Friday, November 13, 1998
Bruins, Trojans square off
to determine MPSF’s No. 1
PREVIEW: Heated rivalry adds another chapter as water polo teams
meet
By Steve Kim
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Two months after their latest clash, the best water polo team in
the nation will be determined as the No. 2 UCLA Bruins face the No.
1 USC Trojans Sunday at noon in the ‘SC pool.
Always a force, Southern Cal boasts a 19-1 overall and 6-0 MPSF
conference record  their best season so far. The team has a
reputation for recruiting in Europe and features sophomore George
Csaszar with 48 points scored and Marko Pintaric with 43 points.
Goalie Richard McEvoy averages 8.3 saves per game and has a goals
against average of 6.5.
"I don’t think SC has one weakness, and I like to say the same
thing about us," UCLA assistant coach Adam Krikorian said. "Both
teams are very solid all around. It’s a matter of who executes
better."
The Bruins almost mirror their rivals in player quality.
Sophomore two-meterman Sean Kern leads his team scoring field with
43 points and earned MPSF co-player of the week honors with Trojan
Peter Janov. Junior goalie Parsa Bonderson out-saves McEvoy with a
5.94 goals against average.
The last time these two teams played was mid-September’s
Southern California tournament, in which the Trojans won 11-7 in
the final game. With two months gone by, UCLA head coach Guy Baker
says this match is going to be played on a clean slate.
"There’s always things you can learn from any game during the
year," Baker said. "But that game’s so long ago now, it’s like a
whole new game."
While the coaches break down the previous ‘SC game and come up
with a way to beat their opponents, the players do their share.
Since the Bruins play the Trojans two weekends in a row, they are
mentally preparing to beat a single foe.
"We concentrate on the team we have at hand, and ‘SC is the only
team we play for the next two weeks," sophomore playmaker Adam
Wright said. "So we’ve been focusing on just them. We’re pretty
excited to face them again, especially in a game that can give us
the No. 1 seed in conference."
Like Wright said, this game’s importance lies on the fact it
will determine who gets the top seed in the conference before the
upcoming MPSF tournament. Sunday’s game is the last conference
match for the Bruins, while ‘SC has another conference game with
Long Beach State afterwards.
If the Bruins beat the Trojans, they can claim the No. 1
ranking. On the other hand, the Trojans will solidify their
conference and national ranking if they win, without a chance for
the Bruins to further better their conference record.
Adding a heated rivalry to this equation will result in a fierce
aquatic battle.
"Sunday’s game, without a doubt, is going to be the most
exciting water polo game of the year," Krikorian predicted. "For a
lot of our guys, it’s going to be the most intense game they’ve
ever played. It’s going to be a great experience for us. We’re
still a young team and this experience is going to help us in the
long run."
So who will rise above the rivalry this Sunday? With such a
close dual, the outcome is less certain than previous Bruin games.
As the Bruins say, much has to do with playing smart and dealing
with mental adversity.
Baker added to the suspense as he ambiguously answered, "We’ll
show up on Sunday."
The top two teams in one pool  the rest will take care of
itself.
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