After a month of preseason competition and a 9-2 record, the No.
3 UCLA men’s water polo team will kick off their MPSF season
play with two games this weekend.
First, the Bruins will face No. 1-ranked UC Berkeley at the Rose
Bowl Aquatics Center on Saturday at 1 p.m. Three weeks ago, the
Bruin team fell to Cal in overtime 8-7 at the Southern California
tournament in Irvine. On Saturday they will look to enact revenge
and bolster their head-to-head standing with the Bears.
“This game is huge,” redshirt junior Logan Powell
said. “The loss against Cal at the tournament was big. We
have the ability to win; now we just have to go out and show we
have the confidence.”
After a tie at the end of regulation play, with the help of two
goals apiece from both Powell and captain David Pietsch, the Bruins
were unable to match the goal Cal scored in the first period of
overtime.
As a result, UCLA took fourth place at the tournament while Cal
snagged third. With a few weeks of training and under different
circumstances, the Bruins are confident they can reverse the
outcome and come out with the win.
“I think now, with a few more games under our belts, we
are a little tougher physically and mentally,” head coach
Adam Krikorian said. “Although none of that matters until we
prove it. We have to execute on Saturday.”
Circumstances differ drastically from play in a tournament to
that of a single conference game.
“Single day games are played with a lot more intensity
than in tournaments, where you play two games a day, two days in a
row,” Krikorian said.
With a night of rest, two games in a weekend will not likely
phase the players, who pride themselves on being extremely
physically fit.
“We’re in pretty good shape,” senior David
Pietsch said. “Adam (Krikorian) makes it a point for us to be
in the best shape in the nation.”
Keeping that in mind, the Bruins will still have to maintain a
high degree of mental preparation in attempting to outplay the
Bears. A physical advantage may only be slight and insufficient to
seal a victory.
“Cal is number one right now,” Pietsch said.
“Whenever you play number one, you have to step it
up.”
Despite the fact that No. 13 Princeton, the Bruins’ Sunday
opponent, is ranked lower than UCLA, the Bruins will not be able to
take the Tigers lightly. Those returning to play from last
year’s NCAA championship team are haunted by the manner in
which UCLA squeaked by Princeton in the 2004 Final Four semifinal
game.
“Last year we overlooked Princeton and it almost cost us
the championship,” Pietsch said. “I have some serious
revenge I want to give back to Princeton.”
Playing at the Sunset Recreation Pool at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday,
the Bruins hope to avoid a nail-biting overtime performance
reminiscent of last season. And, assuming Pietsch’s
sentiments are shared by the rest of the team, there will be an
emotionally charged atmosphere in both games.
“It’s a huge weekend,” Pietsch said.
“They are the first conference games and you always want to
do well at the start.”