Thursday, December 5, 1996
M. WATER POLO:
Bruins awarded at-large berth in tournament despite season of
ups and downsBy Greg Calvert
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA men’s water polo team has been granted new life.
Despite losing two of three games and placing sixth in the Mountain
Pacific Sports Federation tournament in Berkeley last weekend, the
Bruins were selected to compete for the NCAA Championship. The
tournament will be held at UC San Diego’s Canyonview Pool this
Friday and Sunday.
This year’s invitation marks the third consecutive NCAA
tournament berth for the UCLA squad. The Bruins (22-6) will play UC
Davis (19-13) in a semifinal match at 7:30 p.m. Friday, following
the 6 p.m. semifinal match between top-ranked USC (22-2) and the
University of Massachusetts (22-7).
The two winners will face off on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. for the
title, which will follow the third-place match at 1 p.m. The
Trojans are in search of their first-ever NCAA water polo title,
while the Bruins hope to return to their earlier form and repeat as
the national champions.
UC Davis captured the Western Water Polo Association title to
earn its first NCAA berth since 1975, while UMass won the
Collegiate Water Polo Association championship to return to the
NCAA championship for the fourth consecutive year.
USC proved its dominance by rolling over Stanford in the MPSF
championship match last weekend.
How UCLA earned the at-large bid is a mystery to many, but the
numbers may prove the Bruins to be the worthy choice. The final bid
was to be given to either Stanford (18-7) or UCLA. Despite their
poor play at the end of the regular season, UCLA still holds a
better overall record and has won two of the games against the
Cardinal this season.
Stanford finished ranked second in the nation and was the
runner-up in the MPSF tournament, but that wasn’t enough to send
them to the NCAAs.
This season for the Bruins has been a roller coaster for fans
and players alike. Early-season victories and tournament titles
gave hope that UCLA would have another stellar season. The Bruins
won the Southern California Tournament in September, capped by an
overtime victory against the Trojans. UCLA clinched the Air Force
Tournament later that same month.
The Bruins were rolling into October, where they entered the
final match of the Northern California Tournament in Stockton with
an undefeated 13-0 record. The Trojans, however, were still bitter
from their loss in the Southern California Tournament, and defeated
UCLA, 13-8.
UCLA and USC have met twice since their Stockton match, with
both contests ending in Trojan victories.
USC has performed remarkably well throughout the season Â
losing only to UCLA and Stanford  and possesses the top seed
for the NCAA tournament.
The Bruin squad has been busy in and out of the pool. After
accepting the notion that their season had ended in Berkeley and
chuckling nervously at the idea that they were still "in the lead"
for the at-large bid, the Bruins are back at practice. They’ve
studied tapes of USC and developed strategies that will help them
come out on top.
UCLA needs to be effective on the offensive side of the pool,
and continue their intense defense. In six-on-five advantage
situations, the Bruins need to step up and convert on every
opportunity. If the Bruins can return their passing to the level it
was a year ago, and consistently move the ball, they will have
every shot of taking the title.
In the last match between the two Los Angeles teams, USC came
out on fire and took UCLA out of the game from the opening sprint.
They outscored the Bruins 5-0 in the first quarter, and UCLA never
recovered. USC’s ability to capitalize on this effective strategy
will leave few obstacles in their way to the NCAA title.
If UCLA is to have any hope of winning, they need to keep
focused and rise to a collective potential that they have yet to
attain this season. The talent is heavy on the Bruin squad. With
guys like Jim Toring, Corbin Graham, Jeremy Braxton-Brown, Luther
Weidner, Steve Covec, Randy Wright and goal keeper Matt Swanson,
the Bruins have the possibility to defeat any team.