Staring out into the pool as his team trickled out of the Spieker Aquatics Center on Wednesday, UCLA men’s water polo coach Adam Wright reminisced on a night in 1998 practicing with the U.S. national team in Long Beach, Calif.
Practice ended, the team had changed and Jim Toring, a former UCLA water polo player, grabbed Wright’s clothes and locked them in his trunk, leaving Wright with no choice but to go home in nothing but a Speedo.
It did not help that Toring was driving an open-top convertible, with frosty winds blowing at roughly 60 mph that night.
This is one of the many pranks Toring pulled on his friends and teammates.
“He had quite a personality outside the water,” Wright said. “You always had to make sure he wasn’t pulling a prank on you. If he wasn’t coming out of the locker room in a woman’s bathing suit, then he was hiding your Speedo.”
This Saturday will mark the 16th annual Jim Toring Memorial Golf Tournament, which is expected to bring about 100 alumni, friends and family of the water polo team to Los Verdes Golf Course in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
According to Wright, Toring is remembered as a fun, spirited friend outside of the pool, but when it came time to compete, he did not mess around.
During his time at UCLA from 1993 to 1996, Toring played an instrumental role in winning the team’s two consecutive NCAA championship titles in 1995 and 1996, earning most valuable player both years.
In April 1998, during a trip to Paris with the U.S national team, the 23-year-old Toring was struck by a bus and died a few days later.
Since then, UCLA water polo has honored his legacy by holding the Jim Toring Memorial Golf Tournament, with proceeds going to the program.
Although the two did not play for UCLA at the same time, Wright was able to play alongside Toring with the U.S. national team and found the experience incredibly valuable.
“He set a standard here,” he said. “We want to make sure everyone in our program knows who Jimmy was and what he was about.”
Wright was one of the many people who was influenced by Toring’s water polo presence.
Toring’s nephew, Cody Moore, now plays water polo for UCLA and considers him a big influence, crediting Toring as the person who sparked his interest in water polo when he was just about 6 years old.
Moore, a redshirt freshman attacker, recalled going to his uncle’s games as a kid and watching him play.
“Since he played here, it was always a dream of mine to come here,” Moore said. “I thought it would be special to go to the same college and play water polo at UCLA like he did.”
Although Moore is unable to attend the tournament, many other team members will attend and are excited to greet alumni and donors. In previous years, some of the players have even competed in the tournament.
“It’s always a good time. We get to see some of the alumni, meet with donors and they get to put a name to a face,” said senior defender Chris Wendt. “We get to personally know the people that are donating to our program and it’s a really fun experience.”
The team will also host an alumni game on Sunday following the tournament.
Before the activities of what Wright deems “alumni weekend” begin, the team will have to face a tough conference game today at home against No. 5 Cal, followed by No. 11 Concordia .
“Since I have been here we haven’t beaten Cal at our home pool, so we are looking forward to it and we know it’s going to be a tough challenge,” Wendt said.