Bruins look up to seniors during final stretch

Thursday, November 14, 1996

WATER POLO:

Tightly-knit group hopes to repeat win of NCAA championshipBy
Greg Calvert

Daily Bruin Contributor

UCLA’s NCAA title match last year served as a wake-up call to
other water polo teams that the Bruins are back. After a 23-year
hibernation, UCLA sits on top of collegiate water polo
competition.

The 10-8 victory over California also bid farewell to UCLA’s
three seniors Thomas Wong, Mark Sutter and Adam Krikorian. Sutter
and Krikorian are still on campus, serving as assistant
coaches.

Now this year’s defending national champions depend heavily on
the play of seven seniors. Goalkeeper Matt Swanson guides the team
on defense from the cage, while driver Jim Toring and utility
player Corbin Graham have proved to be the team’s offensive
leaders.

Hole man Jeremy Braxton-Brown, along with Toring and Swanson,
was named co-MVP of the NCAA tournament in 1995 and has continued
to be a threat this season. Drivers Jeff Porter and Terry Baker
played as teammates in high school for Bellarmine Prep in Northern
California, and they have helped keep UCLA’s rotation a respectable
one. Driver Randy Wright was named the most-improved player of last
year’s squad, and he is stepping up this year as well.

It may be news to some that UCLA’s water polo program was
dropped in 1991 due to an accumulated budget deficit in the
Athletic Department. It was during this time of transition that Guy
Baker was hired as head coach. Graham, Wright, Swanson, Baker and
Porter were all members of the first recruiting class that entered
a program that existed solely on donations from water polo alumni
and revenue from various fundraisers.

Toring and Braxton-Brown joined the team the following year as
two of the nation’s top recruits. Together, these seven guys faced
the responsibility of bringing UCLA water polo back to the top. It
wasn’t until this season, after the Bruins won an NCAA title, that
the program was reinstated by the Athletic Department.

These seven seniors, and the team as a whole, are a tight group.
They live, study, eat and hang out together year-round ­ not
to mention their year-round practice and work-out schedule.

"Swanny, Jer, and Randall" (Swanson, Braxton-Brown and Wright)
live together in an apartment complex that houses several other
polo players. They enjoy hacking, live music, relaxing and jamming
musical instruments. Jams over at "the Heights" can get pretty
awesome at times.

"T-Bake, Jeff and Corb" (Baker, Porter and Graham) reside down
the street from them and "Jammer" (Toring) lives adjacent to them.
They enjoy much of the same activities, including surfing,
snow-boarding and sleeping.

The only inherent problem is that these guys have no free time.
Water polo is their life. Not only do they refrain from activities
that put them at risk of an injury, but they also must balance
their intense practice schedule with school work. They all keep up
respectable grades, which is an accomplishment in itself. Porter, a
mechanical engineering student, has recently been accepted to
Stanford’s Graduate Engineering School that starts this coming
January.

Unlike sports such as basketball or football, water polo holds
little future in the way of professional play. Jim Toring, the
target of every opponent, is the only senior that has serious
aspirations of making the Olympic team in the year 2000.

"Jammer" barely missed the final cut for the 1996 Olympics in
Atlanta. After his NCAA eligibility expires at the end of this
season, he will work out with the U.S. National Team in Long Beach
and frequent UCLA practices to keep up on his game.

These seniors are all at a crucial point in their water polo
careers. Their collegiate play can last no longer than the NCAA
finals in early December. They only have three regular-season
matches remaining, and the home stretch is now. The seniors have
hinted at the notion that their play has been slightly under
potential, but they are geared up for a final run at a second
straight championship.

When asked what the highlight of their careers has been, the
NCAA Championship was the unanimous response. That accomplishment
was the result of a combination of talent, fire, guidance and
heart. The desire of the players, coaches, and fans alike is to
reach that pinnacle once more.

Fan support at the 22 games the Bruins have played so far this
season has been somewhat limited. The stands are filled with
family, friends, women swimmers, water polo players and the few
faithful fans.

Those that plan the schedule do their best to attract fans
­ especially for those matches slotted on the same day as a
big football game. UCLA’s best turnout this year was on the road
­ where they defeated Cal before the UCLA-Cal football game
that day. A large crowd is expected for their final regular-season
game on Nov. 23 when they face USC at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center
before the USC-UCLA football game.

The Bruins have a lot on their minds before entering that match.
UCLA must first focus on their visit to USC’s MacDonald Swim
Stadium this afternoon at 3 p.m. This match and the UC Irvine game
at Sunset Canyon (Sunday at noon) are both MPSF conference games
that may have a huge affect on the team’s confidence, not to
mention their seeding for the MPSF tournament in Berkeley over
Thanksgiving weekend.

The Bruins hope to be giving many thanks after that tournament,
especially if the seniors step up to their potential.

Unlike sports such as basketball or football, water polo holds
little future in the way of professional play.