At the start of the fourth quarter, women’s water polo
coach Adam Krikorian was nowhere to be found.
Neither was his assistant coach.
After disputing a call in the Stanford Invitational championship
game against USC, the first tournament of the season, both
Krikorian and Catharine von Schwarz were tossed from the match.
As it would happen, a team comprised of solely freshmen and
sophomores was on its own, wet feet and all.
No coaches. No experience. Just youth.
UCLA would fall victim to USC 12-4, but if anything, that game
was an eye opener.
“They spanked us pretty good,” Krikorian said.
“That’s as bad a loss as I’ve had on the
women’s side.
“Right then and there we knew we had a lot of work ahead
of us.”
The task that Krikorian was faced with ““ somehow figuring
out how to create a championship contending team that didn’t
have any players in their junior or senior year ““ seemed
insurmountable.
Just one year ago, the Bruins found themselves atop the water
polo world after winning the NCAA Championship.
This year, the team underwent a complete transformation.
Seven players graduated and five others redshirted to train with
the Olympic team, bringing about a changing of the guard on
UCLA’s roster.
Because of the mass exodus, Krikorian had to quickly teach an
up-and- coming team of underclassmen, half of them freshmen, the
ropes of collegiate water polo.
Despite all the factors pointing toward an unsuccessful season,
the Bruins still managed to finish third in the nation’s most
competitive conference, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
“Success doesn’t equate to championships,”
Krikorian said. “I’m not satisfied about (not winning a
championship) by any means, but we can definitely be proud of what
we did.”
Yet Krikorian’s sheer love of success and hate-to-lose
mentality propelled him to maintain a positive outlook on the
season.
“I love challenges,” Krikorian said.
“I love adversity and trying to make the best out of a
tough situation.
“Those things kept the fire burning in me.”
One thing going in Krikorian’s favor was the natural
talent that the freshmen and sophomores possessed.
During his tenure as coach, Krikorian has been able to sign many
of the top players in the nation.
This past season was no different, inking coveted Foothill High
School goalie Emily Feher to a commitment.
“I could tell (Krikorian) was genuine and humble and
that’s what I admired about him,” Feher said.
“He’s a role model for everyone.”
Despite having a team chalk-full of talent, the Bruins’
lack of experience was evident in the premature stages against the
top teams in the nation.
For freshmen like Brittany Bowlus, the transition from high
school to the college wasn’t easy.
“Coming in as a freshman, it’s intimidating to be on
such a successful championship team,” Bowlus said. “But
Adam (Krikorian) made the transition easier. He constantly
reassured all the players that we were doing a good job, and that
helped a lot.”
The combination of offering encouragement and coaching with an
iron fist translated into success in the second half of the
season.
The Bruins captured the Rainbow Classic Championship, won 10 of
their last 11 regular season games, and finished with an overall
record of 22-5 heading into the conference tournament.
But the Bruins fell short after a heart-wrenching one-goal loss
to Stanford in the semifinal game of the conference tournament.
However, the strides the Bruins have taken from the very first
game have been immense.
No one expected UCLA to even have a remote chance of being in
contention, but somehow Krikorian had the Bruins right there at the
end of the season.
“There’s nothing worse than looking back and saying
“˜I wish I could’ve done this,'” Krikorian
said. “We left it all out there this season.”
Despite not winning the NCAA Tournament, sophomore co-captain
Lauren Heineck felt that the team definitely matured from the
beginning of the season.
“We didn’t know who we were,” Heineck said.
“Many people wondered how we were going to do, but as a whole
we had to deal with it. (Krikorian’s) done an incredible job
this year.”
If anything, dealing with a hectic season will prepare Krikorian
for next year when he has to balance experienced youth with six
returning Olympians.
But, he’ll be able to manage.
He always does.