Monday, March 16, 1998
Resounding wins secure Bruins as No. 1
Despite win against No. 2 Cal, Stanford proves to be no match
for UCLA’s superior play
By Steve Kim
Daily Bruin Staff
Saturday’s convincing win against No. 2 Stanford (11-3) and
Sunday’s crushing sweep against San Jose State (18-0) confirmed
that the UCLA women’s water polo team is still No. 1.
Coming into the UCLA-Stanford game, the Bruins expected a strong
contender. Stanford had beaten UCLA’s biggest rival, Cal, just a
week ago. Although the Bruins were comfortably ranked No. 1, they
had yet to play the Cardinal.
Thus, at home, the Bruins came out strong from the beginning and
left no breathing room for Stanford.
By the end of the first quarter, the Bruins had opened a quick
3-1 lead. Stanford made repeated attempts to counteract the Bruin
storm, but UCLA’s defense left the Cardinal denied. Stanford
crumbled under pressure and eventually gave way to an eight-point
deficit.
"Sometimes we come out a little tentative," said UCLA head coach
Guy Baker, "so I was happy with the way we came out to shoot the
ball from the outside early in the game. That set the tone for the
rest of the game."
The Cardinal rallied to get back in the game, but the iron
gates, held shut by the Bruin defense, were nearly impenetrable. In
the first quarter alone, goalie and team captain Nicolle Payne made
four out of five attempted saves.
"Everyone was hustling the whole game," Payne said. "We played
defense well enough so that I could determine where the shots were
coming from. Overall, it was great team defense."
And the scores show that the Bruin offense wasn’t too shabby
either.
With such a deep, talented squad, any one of the starters
could’ve walked away with the spotlight. However, teamwork was
emphasized and every player chipped in an almost equal share of
contributions.
Amanda Gall, Serela Mansur, Robin Beauregard and Kristin Guerin
each contributed two points. Gall, who also made three turnovers,
knew she and her teammates had to come on like they were on
fire.
"Stanford’s a good team so we knew we had to turn on today in
order to win," Gall said. "We came into the game expecting them to
come on strong so we came out strong right from the first quarter.
We all felt good going into the game."
This game was especially important for the Bruins because they
have not played the Cardinal since the beginning of last season.
With the unexpected upset over formerly No. 2 Cal last week,
Saturday’s match was not taken lightly.
"We try to play every game with the same importance, but this
was a conference game and they beat Cal the weekend before," Baker
said. "So it was pretty important because we wanted to know where
we stood in the whole thing."
Now they know. Now everyone knows. The Bruins are still No.
1.
After Saturday’s confidence booster, UCLA welcomed San Jose
State on Sunday with a more relaxed but equally effective
attitude.
Even with the absence of top player Coralie Simmons, the Bruins
had no trouble sweeping the game with the score of 18-0.
The San Jose State Spartans didn’t have a chance.
Five impressive goals by Catherine von Schwarz and four by
freshman Beauregard only tell half the story. The Bruins had so
much room to spare against the No. 14 Spartans that every team
member got a piece of the action.
"I was happy with the way players who usually don’t get much
time played," Baker said. "They usually don’t get a lot of minutes
but they played well. And Catherine’s getting back into it. She’s
starting to look good."
After a successful weekend, the Bruins look forward to another
turn at hosting when they welcome the University of Massachusetts
at 3 p.m., Tuesday at the Men’s Gym pool.
Very likely, the guest will once again leave with a dissatisfied
frown.