WOMEN’S WATERPOLO PREVIEW vs. Saturday 10 a.m.
Sunset Rec. Pool
By Emily Whichard
Daily Bruin Contributor
The women’s water polo team opens Mountain Pacific Sports
Federation conference play at home this weekend in its inaugural
matchup as an official NCAA squad.
The Bruins return as defending national champions to host the
San Diego State Aztecs on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at the Sunset
Recreation Center.
The Bruins enter the game with a challenging weekend of
tournament play already under their belts. The Bruins finished
second after a final-minute 7-6 loss to the Cardinal in the
championship game of the Northern Californian tournament on
Sunday.
The Aztecs, who finished sixth in the nation in the 2000 season,
will face the Bruins following a disappointing weekend of play in a
San Diego tournament. UCLA boasts a 20-3 all-time record against
San Diego State, including two wins last season. The Aztecs will
face UC Irvine today before heading up to Los Angeles.
Despite the favorable statistics, head coach Adam Krikorian is
not overly confident.
“They have given us plenty of problems in the last few
years. We had to come back from a three-goal deficit in the final
quarter last year.” Krikorian said. “They have a number
of talented players and we need to be ready to play our
best.”
The 2001 season marks the first year women’s water polo
will be officially recognized as a NCAA sport. Krikorian says the
new title does not indicate any major changes for the team.
“If we win this year, it will be great to earn another
NCAA championship for UCLA,” Krikorian said. “But to
make a big deal out of the new title would take away from
everything the team’s accomplished in the past five years.
Whether it’s got the title or not, it’s the same strong
teams we beat last year for the championship.”
NCAA sport or not, the Bruins are on the road to another
national title and they plan to start paving the way this
weekend.