The No. 3 UCLA Bruins will have their hands full this weekend as they take on the No. 7 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos at UCLA’s Sunset Canyon Recreation Center on Saturday.
UC Santa Barbara, though currently sixth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference standings, is not a team the Bruins expect to roll over. The Gauchos have hung tough through a difficult recent schedule, including a close 10-8 loss to No. 1 California and a 9-7 win over No. 4 Stanford.
“I know how much talent Santa Barbara has,” UCLA coach Adam Krikorian said. “This is the most talented team they have had in a long time. They’ve had a great year. I know they have lost a lot of close games, a lot of one-goal games, and they’ve been in every single game they’ve played, even against some of the top teams in the country.”
UC Santa Barbara head coach Wolf Wigo, now in his third year with the Gaucho program, will be on deck opposite Krikorian on Saturday afternoon. Wigo is a legend in the sport of water polo, having competed in three Olympic tournaments. He led Team USA in scoring in 2000 at Sydney and was the team captain for the U.S. in the 2004 games in Athens. Though now retired from the national scene, Wigo’s presence on deck is sure to excite fans of water polo.
“It is challenging (to have a coach like Wigo on deck),” senior center Marco Santos said. “Wolf is a great coach; I’ve had the experience to play for him in the premiere league. He’s done a great job with the Santa Barbara program.”
“He’ll get his players and his team ready to play,” said Krikorian. “I respect him and I respect what a great job he has done with this (Santa Barbara) group.”
The Bruins will also need to be on the lookout this weekend for some of the Gauchos’ key players, who have combined to form one of the MPSF’s top offenses.
UC Santa Barbara boasts three players in the MPSF’s top 10 scoring leaders in freshman Milos Golic, senior Ross Sinclair and sophomore Zsomber Vincze. At this time, no players from UCLA are ranked in the top 10, with sophomore Scott Davidson being the closest at No. 15.
“Obviously we just need to be aware of their better players and where they are in the pool at all times,” Krikorian said. “(Wigo has) done a great job this year. They have a lot of other weapons that people don’t know about. They have a lot of good players in the water.”
So, while on paper this game seems like one the Bruins should win, UCLA will still have to fight for every point. This new UC Santa Barbara team will not give up a victory to the Bruins without putting up a real struggle, providing the fans who come out to Sunset Rec plenty of excitement.
Along with his players and staff, Krikorian is looking forward to Saturday”˜s game.
“Ultimately it will be decided by the players in the pool,” he said. “And I hope to get a good seat for the game.”