In a season defined by its constant improvement, the UCLA women’s water polo team will try to end its regular season with a win that would spell progress.
The No. 3 Bruins (20-4, 5-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) and the No. 2 Women of Troy (18-1, 4-0) will renew arguably the biggest women’s water polo rivalry in the country on Saturday when both face off at 1 p.m. at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center.
“The teams get really excited to play one another,” UCLA coach Adam Krikorian said. “Just to be part of the rivalry is something really special. It is especially great in our sport: both teams that have the potential to win a national championship each year. It means something more than the typical UCLA-USC rivalry.”
In the recent past, the Bruins have held the upper hand, defeating USC in the NCAA Tournament three times in the past three years; two of three matches were national championship games. Last year, the Bruins defeated the Trojans in the their own pool to end USC’s 42-game home winning streak. Earlier this season, USC returned the favor, defeating UCLA 8-7 in a nonconference matchup.
“We are going to have to play well all-around, especially in power play situations,” Krikorian said. “That is going to be very important in deciding who wins the game.”
Krikorian thought his team played well in last week’s 9-8 road defeat at Stanford, noting the team’s improvement from its 10-5 loss to the Cardinal in February. He thinks that type of development will give the team encouragement heading into Saturday’s match.
“If anything, it gives us a little more confidence to look at where we were back in February, and compare that to where we are now,” he said. “The outlook is good, but we are realists and understand that USC is extremely talented and deep.”
Sophomore defense stalwart Megan Burmeister also thinks the Stanford loss has not had an adverse effect on the team, noting the Bruins are in a good state of mind leading up to their crosstown matchup.
“We are definitely more energized,” Burmeister said. “Everyone gets really pumped up when we play USC. We have moved on from Stanford and really focused on trying to beat the Trojans.”
While the Bruin offense has been inconsistent in its execution throughout the season, the team will rely on its lockdown defense against the Trojans.
“It starts with the defense,” Burmeister said. “USC has a strong 2-meter player, and we have to shut her down. Strong defense carries momentum into offense, and so we have to get big stops on defense, do well on 5-on-6 defense and play with confidence.”
With a win, the Bruins would leave open the opportunity for a share of the MPSF regular season title and a No. 1 seed at the conference tournament.
UCLA will also have an edge playing at Sunset Rec., where the Bruins are 7-0 on the season and have not lost in more than two years.
“I do think (playing at home) is an advantage,” Krikorian said. “It is always a big deal playing here at Sunset. We feel comfortable here ““ this is where we train. I think we will play with a little more confidence here than we would elsewhere.”
The game will be the last of the Bruins’ regular season, with the MPSF Tournament beginning two weekends from Saturday in Honolulu, and the NCAA Tournament the weekend after that.
“There will be a lot of fans here, and it is our last game at Sunset ““ against USC,” Burmeister said. “It should be a lot of fun. It will be a big game, and it would be awesome to get a win that would give us momentum heading into the postseason.”