Women’s water polo confident going into USC rematch
Senior attacker Victoria Kent and the Bruins plan to treat their upcoming rematch against the USC Trojans as a way to prepare for the upcoming postseason. (Nathan Vanderveer-Harris/Daily Bruin)
By Nathaniel Liebes
April 16, 2014 12:39 a.m.
While rivalry and revenge might appear to motivate the UCLA women’s water polo team in its rematch against USC Wednesday, the Bruins’ source of motivation will come from a desire to show growth and prepare for the postseason.
The Bruins have lost only three times all season, boasting a 22-3 record overall. They were able to avenge their first loss to the Cardinal, beating Stanford 9-6 later in February. Besides a second, more recent loss to the Cardinal, the Bruins’ only other loss of the season came against USC.
The team feels that it’s in a very strong position heading into the match with the Trojans. According to senior attacker Victoria Kent, the team’s growth is very noticeable.
“We are in a really good position heading into this game. We played ‘SC once this year and we have grown a lot since that game, which will show on Wednesday,” Kent said.
That prior matchup with USC featured a 7-6 loss. The Bruins had the lead after the first overtime period in that matchup, but the Trojans were able to score two unanswered goals to hand UCLA its second loss of the season. Despite that loss, coach Brandon Brooks insists that vengeance will not be a factor in this matchup.
“Obviously UCLA-‘SC is always going to be a big game and everyone is excited for it, but our focus will be on us and what we can do as a team,” Brooks said.
Despite that fact, Kent has mentioned that the team’s practices have been more intense. The women have been working harder against each other daily, hoping to transfer the intensity to their games.
“The past few weeks have been a little bit harder because we have been going at each other harder in practice,” Kent said.
This matchup against USC will also help the team prepare for the upcoming postseason.
Senior utility Becca Dorst noted that winning this game would help UCLA get a higher seed in the NCAAs, allowing the Bruins to play an East Coast team, which would prove to be an advantage.
“This game will show us where we are going into the postseason,” Kent said.
The Bruins will face the Trojans at USC at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
