The UCLA women’s water polo team showed little emotion
after closing out the regular season with a 12-0 shutout of UC
Santa Barbara on Saturday at the Sunset Canyon Recreation
Center.
The Bruins know the time for celebration is still ahead.
With the MPSF Championships just a week away, No. 1 UCLA is a
mere three games or eighty-four minutes away from accomplishing
what they have sought since the very beginning of the season
““ winning the conference title.
“We have a great shot at winning the championship because
we’ve worked our [butts] off the entire season to prepare
ourselves to get where we are today,” senior Maureen Flanagan
said. “Coming home empty-handed would be a huge
disappointment.”
Looking ahead to next weekend, the Bruins (18-3, 7-2 MPSF) will
be seeded third behind both host Stanford and USC. They will have
to defeat sixth-seeded Hawai’i in the first round before a
potential matchup with the Trojans in the semifinals and a possible
rematch of last year’s championship defeat against the
Cardinal in the finals.
“The intensity picks up next week,” senior captain
Robin Beauregard said. “Whatever we accomplished during the
regular season does not matter. We have to play our best every
single second (in the playoffs).”
The Bruins have done just that during a 14-game winning streak
that was punctuated with Saturday’s victory over the
Gauchos.
Early in the first quarter, UCSB’s Katy Kunkel committed a
major foul, and the Bruins capitalized on the 6-on-5 penalty
situation immediately. UCLA’s Jessica Lopez received a dry
pass from Beauregard and scored with a strong put away. Stachowski
would later chip in another goal with 2:01 remaining in the first
quarter off an assist from freshman Kelly Rulon. With only 39
seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Bruins were able to
convert on a counterplay, as Hipp launched a thirty-foot pass to a
streaking Rulon who would find Flanagan open on the right wing for
an easy goal, giving UCLA a commanding 3-0 lead.
The offensive onslaught continued for the Bruins as the squad
added another three goals by halftime and coasted to an easy
victory.
“We’re here to show everyone that we’re a
force to be reckoned with,” Golda said. “If we play our
style of game and don’t get too cocky, we’ll do
fine”.
Although this match was in a way a tribute to UCLA’s six
seniors who were making their final home appearance, it was the
freshman Rulon who ultimately stole the show. Rulon tallied two
second-quarter goals within one minute of each other and also
notched two assists early on in the first quarter.
The Bruins marquee defense was also a factor in the victory.
UCLA once against stupefied its opponent, as the Gauchos never
really got close to the net. UCSB was forced to throw up
desperation shots from fifteen feet and beyond just to beat the
35-second shot clock.
“It’s no secret; we’ve been pleased with our
defense,” UCLA head coach Adam Krikorian said. “This is
one of the best if not the best defensive team in UCLA
history.”
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Before the game, UCLA’s six seniors ““ Jaime Hipp,
Ashley Stachowski, Mari Joyce, Jessica Lopez, Devon McIntyre,
Flanagan and Beauregard ““ were honored. Each was greeted with
a bouquet of flowers and a collection of pictures in commemoration
of her contribution to UCLA.
“I’m going to definitely miss everything,”
Hipp said. “I love the game, the practices, the players and
coaches. It’s been a gift and a pleasure to play this game
and I’ll definitely treasure every moment.”