W. polo wins two, loses two in tourney
Bruins debut with 2-2 performance at
Indoor Nationals
By Yoni Tamler
They won a couple, they lost a couple. Their all-time winning
percentage  after four games  is .500.
In its debut, the UCLA women’s water polo team took to the water
last Friday night at the Collegiate Indoor Nationals in
Claremont.
Their first match of the tournament was against club opponent
Golden West. At the end of the first period, UCLA was down 3-1. The
Bruins would not score again in the game.
The humbling 14-1 loss to Golden West served as a warm-up for
the following game later that evening versus another dominant club
team, Sunset. As expected, the Bruins were no match for their
veteran opponents.
"(Sunset) is the best team at the women’s level in the United
States," UCLA head coach Guy Baker said.
The team kept it close through the first period thanks to the
play of goalie Nicole Payne, who saved 15 shots in the match.
Sunset then mounted a furious attack, with one of their goals
coming off of a deftly thrown behind-the-back assist.
Later, after the Bruins received possession following an
opposing goal, another Sunset player appeared from below the
surface and took the ball away for a fast break.
"You gain as much experience as you can against a team like
Sunset," Baker said, following their drubbing of the Bruins,
20-1.
That experience paid off when UCLA entered its Saturday match
against Club.
"There was a dramatic improvement between Friday and the rest of
the tournament," Payne said. "We were a completely different
team."
The Bruins seized victory from Club 8-5, with a barrage of
scoring balanced among the team. Seven different Bruins scored in
the match, including Stephanie Natcher, who tallied two goals.
"We clicked as a team together  everyone wanted to make
the good pass," said driver Jennifer Cady of the matches on
Saturday and Sunday.
UCLA rode its momentum into their last game of the tournament
against UC Irvine, an 8-2 pounding. The Bruins defeated the
Anteaters with three goals from Cady and a pair from Devon Brewer,
both of whom also scored on Saturday.
On Sunday, Payne was named to the tournament All-American First
Team for her performance, which included a goal from the opposite
end of the pool in the game against Irvine.