W. polo navigates rough waters ahead
Aggressive schedule, finals will test team in upcoming weeks
By Mark J. Dittmer
Daily Bruin Contributor
The next couple of weeks for UCLA women’s water polo will be a
weird period. The team plays the bulk of their conference schedule
over the next two weeks, including key games in San Diego this
weekend. But just like the rest of UCLA, the women’s water polo
team has finals to take.
Consider the itinerary for this weekend’s road trip to San
Diego, as narrated by head coach Guy Baker:
"After our game against UC San Diego on Saturday, we’re going to
grab a bite to eat and then head straight to the library down at
UCSD to start studying. Then we’ll go grab a bite to eat again, and
then people will study in their hotel rooms in the evening. Then we
go play the game against San Diego State, then jump in the vans and
get back right away to get ready for school."
San Diego State (10-2 overall, 0-0 Mountain Pacific Sports
Federation) should cause the Bruins more trouble this weekend than
UCSD (5-7), and not just because of the Aztecs’ superior talent.
Unlike UCSD, SDSU will not be losing much sleep over finals this
weekend – the Aztecs are on the semester system.
After this, UCLA doesn’t play again until March 29, by which
time finals will be a distant memory. They go to USC to play the
Trojans (2-7, 0-3 MPSF), who the Bruins have walloped this year by
scores of 17-3 and 18-8. The next day, the Bruins come back home
for a rematch against San Diego State.
The home match will be played at noon at the Sunset Canyon
Recreation Center.
UCLA (11-0, 2-0) beat SDSU earlier this season, but the Aztecs
were without three of their top players, including star goalie
Rachel Scott. With all three playing this weekend, the game should
be closer than the Bruins’ 12-4 win in February.
And it would seem, after adding up all of the factors against
the Bruins, that a win against the Aztecs will be a long shot. "If
we come out with a win, we’re doing really well," Baker said.
But the Bruins are doing really well. They have dominated the
average teams and beaten the good teams, and there is not much more
one can ask. Baker was hard-pressed to single out one or two
players that rose above the rest. It’s easier for him to mention
eight or nine.
"Catherine von Schwarz was especially excellent in the Stanford
game; she had an amazing performance," Baker said. "Jennifer
McFerrin had a very solid weekend, offensively and defensively.
Nicholle (Payne) kept up her usual consistent brilliance. Mandy
McAloon was very solid on defense."
And the list goes on. Stephanie Natcher had a great defensive
weekend. Amanda Gall improved her shooting. Megan Oesting played
solidly as the weekend progressed. Katie Tenenbaum and Coralie
Simmons both played well after having to sit out the week before
with minor injuries.Comments to webmaster@db.asucla.ucla.edu