UCLA d. Air Force 13-5 UCLA d.
Long Beach St. 10-8 UCLA d. USC 9-8
Stanford d. UCLA 7-4
By Eric Perez
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA men’s water polo team, ranked No. 2 in the
nation, proved its status this weekend by placing second in the
2001 Northern California Tournament at the Avery Aquatic
Center.
The Bruins (8-2) faced an exhausting four-game set over the
course of two days. UCLA beat Air Force 13-5 Saturday morning.
Senior two-meter Alfonso Tucay and sophomore driver Albert Garcia
scored hat-tricks in UCLA’s opening game. In the
Bruin’s night cap, UCLA beat No. 6 Long Beach State 10-8 in
overtime to set up a semifinal match against rival USC.
The tournament’s second day shaped out to be perhaps the
most intense day the Bruins have faced this season. UCLA topped No.
3 USC 9-8, almost letting the game slip from their grasp, as USC
scored four goals in the fourth quarter.
“We got the job done,” Tucay said. “It came
down to the last minute and a half. We had to play a minute and a
half of defense, because (USC) kept getting tip outs and what not.
But we managed to come together.”
The tournament’s championship game put UCLA against
top-ranked Stanford. The Bruins failed to convert six times on 6-5
one-man advantages, while Stanford was able to score three goals
from six of their one-man advantages. This proved to be the
difference as Stanford won the match and the tournament’s
championship 7-4.
All in all UCLA showed up this weekend, proving to everyone that
they are for real.
“We’re not satisfied with being second best but
we’re pleased with the way we performed this weekend,”
said head coach Adam Kirkorian. “I think we’ve proven
to ourselves and to other people that we are the second best team
in the country.”