WOMEN’S WATERPOLO vs. USC Hawaii Long
Beach State UCLA vs. USC Friday 3 p.m.
UCLA vs. Hawaii
Saturday
Noon
UCLA vs. Long Beach StateSunday
Noon
Sunset Canyon Recreation Center
By Emily Whichard
Daily Bruin Contributor
The homestand advantage will be in effect threefold this weekend
for the UCLA women’s water polo team.
UCLA (8-2, 3-0 MPSF) has a packed weekend of Mountain Pacific
Sports Federation conference matchups ahead of them. There will be
no opportunity to warm up, as the No. 2 Bruins face the No. 3
Trojans on Friday at 3 p.m. The game will mark the first time the
two teams have faced off this season.
The Bruins have history on their side. They own a 15-7 series
advantage over the Women of Troy. Their last meeting was at the
finals of the 2000 National Collegiate Finals, at which UCLA
dominated with an 11-4 victory.
UCLA and USC (10-2, 3-1) enter the match with two losses apiece.
All four victories were snagged by No. 1 Stanford. UCLA lost to the
Cardinal in two tournament finals in February. USC lost in the
semifinals of the Gaucho tournament and in a conference game last
weekend.
Friday will be a prime opportunity for one of the crosstown
rivals to assert its position as a national championship contender.
Only two teams from the MPSF conference will get the opportunity to
compete in the NCAA tournament. With both teams suffering their
only losses to Stanford, the site of the struggle appears to be
situated in the heart of Los Angeles.
“It’s going to be a dog fight for the rest of the
year,” Head Coach Adam Krikorian said.
Friday’s dogfight will be followed by two relatively tame
match-ups on Saturday and Sunday. No. 8 Hawaii (7-0) will meet the
Bruins Saturday at noon for their first conference game of the
season.
The Rainbow Warriors finished 22-12 overall last season with a
ninth place national ranking. The Bruins have never fallen to
Hawai’i and own an 11-0 series advantage.
Another Southern California neighbor will pay the Bruins a visit
on Sunday at noon.
The No. 5 Long Beach State 49ers (6-4, 0-2) suffered a
disappointing loss to No. 7 UCSB last weekend. They will face the
Bruins following a match-up with UCSD on Saturday.
The Bruins own yet another perfect record over Long Beach.
Sunday will mark their seventh meeting with the 49ers.
After more than a month of grueling conference and tournament
competition, the Bruins will have two weekends off. They will
resume their pursuit of the NCAA title on March 30 at home.