, but when you look at your teammates, and everyone else is doing exactly the same thing that you are, it helps motivate you,” Mathewson said. “And (Krikorian) can really lay it on you at practice, but it builds character.
“When you’re holding a 10-pound weight ball above your head for the 30th minute … yeah, it builds character.”
After reaching 100 NCAA titles last year ““ when the women’s water polo team defeated Stanford 5-4 for its third straight title ““ the UCLA community has celebrated its long and successful athletic history.
The legendary basketball teams of the John Wooden era and Al Scates’ men’s volleyball teams ““ whose 1984 senior class was the only other group to graduate with four straight national titles ““ are recognized as great dynasties in collegiate sports history.
With Adam Krikorian’s women’s water polo teams now responsible for contributing the last three of UCLA’s 101 NCAA titles, the names of this 2008 senior class demand the same respect.