Women’s water polo waves goodbye to invitational format this weekend

There’s something about playing at home that ignites a fire within a team. Hearing pandemonium in the stands can give a team encouragement and support that allows them to potentially come out with a win. The UCLA women’s water polo team has been undefeated at home thus far this season. Though the Bruins have only played two games out of ten at home, there’s always reassurance when you don’t have to spend your weekend traveling on the road.

Friday, No. 2 UCLA looks to capture their 10th victory against No. 5 UC Irvine at Spieker Aquatics Center.

This Friday, the Bruins will be introduced to a change of pace, but they will finally be accustomed to the competitive environment. Unlike its typical four-game, two-day tournaments that are on the road, UCLA will not be traveling to an invitational. After facing multiple teams in tournament play on the road, the Bruins are able to face their first single-game opponent at their home pool.

“It’s great (to be playing at home),” said coach Brandon Brooks. “We always take pride in playing at home and playing in front of our fans. We want to put out the best product that we can and we are looking forward to it.”

UCLA has yet to face UCI this season, who currently has an overall record of 5-3. The Anteaters are averaging 8.6 goals per match this season, while the Bruins are averaging 14.7.

“I feel like our team is playing well,” Brooks said. “I think that UCI is a good opponent and we look forward to a good game. Hopefully we play well enough to get out on top.”

Without the pressures of facing multiple teams each day, the team is emphasizing on focusing just solely on the Anteaters, which gives the Bruins a change of pace to their typical tournament schedule.

“It’s a relief and it’s nice to be able to focus on one opponent rather than four,” said freshman attacker Devin Grab. “All of this is relatively new to me so I’m just taking it day by day. I’m sure everyone is excited to have our first home game against a competitive opponent. It should be fun.”

As the season progresses, the Bruins continue to look to play to their strengths of defensive coverage and speed. Along with their strengths, UCLA has been able to identify some of their weaknesses and put an emphasis on playing to their pace of the game.

“I think we tend to get really excited when we play,” said junior attacker Charlotte Pratt. “Because we are all excited to play, we tend to rush things. So I think we need to focus on having a fast tempo, but not rushing things.”

This single home game will nonetheless be another good matchup with a higher ranked division team.

“The challenge is the same: to play as well as we can,” Brooks said. “I think it’s always fun to get a home game and hopefully get a descent amount of support from the UCLA students. I look forward to playing a high-level game this week.”