Monday, November 4, 1996
WATER POLO:
Sluggish game play allows third-ranked Stanford to winBy Greg
Calvert
Daily Bruin Contributor
Nobody likes to lose.
The Stanford Cardinal played to win this Saturday at the Rose
Bowl Aquatics Center, while the Bruins, in a sluggish performance,
played as though this match didn’t really matter.
After sweeping their Bay Area rivals on the road this past
weekend, second-ranked UCLA allowed third-ranked Stanford to emerge
with a 7-6 victory.
UCLA (18-2, 4-1 MPSF), with its impressive record, can sustain a
defeat, but this Mountain Pacific Sports Federation loss will
affect their seeding for the conference tournament at the end of
the month. The Cardinal improved to 14-4, 5-1 in the MPSF.
Head coach Guy Baker did his best to motivate his players before
the opening sprint.
He wanted the Bruin squad to dominate the game from the start
instead of being forced to fight from behind like the previous
match in Palo Alto last Sunday. In the final minutes of that game,
UCLA netted three goals to overcome a two-point deficit, putting
them on top 8-7. The Bruins were unable to repeat such a feat.
Stanford came out in the first quarter to hold UCLA scoreless,
and Tyrone Miller’s goal gave the Cardinal a 1-0 advantage that
seemed to extend throughout the match. UCLA never took control of
the pool, and their team play was sporadic.
"We can’t always rely on Jim Toring and Corbin Graham," Bruin
Eric Helfer said. "We just didn’t have any fire today."
Graham’s consistent offense helped the Bruins keep in the game,
but it wasn’t enough.
After scoring his third and fourth points of the game on a a
two-point field goal, the Bruins came within one point of the
Cardinal. The UCLA fans were hoping this would help kickstart a
Bruin run, but Stanford refused to give up the win.
This week is sure to be a long struggle. The Bruins need to be
consistent and must return to the top of their game for the rest of
November. The only games scheduled for December are the MPSF finals
in Berkeley, and the NCAA tournament in San Diego.