The end is near. Yet before the top-ranked UCLA women’s
water polo team can even begin to think about the postseason, it
will have its biggest test of its remaining regular season today,
on the road against rival Stanford. Though there has not been much
parity between the undefeated Bruins and their opponents this
season, the Cardinal has been just one of three teams that has even
come close to defeating UCLA. And because of that, the Bruins are
wary that Stanford coach John Tanner will have his players ready
for one of the most important matches of the season, in which the
team that emerges victorious will have a significant psychological
advantage. “I have a lot of respect for (Tanner) as a coach
and I know J.T. will have his team well prepared to play,”
junior Thalia Munro said. “They’re going to find our
weakness and they’re studying us big time on how they can
capitalize on that. We know this is going to be a huge game.”
Early on in the season the Bruins held on for a 6-5 victory over
the Cardinal en route to capturing the Stanford Invitational. UCLA,
however, has expressed that the victory back in mid-February means
nothing because both teams have since much improved.
“We’ve come a long ways from back then,”
sophomore goalie Emily Feher said. “We’ve gotten used
to each other’s play and we’re just clicking on all
cylinders now. Hopefully those opportunities we missed last time we
can put away this time.” While the Bruins (24-0, 9-0 MPSF)
have outscored their opponents by a glaring difference of 302-95,
Stanford (15-4, 7-2 MPSF) is not an opponent they’ll approach
lightly. In the history of the head-to-head match-ups, Stanford is
the only program currently boasting a winning record against the
Bruins, holding a 20-15 edge. Though Stanford does not have a
single player who is in the top 20 in goals scored in the
conference this season, the team has succeeded because of its
top-ranked defense, which has allowed a meager 3.80 goals scored
per game. “J.T. does a good job with them; they compete the
whole time and that’s what I respect about them,” UCLA
coach Adam Krikorian said. “It doesn’t matter how good
we are, they don’t back down. “They do a really nice
job defensively, they have good speed, and they have talented
players there. It’s no surprise that they can compete with us
and USC.”
RULON HONORED: Sophomore driver Kelly Rulon was named this
week’s MPSF Women’s Water Polo Player of the Week after
scoring seven goals for the Bruins in a pair of victories over
California and University of the Pacific. Rulon currently leads
UCLA with 50 goals and is currently tied for ninth in UCLA’s
all-time individual-season record for goals scored.