Water polo returns to Palo Alto for rematch
Bruins hope to defeat
Cardinal in wake of
narrow one-point loss
By Esther Hui
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
It seems the UCLA men’s water polo team spends more time in
Northern California than it does in Westwood. The fourth-ranked
Bruins (10-4, 1-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) are in
Palo Alto today for the second time in a week as they kick off a
three-game roadtrip with a match against No. 1 Stanford.
The rematch between the defending national champion Cardinal and
the young, up-and-coming Bruins is much anticipated by both teams
following Stanford’s 13-12 win last weekend in the Northern
California Tournament.
The game, however, is only UCLA’s first stop, and they will
continue on to play No. 3 California Saturday and No. 5 Pacific
Sunday.
"UCLA always plays well when they come up (to Northern
California)," Stanford head coach Dante Dettamanti said. "I’ve been
coaching here 17 years, and UCLA always plays better here than at
home."
With four Bruin poloists hailing from Palo Alto, UCLA head coach
Guy Baker agrees that the game won’t necessarily give a home team
advantage to the Cardinal.
"Stanford is our home away from home," Baker said. "We have a
lot of players from Palo Alto. But it’s going to take a tremendous
effort (to win). It won’t be an easy game."
Although this will be the fifth meeting of the year between the
two teams, the Bruins have been unable to beat the Cardinal since
October of 1991.
The most recent face-off was the closest, as Stanford slipped
past UCLA by one point. The Cardinal went on to win the tournament,
while UCLA finished third.
"(The Bruins) are getting better and better," Dettamanti said.
"Every time we play them the score has gotten closer. You expect
that from a young team because it takes a while to get things
going. I expect a very close game."
For the Cardinal, leading scorer Wolf Wigo will return after
missing the Nor-Cal Tourney, and should provide even more depth for
Stanford this time around.
"Wigo is probably the best player in NCAA," Baker said. "But
we’ve been close (to Stanford) before with him playing."
Another key addition to today’s match will be UCLA sophomore
goalkeeper Matt Swanson. Though Swanson played in the Nor-Cal
Tourney, he was unable to practice consistently until this week
because of a groin injury suffered earlier this season.
In keeping with tradition, the UCLA-Stanford match will be
followed with an alumni fund-raising golf tournament to be held
Friday at the Stanford Golf Course.