Upsets and unlikely heroes characterized the 2009 NCAA women’s water polo tournament as UCLA finished with its fifth consecutive national title.
On paper, the No. 3 seed Bruins were not expected to win. After capturing their third NCAA title in the last three seasons, UCLA seniors Anne Belden, Tanya Gandy, Katie Rulon and Brittany Fullen had targets on their backs. Skeptics doubted UCLA’s ability to take home another championship in the NCAAs, but for four seniors on the 2009 team, this was an opportunity to leave a legacy.
Belden, Gandy, Rulon and Fullen came home with an NCAA championship each year they were on the team, but in 2009 it seemed the most improbable. The journey to a fourth would be a tumultuous one.
“We were going in the semifinals, and we were playing Stanford,” Belden said. “So going into the tournament we were definitely the underdog. We weren’t favored to win at all. We knew going into the semifinal game against Stanford was going to be really tough.”
UCLA faced Stanford twice in its regular season and once in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference game, losing to the Cardinal each time.
That semifinal game against then-No. 2 Stanford represented the very essence of the 2009 UCLA team and set the tone for the rest of the weekend.
“Without sounding corny, it was magical,” said Adam Krikorian, coach of the 2009 Bruins. “There were moments (in the semifinals) when players who normally weren’t the big playmakers stepped up and played that role when they weren’t able to before. The other players believed in them and gave them the confidence to do that.”
After winning the semifinal, UCLA advanced to the next and final opponent of the year: crosstown rival and then-No. 1 USC. Led by the legendary water polo coach Jovan Vavic, the Trojans had defeated the Bruins twice previously in 2009. USC was favored to take home the next NCAA championship.
Gameday: NCAA finals
Traveling to the East Coast, the two Southern California teams met at Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium in Maryland.
As the Bruins made their near-3,000-mile journey to the University of Maryland, the atmosphere did not feel far away from home, as family and friends came to support them.
“There’s always a lot of adrenaline going through your blood when you’re warming up in the big pool,” Gandy said. “Being on the East Coast and playing in front of your family and a bunch of people, it’s always going to be a very emotional game.”
All three senior attackers – Rulon, Belden and Gandy – knew it would be imperative for their team to establish a strong tone in the opening quarter in order to set the pace of the game.
“When the game first started, nobody really had scored. So in the first three minutes we were kinda back and forth, back and forth,” Rulon said. “And then when we first scored I think everybody kinda felt a burst of hope that this was totally feasible and doable for us.”
Krikorian said hope was the key factor in the NCAAs that year. As an underdog team, hope is everything.
“The biggest thing was we believed we could win,” Krikorian said. “We played with heart, and it was really the determination and focus of my team in the final game.”
With that determination, UCLA captured its fifth straight NCAA title.
A new era
Flash forward to 2015, and the Bruins have another shot at picking up right where the 2009 team left off.
The new generation of Bruins will look to capture the NCAA title this year and once again rule the women’s water polo arena.
Krikorian sees many parallels between his 2009 champions and the current UCLA team.
“Both teams had great performances all year from their goalkeeper, and because of that, both teams were excellent defensively,” Krikorian said. “Offensively, neither team was very deep. There was no one strong center forward to rely on, so both teams had to be creative and use their goalkeeper and defense to create opportunities on offense and win games.”
Likewise, Belden added the importance of strong defense that UCLA water polo has always stressed.
“If you can completely shut down your opponent defensively, it really messes with their mental game,” Belden said. “Being a great defender is not a glorious thing or a glamorous, but it’s the basics of the game.”
Krikorian said it’s been fun watching this year’s team, adding that the Bruins have put in the work, and now it’s about enjoying the moment and believing they can win. The 2009 seniors had similar advice for the new era of Bruins.
“Enjoy the moment because this, for a lot of girls, will be the biggest game they’ll play,” Gandy said. “Whatever the outcome is, just do the best you can and have fun and enjoy the moment. I’m so proud of all those girls and wish them the best of luck.”