DANIEL WONG Matt Flesher attempts to
score in a recent match against the Trojans.
By Rekha Rao
Daily Bruin Contributor
Forget about football.
The UCLA men’s water polo team travels north this weekend
to take on rival Cal just before the UCLA-Cal football game, and
then follows through on the quest for a Bay Area sweep with a game
against the Stanford Cardinal on Sunday.
This is one of the biggest weekends of the year for the No. 1
ranked Bruins. Aiding UCLA on its pursuit are the return of Sydney
Olympians senior two-meter man Sean Kern and co-head coach Guy
Baker, who led the Olympic women’s water polo team to a
silver medal.
“The hard thing about this weekend is playing two
top-caliber teams, back to back, away from home,” Krikorian
said.
Senior Andy Bailey agreed, adding, “Cal and Stanford are
two of the top ranked teams in the country. And Cal might be the
most talented team in the country because they have lots of good
all-around players.”
Baker is glad to be back in California and is ready to take on
his 10th season of coaching champions.
“I am proud of the team that I coached in Sydney, and how
well we did as a team there. But I am also proud of Adam
(Krikorian) and how well we did here,” Baker said. “We
have done an outstanding job since I have been gone, and to me that
means the same as winning a silver medal.”
The Bruins lost early in the season without Kern and Baker, but
have come back and have a five-game winning streak going into this
weekend.
Although the Bruins defeated the No. 4 Golden Bears earlier this
season, they cannot underestimate Cal’s power and strength.
The Bears have arguably the top two-meter man in the nation, senior
Jerry Smith, as well as a 6-4 record coming into Saturday’s
game. Not only that, but the Golden Bears are on a roll. Last
weekend, they defeated then-No. 1 USC.
“They are a talented team. We have to be ready defensively
for Smith,” Krikorian said.
The game against Cal counts towards conference play, in which
the Bruins are 4-0 and the Golden Bears hold a 2-1 record.
“These are some of the highlights of the season. It is the
first time since 1996 that we play a water polo game before the
football game. It should be a big crowd,” Baker said.
The top-ranked Bruins’ 7-5 victory last week over the
Trojans showed that defense was a problem for UCLA. But the Bruins
have taken strides against letting their defense become a problem
against these teams when they travel up north.
“We are working in all aspects. We have been working on
defense, but we have been working on offense as well,”
Krikorian said.
They are trying to stay affront on the two-meter men, so the
rest of the players can concentrate on the ball.
On Sunday the Bruins move just a little south to take on long
time nemesis Stanford. The sixth-ranked Cardinal also has strong
players, including one of the top goalies in the nation last year,
Nick Elis.
“We are going to have to be shooting well, and executing
well. [Elis] can single-handedly keep the Cardinal in games. They
also have some really big physical men in sophomore Peter Hudnut
and junior Mark Amott. We are going to have to contain them,”
Krikorian said.
UCLA plays at Stanford’s new pool for the first time and
faces the Cardinal’s speed and counter-attack, which are well
known in the water polo circles.
Helping the Bruins in the upcoming weekend is the return of
Kern.
“We lost to Stanford my freshman year and that was
it,” Kern said.