UCLA water polo prepares for three-game weekend
By Sari Zureiqat
Sept. 27, 2013 1:05 a.m.
Springing off last weekend’s NorCal Invitational victory and a Monday rest break, UCLA men’s water polo hasn’t had much time for preparation.
“The reality is it’s a very short week … you’re talking three days of preparation,” said coach Adam Wright. “(And) training (Wednesday) wasn’t our best.”
Added into the mix, Wright said, are academic meetings for the players, Thursday’s start of classes and, in turn, shifting practice schedules.
Despite this, the team heads to a three-game weekend beginning with Pepperdine on Friday and continuing with Loyola Marymount and Princeton on Saturday.
Senior defender Chris Wendt noted that Pepperdine is “always a dangerous team.” Wright also has his eyes on the game against Pepperdine because of its uncertain nature. Last year, the Bruins beat the Waves 14-7 and in a tighter game, 12-7, early in the season.
“It’s one game – if you don’t prepare for it the right way you could be caught off guard,” Wright said.
Loyola Marymount, Wendt continued, “always (gives) a good game,” while Princeton is “one of the better east coast teams.”
Although No. 1 UCLA won both its games against No. 2 USC and No. 4 California, uncertainty also looms about the strength of the team, said redshirt freshman goalkeeper Garrett Danner, because the Bruins have only competed against two of the top five schools this year.
In turn, the Bruins have hit the film room after the NorCal invite in order to improve what they see as weaknesses in their gameplay – namely their defense, 5-on-6 and 6-on-5 power plays. UCLA was 1-for-4 on power plays against USC last weekend, compared to the Trojans’ 4-for-7.
UCLA does have much to be proud of, however, after beating USC in the NorCal Invitational, ending the Trojans’ 41-game winning streak over the past three seasons. Additionally, Danner was named both the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation/KAP7 player of the week for Sept. 16-22 and the UCLA/Muscle Milk student-athlete of the week Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
But these successes haven’t let Danner, or the team as a whole, underestimate UCLA’s lower-ranked opponents.
“You can’t take (any team) too lightly,” Danner said. “Everybody has their ability to upset.”
