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Squad will attempt to stay afloat in Bay Area

Coach expects difficult match, focuses on consistency

Emily Whichard
Published: Thursday, March 1, 2001

NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Junior Kelly Heuchan wards off a defender in a game last week. WOMEN'S WATERPOLO vs. UCLA vs. Cal Saturday 12 p.m. Berkeley, CA vs. UCLA vs. Pacific Sunday 12 p.m. Stockton, CA

By Emily Whichard

Daily Bruin Contributor

UCLA women’s water polo will hit the road once again this weekend as they head north for their second weekend of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Conference play.

The Bruins (6-2, 1-0 MPSF) will begin on Saturday against No. 4 California (5-4). UCLA has already defeated the Golden Bears twice this season in tournament play and currently owns an 18-5 overall series advantage over the Bears.

Head Coach Adam Krikorian refuses to expect an easy win.

“There is so much tradition in Cal waterpolo,” he said. “You get a feeling when you walk on that pool deck. They’ll be especially hard to beat at home.”

The Bruins are aware that every conference matchup will affect their bid for the national championship. Due to two early losses to No. 1 Stanford in tournament play, it is important for the Bruins to maintain a flawless conference record.

“It’s really important that we show up for every game ready to play,” sophomore two-meter defender Robin Beauregard said.

Krikorian wants the team to focus on consistency and heart.

“We need to focus on finding consistency and hunger to win in each and every minute of the game,” he said.

On Sunday, the Bruins travel to Stockton to face the No. 15 Pacific Tigers (2-7). UCLA currently has a perfect 8-0 record against the Tigers. At last weekend’s UCSB tournament, Pacific finished 14th with a 1-4 record, losing to UC San Diego in the 13th place match.

The Bruins plan to take the weekend one game at a time.

“We are putting all of our concentration into Cal right now,” Krikorian said.

UCLA will return to host three conference games from March 9-11. The Bruins face No. 3 USC for the first time this season on March 9. They will round out the weekend with games against No. 6 Hawaii on the 10th, and No. 7 Long Beach on the 11th.