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Chris Pulido winds up during UCLA's 11-7 win over Cal at the MPSF Tournament.

Finishing third in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament is nothing to brag about.

But for the men’s water polo team, it’s a statement.

“We needed to show everyone that we are one of the best teams in the country,” coach Adam Krikorian said. “People didn’t give us a lot of credit the whole year, and deservedly so, but the guys did a great job in the second half of the season responding and showing the type of character, heart and pride that we have.”

Before the season began, many had UCLA counted out for one reason.

The lack of experience.

However, a team that was given close to no chance at making any impact in the water polo world turned it around the second half of the season. The team finished 20-7 in the regular season and tied for first in its conference (7-1) with USC and Stanford.

“I actually wasn’t surprised at all and I could see the potential in our team from the very beginning,” captain Peter Belden said. “We finally showed it halfway through the season as soon as the chemistry started coming together.”

Still, UCLA’s season would be gauged by their performance in the MPSF tournament at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach, Calif.

Going into the tournament, the No. 3 Bruins knew what they had to do in order to secure a NCAA position.

Win all three games.

UCLA faced off against a dangerous opponent in the first round in No. 6 Pepperdine, but sophomore center defender Michael March’s hat trick kept the Bruins’ season alive with a 7-5 victory.

The Bruins were faced with one tall feat going into the second round.

Defeating Stanford.

Over the past few years, Stanford has been a thorn in the Bruins’ side.

“They got our number,” Krikorian said. “The previous losses seemed more like a mental thing if anything, but in the past game I didn’t feel like they were in our head.”

The match was an individual showdown between UCLA driver Brett Ormsby and Stanford driver Tony Azevedo. Ormsby helped UCLA maintain a large lead throughout the competition with his tournament-high five goals, but Azevedo kept Stanford in the match with three goals of his own.

Stanford finally caught the Bruins at the end of the third period, and went on to shut out UCLA in the final period for a 9-7 win.

“Our defense was solid the entire way and our offense was reeling for the first three quarters,” Belden said. “But, our offense fell asleep in the fourth period and it just buried us.”

With the loss to Stanford, any type of NCAA hopes were dashed.

However, a third-place finish was still up for grabs between UCLA and Cal.

“After last night we knew that our NCAA chances were over,” Ormsby said. “It definitely changed our outlook a little, but we know now that we were playing for pride, especially because we didn’t want to lose the last game of the season.”

Both teams were deadlocked in the first two periods at five apiece. But, Ormsby proved to be the deciding factor as he connected on two of his game-high five goals in the third period to give UCLA the lead that they never relinquished for the remaining periods of the game.

“I’m really happy at the way these guys came back after last night’s game,” Krikorian said. “As for the season, disappointment is too harsh of a word.

“We’re upset that we’re not playing for a championship, but I’m pleased, but not satisfied, with our finish this year.”

Next year UCLA will be returning all of its players.

“I think we can only improve from where we are,” junior goalie Joseph Axelrad said. “I’m excited about next year and we’ll have to take it one game at a time, but we’ll be back.”

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