It’s a match between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the
country this year.
It’s a match between the top two collegiate water polo
programs of all time.
This Saturday at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center, top-ranked UCLA
is hoping to drown second-ranked Stanford in what will be the
biggest game of the regular season for both teams.
“(Stanford) is the team I like the least,” senior
center Ted Peck said. “Over the years, there has been a
healthy hatred between us.”
The two schools have combined for eight NCAA championships in
the last decade ““ each team winning four.
The two teams are also currently unbeaten and tied for first
place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings.
And both teams feature an Olympian as its star player ““
Stanford with Tony Azevedo and UCLA with Brett Ormsby.
“These are the best two programs in the country,”
Bruin coach Adam Krikorian said. “The two premier collegiate
water polo teams in the country.”
There is plenty on the line in this matchup. The winner between
UCLA (16-2, 3-0 MPSF) and Stanford (15-2, 3-0) will be No. 1 in the
national rankings.
Also, Saturday’s winner will take a 2-1 lead in the season
head-to-head series, giving the winner an edge for the NCAA
Tournament at-large bid should either of them fall in the
season-ending MPSF conference tournament.
Back on Sept. 19, the Cardinal beat the Bruins 8-7 in the SoCal
Tournament. And more recently, on Oct. 3, UCLA edged Stanford 10-9
in the finals of the NorCal Tournament.
A win against the Cardinal this weekend would also stretch the
Bruins’ 11-game win streak, the school’s longest since
1996.
“It’s the most important game we’ve played all
season,” Ormsby said. “There’s always the rivalry
with ‘SC, but Stanford’s the team we want to
beat.”
For at least one player, the rivalry extends to a deeper, more
historic and personal level. Bruin senior attacker Albert Garcia
went to high school with Azevedo, but has had little success
against him at the collegiate level.
“I really want to win this game,” Garcia said.
“It’s something inside. I’m tired of losing to
him.”
Prior to this season, the Bruins have fallen to Stanford on
numerous occasions. From 2001-03, Stanford convincingly crushed
UCLA seven out of eight times.
“In order to have a rivalry, you have to beat them,”
Garcia said.
With a lineup chock-full of seniors and a No. 1 ranking, this is
as good a time as any.
“We’ve got to play more physically against
them,” Peck said. “We’re bigger and stronger than
they are. We have to play like it. We have to be more
mean.”
Still, several players on the Bruins feel the team needs the win
more than just to take first place in the standings. A win would
signify an added confidence boost. Garcia went as far as to call it
a “do-or-die” game ““ a term usually reserved for
postseason games where the loser’s season would end.
“We’ve got to execute,” Garcia said. “We
have to play consistent water polo and play good team defense in
the pool.”
Other players and coaches echoed similar keys to success for
Saturday’s game.
“We have to be ready for a tough game and be focused for
28 minutes,” Ormsby said.
“It’ll be the team that hits a big shot and converts
their opportunities down the stretch,” Krikorian said.
As much as his players talked up the importance of
Saturday’s game, Krikorian played it down slightly.
“It is our biggest game of the year,” he said.
“At the same time, at the end of the regular season, with us
being No. 1, every game is the biggest game of the
season.”
By Krikorian’s logic, Sunday’s game against Cal
State Long Beach at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center holds equal
importance.
The 49ers (11-7, 2-1) are ranked No. 9 in the country. The two
teams have yet to play each either this season. In their 2003
meeting, the 49ers pulled an upset over UCLA, beating the Bruins
9-5.
But, it’s a far cry to compare Long Beach and
Stanford.
And beating Stanford is the one thing these seniors want right
now.