UCLA men’s water polo takes an undefeated record and the top spot in national rankings into this week of competition, which includes a matchup with Princeton on Thursday and the SoCal Tournament this weekend.
A week packed with high-level competition is business as usual for the Bruins, who have shut down every top-ranked team they have met this year. For UCLA, however, there is always room for improvement.
“We’re working hard in practice, working on offense,” said senior attacker Paul Reynolds after the team’s 12-2 rout of Loyola Marymount last Saturday. “It’s not where it needs to be yet.”
This work ethic has propelled UCLA to a perfect record, as the team enters the most competitive month of its season leading up to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament in November.
“Our intensity level (is) good,” said coach Adam Wright. “No matter where the game is, what the score is, we have to treat everything the same.”
While UCLA had two-goal wins over No. 2 Stanford and No. 4 USC, the majority of the team’s wins have been by double digits.
With UCLA being able to open games into blowouts by halftime, Wright has seized the opportunity to play more of his roster, giving the Bruins a unique advantage by resting their more seasoned players while training their bench in game-time situations.
“We were also able to play a lot of people, a lot of different combinations, a lot of people who haven’t played per se throughout the year,” Wright said. “That’s good … for our depth and giving us a shot to see how people play.”
Such experience will be invaluable in long postseasons, when unexpected injuries can derail a team’s plans. If things go according to plan for UCLA in its pursuit of an NCAA title, it will be playing into December, meaning the team will need a deep bench to survive the lengthy championship run.
“Our team is really deep. We’ve got talent in three strings,” said sophomore attacker Ryder Roberts. “We can go six for six for six, and I don’t think any other team in the country can compete with that.”
Regardless, No. 10 Princeton and No. 20 St. Francis – two of this week’s opponents – pose as much of a threat to UCLA’s postseason campaign as any other team.
“All games we treat the same,” Reynolds said. “We treat each game like we treat the biggest game of the year.”