While most UCLA students will be busy digesting Thanksgiving
feasts and spending time with loved ones, the UCLA men’s
water polo team will limit their celebrations to Thursday alone.
They must wake up early Friday morning and head over to USC’s
McDonald’s Swim Stadium to kick off the MPSF conference
tournament.
The Bruins are seeded fourth going into the tournament, where
they will face fifth-seeded Cal at 10 a.m. in the first game of the
competition. The Bruins’ position this season is quite
contrary to that of last season, when they headed into the 2004
tournament seeded first.
“We have an uphill battle this weekend,” redshirt
senior captain David Pietsch said. “Cal is a great team and
it will be a tough game, but I know we have the ability to beat
anyone.”
If the Bruins defeat the Bears, they will face the winner of the
game between eighth-seeded Long Beach State and first-seeded USC on
Saturday at 1 p.m. If the Bruins fall to the Bears, they will face
the loser of the Long Beach State-USC match on Saturday at 10
a.m.
If the Bruins move past Saturday’s quarterfinals, the
match-ups for Sunday begin at 10 a.m., with the championship game
set for 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
UCLA will play one game a day, regardless of how successful they
are in each game.
“The goal is to win three games,” UCLA coach Adam
Krikorian said. “I think Cal is the most talented team in the
country, and we need to start by focusing all of our resources on
them. Then we will go from there.”
The outcome of this weekend will either make or break the UCLA
men’s water polo season, as the Bruins did not have a good
enough regular season to warrant serious consideration for the NCAA
Tournament’s lone at-large bid.
The Bruins will need to go undefeated this weekend to capture
the MPSF title and receive an NCAA bid.
“Our entire season rides on this tournament,”
Pietsch said. “A new season starts and the old season is out
the window.”
If the Bruins are able to capture the tournament title, they
will receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament, held at Bucknell
University in Lewisburg, Pa., on Dec. 3-4.
“The ability to win is all there,” redshirt freshman
Patrick Morrison said. “As long as we avoid little mental
mistakes, I have complete confidence in the team.”
“The road ahead is hard, but it will be very fun,”
redshirt junior Logan Powell said. “It is our chance to put
an end to the seasons of other teams. It’s either win or go
home.”