Bruin athlete swims away from track of family tradition
Despite growing up in a family with a storied history in UCLA pole vault, redshirt sophomore center Patrick Woepse decided not to embark on the same path his three siblings followed and instead forge his own legacy with UCLA water polo. (Aubrey Yeo/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Erik Rehnberg
Sept. 28, 2014 12:00 a.m.
Over the years, the Woepse family name has become somewhat of a staple in UCLA Athletics.
The first was Elizabeth Woepse – UCLA pole vaulter from 2005-2008. Next came Greg Woepse Jr. – pole vaulter from 2008-2011. This year, redshirt senior Mike Woepse returns for a last indoor track and field season after placing seventh in the pole vault at last year’s NCAA Indoor Championships.
Yet the youngest Woepse, Patrick, spends most of his days about 300 yards away from the Drake Stadium pole vault pit at the Spieker Aquatics Center, the home of UCLA men’s and women’s water polo.
As a redshirt sophomore this season, Patrick Woepse has scored 11 goals as a center for the UCLA men’s water polo team.
He grew up with a pole vaulting pit and runway in his backyard, but Patrick Woepse said he never gave pole vaulting much thought after a family friend introduced him to water polo when he was 10.
“(Pole vaulting) was always there, I just never wanted to go for it,” Patrick Woepse said. “If I wanted to (do it, my family) would have loved it, but they totally love water polo.”
All of his siblings were pole vaulters at some point in their lives, and his father, Greg Woepse Sr., pole vaulted at the Pan American Games and now coaches at Mater Dei High School. Patrick Woepse however, is quick to point out that he never felt any pressure from his family to take up the family sport.
That wasn’t to say he didn’t show potential in it. Mike Woepse said Patrick Woepse was “surprisingly good” the couple times he tried to pole vault. But ultimately, he was built for the pool given how much he loves the water.
And even though Patrick Woepse may not be an active participant in pole vault competitions, Mike Woepse said his younger brother was “always at track meets” and was a “loud, great supporter” for him.
For Patrick Woepse, it was the teamwork and camaraderie of water polo, as well as the sport’s physicality, that drew him towards the pool and not to the pole.
“Winning as a team is one of the best feelings you can achieve,” Patrick Woepse said.
He also said he “meshed well with the guys” on his first water polo team at the age of 10, a feeling that has carried through to his college experience at UCLA. He said he thinks that the water polo team is inherently closer than a team of pole vaulters because of its emphasis on close coordination, as opposed to the focus on individual technique as in pole vaulting.
On the water polo team, Patrick Woepse is what coach Adam Wright calls a model athlete and teammate in terms of his work ethic and respect for his teammates.
“If I had a team of Pats, I’d be one lucky coach for sure,” Wright said.
Since Patrick Woepse is the youngest of the family, the family dynasty at UCLA will be coming to a close within the next couple of years. But there is still time for both Patrick and Mike Woepse to make permanent marks in the UCLA record books.
Mike Woepse said he is trying to set the team pole vault record and win an NCAA title that has eluded him for years.
Patrick Woepse, meanwhile, still has a few seasons to continue adding to his goal tally, and with Wright predicting more playing time for the center as the season progresses, that looks to be more certainty than speculation.
