To call the Bruin men’s water polo team’s 15-8
season a disaster would be a vast overstatement.
However, for a team that annually makes the NCAA tournament and
took four championships in the last seven years, the season is
definitely a down one.
Needing to sweep through the MPSF tournament last week to
advance to the NCAAs, the Bruins pulled out an amazing overtime win
over USC and ended a string of losses to Stanford that dates back
two years.
Unfortunately, those wins sandwiched a crucial loss to No. 1
Pepperdine, meaning UCLA can only regroup and try to re-establish
their winning tradition next year.
“The difficult thing is the expectations placed on us
because we’re expected to win the championship every
year,” said head coach Adam Krikorian. “We
wouldn’t want it any other way, but looking back it was still
a good season considering we were one of the youngest teams. Plus
there was a lot of parity and the conference was as tough as
I’ve seen in the 10 years I’ve been here.”
Periodically throughout the season, a dominant Bruin team would
teasingly threaten to establish itself. Invariably, though, just as
they had everyone believing they turned the corner, a mediocre
version would emerge resulting in a baffling loss.
“It was definitely a roller coaster ride. But I
wouldn’t blame the inconsistency on the youth,” said
senior center defender Dan Yeilding. “When we focused we
played well, and when we lacked focus we didn’t.”
Whether youth was the Bruins’ downfall is debatable. The
team relied heavily on true freshman center defender Michael March
and inexperienced sophomore center Ted Peck. March, whom Krikorian
called “the best true freshman in the country,” started
all but two games, and Peck, who was the team’s only center,
started all 23. While both performed admirably, occasionally the
rawness at these two vital positions hurt the team’s
consistency.
Lost in the youth were three strong performances by seniors
““ goalkeeper Brandon Brooks and center defenders Yeilding and
Matt Flesher. Brooks capped off a celebrated career with the
all-time UCLA saves record of 701 and was named to the All-MPSF
First Team along with sophomore driver Brett Ormsby, who led the
team with 58 goals. Flesher earned third-team honors and Yeilding
took home honorable mention, as did Peck.
“Every year we aim for the tournament, and obviously since
it’s my senior year, I’d say it’s a minor
disappointment,” said Flesher, “but we were a young
team and got better all year.”
“The toughest thing about the year is looking back at all
but two of the losses and thinking, “˜What if?’ What if
we had done things differently or put a shot away,” said
coach Krikorian. “Those six games, we lost.”
Indeed, the “What ifs?” hang mightily over the six
losses in question, as the Bruins lost four overtime games and two
more by a lone goal.
Looking ahead to next year, the Bruins will look to compensate
for their three departures with 12 redshirt freshmen, an abnormally
abundant class. Hence, the 2003 squad again looks youthful with
only two will-be seniors ““ drivers Albert Garcia and Nick
Pacelli. The team will also feature will-be junior Joseph Axelrad
trying to live up to Brooks’ legacy after two years spent
observing him from the bench.
“We’re still going to be young and may be even
younger,” said Krikorian. “But there are a lot of
bright spots, and we will have as good a shot as any.”
Added Flesher about his now-former team, “This is
definitely going to be a championship caliber team next
year.”