Following an undefeated season that saw the UCLA women’s water polo team win the program’s fourth straight NCAA Championship, this year’s squad will head into the 2009 season with high expectations yet again.
“Ultimately, the end goal is always the same ““ to win a national championship,” coach Adam Krikorian said.
However, this season the No. 3 Bruins will have a new make-up.
Three of the team’s top four scorers from last year graduated, including NCAA Division I Player of the Year Courtney Mathewson, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference Co-Player of the Year Jillian Kraus and All-American Brittany Rowe.
Those three along with fellow graduates Gabrielle Domanic and Kamaile Crowell accounted for more than half the team’s goals last season.
Accordingly, Krikorian sees the development of some of the less-experienced players as critical to the Bruins’ success.
“This team is so young, and many of these players are so inexperienced, so every game is important, and I wouldn’t say that in previous years,” Krikorian said. “This year’s going to be different. We’re going to have to prepare for every single game.”
One area where the team won’t be different is between the pipes. Senior goalkeeper Brittany Fullen will return after an outstanding junior year, in which she set a program record with 237 saves.
In addition, senior attackers Tanya Gandy, Katie Rulon, Anne Belden and Kim Nelson provide stability and leadership, while also bringing along the younger players.
“I want to make sure that we gel as a team and just go out strong and really focus on playing each game to the best of our abilities,” Gandy said. “I want to help the freshmen and the sophomores grow so they can lead when they’re seniors.”
The Bruins will rely on sophomores Kelly Easterday, Megan Burmeister and Priscilla Orozco, along with freshman Sarah Orozco, among others, to fill the gaps left from last year’s seniors.
According to Krikorian, the maturation of those underclassmen will determine how deep into the postseason the team can go.
“We have to get the younger girls on speed with what we want to do and how we want to play,” Krikorian said. “Those players seven through 13 are the players that really need to develop over the course of the year. If we see improvement from those girls, I’m very confident we can do what we’ve done the past couple of years.”
Gandy also reiterated that this team’s preparation and development would be unlike that of previous teams.
“Every year is different and you have to take a whole new approach to it,” she said. “This year we have a whole different team and we just have to take things one step at a time.”
In addition, Gandy believes the team’s work on the defensive end will also factor into their success.
“I think our defense is going to be one of our keys,” she said. “There are a lot of offensive threats out there and how we play 5-on-6 (defense) and just overall defense is going to be a huge key for us.”
The Bruins, who open their season Saturday at the Michigan Invitational against Bucknell, will ultimately try to maximize their development as a team in order to contend for the conference and national titles.
“With this team right now, I don’t know if we’re ready,” Krikorian said. “But the goal is to be ready in April and May, and that’s what we’re going to try to do ““ get this team prepared so we can make our push that time of the year.”