The UCLA men’s water polo team has been showing lately
that practice really does make perfect ““ or close to it. Over
the last couple of weeks, coach Adam Krikorian has stressed defense
in practice, as opposed to conditioning, which is what the team had
done for most of the season. In their last five matches, the No. 1
ranked Bruins have allowed seven, two, six, four and five goals,
respectively. The most impressive of those games coming against No.
4 California on Saturday, a season low for the Bears. “Our
defense has been great lately,” senior center Ted Peck said.
“It’s the best defense in the country right now.”
Against Cal, the Bruins got off to a rare slow start by allowing
three first-quarter goals, but only allowed three the rest of the
match. “In the overall scheme of things, that was very
helpful for us,” Krikorian said. “Hopefully, we
don’t get down early, but if we do, we can draw from that
experience.” The Bruins’ 4.8 goals allowed per game
average over their last five games is the lowest of any MPSF team
over that span.
TRI-CITY CONQUERORS: The Bruins pulled off a
rare feat last weekend when they won games in three different
cities on the same weekend and two on the same day. After beating
Pacific in Stockton on Sunday, UCLA did what is rarely done in any
sport: travel to a second city on the same day. It was not a big
problem for the Bruins, who promptly beat UC Davis in Davis.
Krikorian said he had promised long-time friend and UC Davis coach
Steve Doten that his team would play in the Aggies’ new
facility, and since the Bruins don’t return to Northern
California for the rest of the year, it was the best time to
fulfill his promise. “It’s a big deal for them to be
able to get the No. 1 team in the country at home,” Krikorian
said. Surprisingly, UC Davis, a Division II school, put up a good
fight against the Bruins, only losing 7-5, and Krikorian and some
of his players admitted part of the reason may have been the
fatigue from the extra travel.
SKIP SHOTS: The time of UCLA’s match
against Stanford on Oct. 30 has been scheduled for 10 a.m. at the
Rose Bowl Aquatic Center … The Bruins’ 10-game winning
streak marks their longest since 1996.