UCLA to play in NCAA tournament

Published: Monday, December 2, 1996

Monday, December 2, 1996

WATER POLO:

Despite loss to Pacific Tigers, UCLA wins at-large bidBy Greg Calvert

Daily Bruin Contributor

BERKELEY, Calif. -- The sun was shining Friday on the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation water polo tournament in Berkeley, but that didn't stop the UCLA Bruins from coming out cold as the Pacific Tigers stunned the defending national champions 6-5 in the opening round of the tournament.

However, within 48 hours of losing in the first round of a tournament in what they thought may have been their last game of the year, the Bruins were given new life. UCLA was awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships, which will be played this weekend in San Diego.

The Bruins had approached the MPSF tournament as if it were sudden death. The tournament champion would be guaranteed a berth in the NCAAs, and then the MPSF would likely receive one at-large bid.

When USC beat Stanford 12-5 in the finals of the MPSF tournament on Sunday, that left UCLA and Stanford as leading candidates for the at-large bid. The Cardinal had beaten the Bruins in their last meeting, but the defending champion Bruins got the nod to move on to San Diego.

Friday's match between third-seeded UCLA and sixth-seeded University of Pacific was the perfect setup for an upset. The Bruins may have overlooked the Tigers, as UCLA fans and players alike had every expectation to face off with USC in the second round. Surprisingly, it was the players from Stockton that stepped up to earn that privilege.

When the Tigers and Bruins last met in September for an MPSF conference match, the Bruins handed the home team a narrow 8-7 defeat. The Tigers also lost to the Bruins in the first round of last year's MPSF tournament, and this year they were poised for an upset.

"We did not play well today," head coach Guy Baker said.

That showed up in poor offensive production. The Bruins were held scoreless in the second quarter, and their only two goals of the second half were 4-meter penalty shots by Jim Toring.

The UCLA deckside section, thick with Hawaiian tea leaves for luck, sat motionless as time expired. NCAA tournament hopes came to a halt, and Bruin fans sulked in the realization that their season had come to a close or so they believed.

UCLA rebounded in the second round of the consolation side of the tournament with a 9-8 victory over Pepperdine, but suffered their second defeat of the tournament with a 7-4 loss to UC Irvine on Sunday. The Bruins' tough weekend earned them a sixth-place finish in the tournament, but it was enough. UCLA will have a shot to defend the title.

UCLA Sports Info

Guy Baker