The NCAA Final Four has arrived in May for UCLA.
Unfortunately for many basketball fans, they will have to chill
by a sunny pool instead of under the dim lights of Pauley Pavilion
to enjoy this Bruin Final Four run.
After a 21-4 regular season that included a 17-game winning
streak and a 3-1 record against USC, the women’s water polo
team was able to capture an at-large bid for the national
tournament last Monday and leave the Trojans in the cold.
Stanford, Loyola Marymount and Indiana will represent their
respective conferences, and the Bruins will hold the second
seed.Â
The Bruins are in an all too familiar position, as they will
face off against No. 5 Loyola Marymount for the third straight year
since the tournament was created in 2001.
UCLA defeated the Lions, 11-1, two seasons ago, during its last
title run.
This season, the Bruins took the season series 2-0. They won
12-5 at the UC Santa Barbara Tournament, where the Bruins captured
the title for the first time. Five days later, the Lions would once
again fall 7-4 to the mighty paws of Westwood.
The Bruins will look to continue the trend on Saturday at 1:30
p.m. at UC San Diego Canyonview Pool.
“We need to match their speed, size, and get the matchups
we want, and we need to minimize our mistakes,” LMU head
coach John Loughran said.
LMU will face a talented Bruin team, equipped with All-MPSF
tournament team members Robin Beauregard and Natalie Golda. Golda
scored seven times in the tournament to help UCLA obtain the
at-large bid. Unlike UCLA, the Lions do not have any U.S. national
team players.
Goalkeeper Rachel Riddell, however, is a national team player
for Canada.
“UCLA has a lot of experienced national players “¦
our goalie is on the Canadian national team and has some
experience,” Loughran said.
“We are pleased with our program “¦ we have made it
to the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year, and
it’s our third straight matchup with UCLA,” he
added.
Freshman utility player Katie Hicks led the Lions in goals
scored this season with 51.
Golda scored 49 to lead the Bruins.