Monday, May 11, 1998
UCLA Bruins threepeat history
WATER POLO: Top team easily dominates all comers to
conference
By Steve Kim
Daily Bruin Staff
Third time’s a charm, as they say.
The UCLA women’s water polo team defeated California Sunday,
7-3, to win the national collegiate championship. In the four years
of the team’s existence, UCLA has won the championship three
times.
"A lot of it’s just a blur right now," UCLA head coach Guy Baker
said in euphoria just moments after winning the game. "It feels
good."
The Bruins were ranked No. 1 coming into the tournament, held at
the USC McDonald’s Swim Stadium, and they lived up to expectations
in a weekend sweep. The University of Maryland and UC Santa Barbara
were no match as the Bruins easily flicked them away in the
preliminary rounds with the scores of 15-1 and 11-5,
respectively.
And the semi-final against University of Hawaii was not a great
obstacle either as the Bruins shoved the Rainbow Wahine aside with
a 10-3 win.
So came the final showdown, the national championship game on
Sunday against Cal. Cal’s appearance at the final game was a bit of
surprise since it was having a slump season due to the suspension
of its head coach.
But the Golden Bears beat out No. 2 Stanford Cardinal in the
semi and got to the final, ready to redeem themselves from last
year’s championship loss against the Bruins.
UCLA was first to make the move as Amanda Gall slammed one into
Cal’s cage thirty seconds into the first quarter.
But the Bears fought back with a goal, and then some. For three
minutes Cal held on to a 2-1 lead and kept the crowd in
suspense.
Then Bruin junior Coralie Simmons and freshman Robin Beauregard
came to the rescue. They scored back to back, with a steal in
between by freshman Kristin Guerin, to give UCLA the lead, 3-2,
after one quarter.
Simmons scored again on a 6-on-5 against Cal near the end of the
half. However, just when the pool was heating up with competition,
one of the referees provided a memorable pause as he slipped and
fell into the pool.
When the game resumed, after a burst of laughter and rowdy
cheer, Bruin sophomore Erin Golaboski launched one in to secure the
lead by three points at the half.
Cal desperately rallied to make a comeback in the third quarter,
but the Bruin defense, led by goalie Nicolle Payne, was
impenetrable. Ball after ball, Payne left the Golden Bears denied
and discouraged. That, plus a goal by junior Catherine von Schwarz
increased the lead to 6-3.
At the final quarter, Cal managed to squeeze its final goal in,
but the Bruins would reciprocate.
In one of the highlights of the game, Simmons charged away from
Cal’s defense and got herself near the goal with room to spare. She
knew she had it, and she taunted the goalie with an excruciatingly
slow, but sure toss into the net.
With Simmons’s third and final goal, plus a hard block by von
Schwarz, the Bruins secured a 7-3 lead to win the national
collegiate championship for the third year straight.
"When we had about a minute left, we knew it was going to
happen," Baker said. "We had a lead and we just built on that.
"It was a lot of hard work, a lot of preparation. The team
deserved what they got because the were the best team throughout
the season."
Added UCLA assistant coach Adam Krikorian: "We had a real
confident feeling about winning and we just got it done. But no
matter how good you are, winning a championship is not easy. I feel
really happy for this team because they’re such great group of
girls – they work hard and they’re easy to coach."
Simmons garnered the tournament MVP honors while she and
Beauregard were named First Team All Tournament. Payne made the
Second Team and Gall was an Honorable Mention.
"It’s my first time (being named MVP)," Simmons said. "It’s
good, but I don’t really care that much because I’m just so stoked
about us winning the national championship. It was just a lot of
fun – working hard, getting tired as we could and feeling good
afterwards."
While the senior and junior members have won the national title
three years straight, it was a first for the freshmen members of
the squad, who also made a valuable contribution in the
tournament.
"It’s a really good way to start off a college career,"
Beauregard said. "Everything just came together – we have a great
team and we all got along very well. I’ve been able to fit right
into the team. They all make you feel like you’ve been a part of it
for the two past years, not just this year."
The Bruins have had a near-flawless season with a 35-1 record.
The championship merely reflects their consistent showing at the
top. And compound the fact they’ve been doing it for three years –
well, Simmons’s final comment speaks for itself.
"Couldn’t be better," she yelled out in joy.
"Three-peat!"GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin
Women’s water polo Coach Guy Baker holds up the NCAA
Championship trophy after the Bruins won the tournament held at USC
this weekend.