After a summer spent gaining experience all over the world, the UCLA men’s water polo team will look to come together this season as a rejuvenated team.
The Bruins will host the UCLA Invitational for the fourth time on Saturday, and go on to compete in the Triton Invitational in San Diego on Sunday.
Coach Adam Wright said the upcoming scrimmages will give the players an idea of where they are and what areas need improvement, as well as give freshmen the opportunity to get acquainted with college level play early on in the season.
Despite the upsetting end to last season, the team hopes to come back reenergized.
Last year, UCLA ended the season with a 28-5 record, losing the NCAA championship to USC by one goal.
However, UCLA plans to use this as motivation for the upcoming season, said sophomore defender Anthony Daboub, leaving all regrets behind and taking it day by day.
Sophomore utility Danny McClintick echoed Daboub’s sentiment.
“There’s the goal that every team has at the end of the season, but right now we are not looking that far ahead,” McClintick said. “We’re just looking at it one week at a time, one day at a time, one practice at a time.”
On Aug. 20, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s preseason poll ranked UCLA fourth among nine schools. According to Daboub, this only served as motivation to establish the Bruins as contenders for the title.
“We just want to show people that we are a lot better than they think we’re going to be,” Daboub said. “It’s going to be fun to see how our team is going to look. I’m really excited to see how we’re going to play together.”
This year, the team is introducing a freshman class of 15, who has been adjusting well in its transition to collegiate play. The Bruins are excited to see what they can bring to the game, Daboub said.
“The (seniors) are really helping the younger guys and did a great job of getting everyone up to speed,” McClintick said. “It’s important that the guys with experience use their knowledge to get those guys caught up to speed when it’s time to go.”
The Bruins said they feel their potential for success is high, as their returning members have grown from their experiences last season and their new members learn from the veterans.
“I’ve seen them really coming together closer and closer over the past week and it will only get better,” Wright said. “We’re young and we’re unproven but we’re going to cherish that and we’re going to go out and see what we can do.”
