UCLA men’s water polo redeems first losses of season with win over Cal
Senior attacker Paul Reynolds said the No. 4 UCLA men’s water polo team played with more heart and confidence against No. 2 Cal. Reynolds scored a hat trick in the Bruins’ 13-8 win. (Aubrey Yeo/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Claire Fahy
Oct. 20, 2014 5:58 a.m.
The name of the aquatics complex may have been similar, but the outcome could not have been more different for UCLA men’s water polo when it faced Cal on the road at Berkeley’s Spieker Aquatics Complex on Saturday.
The Bruins will look to climb back up in the national standings after a resounding 13-8 victory over the Golden Bears. UCLA assumed Cal’s No. 4 national ranking this week, abdicating its No. 1 spot to USC and watching the Golden Bears ascend to No. 2 after the Bruins gave up two losses last weekend at home in the Spieker Aquatics Center.
The shake-up in rankings stemmed from an action-packed SoCal Tournament last weekend, in which Cal showed promise as a major Mountain Pacific Sports Federation competitor and national championship contender, providing UCLA with the daunting task of taking on a perennial water polo powerhouse on the road.
“It’s tough to lose a couple games and have a really big game on the road. (This win) says a lot about our team,” said coach Adam Wright. “Berkeley is one of the most storied teams in our sport. … It’s always an incredible experience (to play them).”
After failing to execute offensively in its first two losses of the season last weekend, the Bruins dominated on the attack in Berkeley, leading the game from start to finish. Sophomore center Gordon Marshall had a career-high five goals, while senior attacker Paul Reynolds scored a hat trick.
“We played with more heart, and we played with more confidence,” Reynolds said. “We practiced a lot of certain aspects of our team game over this week. … We have a good culture that we have to build off each day in practice.”
The increase in offensive productivity gave UCLA the boost it needed after it was held to its season-low scoring totals in its games against USC and No. 3 Stanford during the SoCal Tournament. The game was close at 9-6 heading into the third, where the Bruins blew the game wide open behind two of Marshall’s eventual five goals.
In a weekend that saw UCLA football defeat Cal at Berkeley for the first time since 1998, men’s water polo contributed its own impressive stat to UCLA history, scoring the most against Cal since it defeated the Golden Bears 12-10 in 1994.
The Bruins will look to carry the intensity into this week’s competition, where they will confront No. 3 Stanford back at home and look to redeem themselves once again.
Compiled by Claire Fahy, Bruin Sports senior staff.
