UCLA women’s water polo off to dominating 8-0 start
Junior attacker Emily Donohoe and the Bruins are undefeated on the season, but Donahoe said the team is still working on things such as improving communication in the pool.
By Erik Rehnberg
Jan. 29, 2014 12:30 a.m.
Eight games into the season, the UCLA women’s water polo team has consistently outclassed its opponents. The Bruins have easily handled each of their eight matchups so far this season.
That being said, coach Brandon Brooks thinks the team still has a lot of room for improvement.
“We are gonna work on putting these moments (of strong play) together in a string. We’re trying to play at as high a level as consistently as possible. I thought we played well, very well at some points,” said Brooks of the last tournament in Santa Barbara. “We’re really good at times and just good or OK at other times.”
Sophomore defender Alys Williams agreed that the team, which features five freshmen and only three seniors, still had things to work on.
“A lot of little things get jumbled up,” she said of the team’s play over the first eight games of the season.
Junior attacker Emily Donohoe thought the team needed to work mainly on its communication during games.
While the No. 3 Bruins have played – and soundly defeated – four other ranked teams this season – scoring on average 15.375 points per game with an average winning margin of 10.375 points – they will face the No. 4 California Golden Bears in their second game at the Stanford Invitational this weekend. That will prove to be the first big test of the season for the Bruins.
Going into what Donohoe described as a “big weekend,” the Bruins won’t be changing too many things about their practice regimen.
“We practice every practice as if it’s a big game,” Donohoe said.
Williams largely echoed Donohoe, although she said the team will be trying to “take it easy” and rest for the coming games.
Key Players
While the Bruins have largely showcased the depth of their team so far this season – only one of the Bruins’ non-goalies has yet to score – there have been some clear standouts.
Sophomore attacker Kodi Hill has averaged 1.25 goals per game over the first eight. Her performance at the UCLA Invitational two weekends ago earned her Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Week honors.
Freshman utility Mackenzie Barr has had an impressive start to her college career, averaging just over one goal per game so far this season. Brooks said that her defensive performance has been impressive as well.
