2nd place for Bruins in Nor Cal tourney
If this weekend’s Nor Cal Tournament was a preview of
what’s to come, the UCLA women’s water polo team is in
for an exciting and competitive season. In their first competition,
the Bruins traveled to Stanford on Friday as the No. 1 seed for an
eight-team round robin competition. The major challengers included
Stanford, California and UC Santa Barbara.
UCLA opened the tournament with a 20-5 win over the Calgary
Renegades on Saturday morning. Junior Eleanor Murphy led the Bruins
with a career-high four goals. Junior Kelly Heuchan and freshman
Natalie Golda came up with three goals each. Junior Elaine Zivich,
freshman Thalia Munro and sophomore Robin Beauregard added two
goals apiece. Sophomore goalkeeper Jaime Hipp defended strongly
with six saves.
The Bruins finished the day with a 15-4 domination of the San
Jose State Spartans. Golda led the way with three goals for the
second straight game. Hipp had nine saves in the victory.
Sunday proved to be a more challenging day for the Bruins. The
team faced a semifinal matchup against California, one of the chief
challengers for the NCAA title.
The Bruins got off to an early 2-0 lead with goals from senior
Kristin Guerin and Beauregard before Cal’s Ericka Lorenz
countered with the first of her three goals of the game. Lorenz
tied the score at 2-2 early in the second, but Bruins Heuchan,
sophomore Jessica Lopez and Zivich maintained the lead with one
goal each. Hipp contributed four saves to the 6-4 victory.
In the championship game, UCLA faced host Stanford, who jumped
to an early 3-0 lead in the first. Heuchan, Zivich and sophomore
Ashley Stachowski tied the score in the second with one goal
apiece. The Cardinal returned to the second half determined and put
away two goals, but Beauregard responded with two of her own, tying
the score 5-5.
The final quarter was full of intense action. Stachowski tied
the score at 6-6 with three minutes remaining. The Cardinal
prevailed with a 7-6 final goal with 41 seconds left on the
clock.
The Bruins face their first MPSF conference matchup at home this
weekend. They host the San Diego State Aztecs on Saturday at 10
a.m. at the Sunset Recreation Center.
Notes compiled by Emily Whichard, Daily Bruin Contributor.