Thursday, October 9, 1997
Bruins to face Irvine, Stanford after tourney defeat to both
WATER POLO: Bruins to face Irvine, Stanford after tourney defeat
to both
By Arin Aboulian
Daily Bruin Contributor
After enduring a crushing loss to cross-town rival USC, the UCLA
men’s water polo team will head into two important non-conference
matches against conference rivals UC Irvine and Stanford.
However, the water polo team is not letting one loss get to
them. "It was a really tough loss for us, but the players have
shown a lot of heart and we have had great practices all week,"
said assistant coach Adam Krikorian.
No. 6-ranked UCLA will travel to Long Beach Friday to face the
No. 4-ranked Anteaters. The Bruins will seek revenge against an
Irvine team that handed them their first loss of the season in the
Southern California Tournament.
On Sunday afternoon the Bruins will face No. 5 Stanford at the
Sunset Canyon Recreation Pool. The Cardinal also defeated UCLA in
the tournament.
Although the two upcoming games are not conference games,
Stanford and UC Irvine are both members of the Mountain Pacific
Sports Federation (MPSF). The games will be previews of critical
MPSF matches that will affect conference standings.
In addition to conference implications, the games are also
significant in the American Water Polo Coaches Association
rankings.
"The players are looking forward to facing them. They’re
excited," Krikorian said. "We definitely want to even out our
series against them because of the NCAA selection process."
UCLA is looking to knock off the higher-ranking teams. With
victories this weekend, the Bruins could easily move up the polls
to No. 4.
After the Southern California Tournament losses, many defensive
problems surfaced for the Bruins.
The man-down defense was the biggest problem in the game against
USC; improvements will be necessary if they are to emerge
victorious this weekend.
"We worked on our man-down defense and defensive drills on
Monday and Tuesday," said assistant coach Gary O’Brien.
Playmakers Blake Wellen, a sophomore, and senior Steve Covec
have led the Bruins so far this season. Freshman Sean Kern is the
team’s leading scorer with 18 goals.
In addition, sophomore Brian Bent, since his return against UC
Santa Barbara, has netted six goals and three steals. He is turning
into a potent force on both offense and defense. Although Bent is
not 100 percent back yet, he will be an instrumental part of the
team if the Bruins are to succeed.
Sophomore goalie Parsa Benderson is also making his presence
felt ever since he moved into the starting lineup. He has 4.53
goals against average, with 28 saves.