As the fading summer sun shines brightly upon the pools of the Spieker Aquatics Center, the familiar whistles and shrills of water polo return to Westwood.
However, anyone watching the No. 1 UCLA men’s water polo team would have noticed that the familiar face of senior goalkeeper Garrett Danner has been missing from the pool for the past three weeks.
In Danner’s place, junior goalkeeper Aleksandar Ruzic was thrust into the starting position. Ruzic had especially big shoes to fill, as Danner was the 2015 Division I Player of the Year and a First Team All-American.
“He is definitely our defensive backbone, if we make a mistake he often bails us out,” said assistant coach Jason Falitz. “He’s the best goalie in the country right now.”
Coach Adam Wright’s squad emphasizes the team over the individual, however – 16 different players scored over the weekend. This thinking is ingrained into the program, particularly the next man up philosophy.
With Danner receiving the lion’s share of the time in the cage the past few years, Ruzic did not have much game experience coming into this season. He appeared in five matches the last two seasons combined.
Nonetheless, Ruzic has shined. He has 79 saves while only surrendering 51 goals so far, and he had a career-high 17 saves against then-No. 7 Long Beach State. To finish the game, he held the 49ers scoreless in both overtime periods.
“(The Long Beach State match) was a tough situation and he handled it really well,” Wright said. “He has a strong presence in our five-on-six defense and read where the shots are going as well.”
[Related: Men’s water polo claims overtime victory over Long Beach]
Ruzic turned a corner in his training last winter. He became stronger physically and his mental approach to the game improved.
“Once he figured out how he had to train, his growth accelerated greatly,” Falitz said. “He’s made each rep (in practice) his absolute best.”
Ruzic also credits Danner for his own personal growth in the cage.
“I always watch him,” Ruzic said. “He tells me when I’m not doing things correctly, it’s like a big brother (relationship).”
Ruzic played four quarters in the first round of the Mountain Pacific Invitational against No. 19 Pomona-Pitzer, a game in which the Bruins won convincingly. He recorded six saves in the game, and the following morning against No. 9 Pepperdine had five saves in the fourth quarter.
[Related: UCLA beats Cal in Mountain Pacific Invitational final]
Danner returned to action for the first time since Sept. 4 against the Pepperdine Waves, and with the season quickly moving along, he figures to be doing much of the heavy lifting for the immediate future.
Nevertheless, Wright foresees Ruzic playing again this season and is pleased with the depth he now has at goalkeeping.
“You never know what can happen in a game,” Wright said. “The nice thing is knowing that we have somebody who can step in and play at a good level.”