Men’s water polo continues undefeated run, wins Kap7 NorCal Invitational
Senior utility Danny McClintick said that UCLA’s matchups against Cal in the semifinal and Stanford in the final felt entirely different. The Bruins won both, as they continued their undefeated 2015 season. (Owen Emerson/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Annie Bardet
Sept. 24, 2015 8:56 a.m.
UCLA men’s water polo is in a familiar place – back in the waters of Spieker Aquatics Center, undefeated and Kap7 NorCal Invitational champions for the third straight year after ousting No. 2 Stanford on Sunday.
No. 1 UCLA (9-0) defeated Chapman 24-3 and knocked out No. 9 Pepperdine 12-6 Saturday to advance to the semifinal of the tournament against No. 4 Cal.
On Sunday, the familiarity of past weeks was converted into a surge of change, mainly in the form of the Bruin’s first top-four opponents of the season. Entering the pool with the Cal Golden Bears was a true test of the team’s focus in close battle.
Senior utility Danny McClintick said that the matchups against Cal in the semifinal and Stanford in the final felt entirely different, despite the level of competition being relatively even.
“Cal has a ton of team speed, a lot of dangerous weapons. They’re really fast in transition and I thought they gave us some big match-up problems there,” McClintick said. “(Stanford) has probably the best offensive player in the country right now in Bret Bonanni. … Two totally different situations, two totally different games.”
McClintick added that the Bruins had to wait an hour after warming up to face Cal due to an overtime game before the semifinal meeting that altered the schedule. Regardless, the Bruins secured an 8-6 victory.
Junior attacker Patrick Fellner lead the Bruins in scoring with a hat trick. Junior goalie Garrett Danner played the entirety of the game in the cage, making a season-best 13 saves. Danner was also the team’s leader in steals, tallying seven.
The Bruins were able to switch gears successfully in the short break between the semifinal and final, securing the NorCal tournament title for the third straight year with a nail-biting 8-7 victory over the Stanford Cardinal.
Up by two goals in the fourth period, the Bruins held on to their lead with a crucial stop by Danner on a Cardinal penalty shot. Stanford was able to trim the lead after a goal with under a minute remaining, yet junior center Gordon Marshall drew an exclusion with 19 seconds left to secure a new shot clock and, ultimately, the tournament title.
Though UCLA’s five-man defense was successful in both of Sunday’s outings, the Bruins were just three-for-12 in man-up situations against the Bears and three-for-10 against the Cardinal. Coach Adam Wright attributed the Bruins’ lack of precision in 6-on-5 offense to a combination of mistakes, including the way the players were rotating and attacking the goal.
“We really pride ourselves on defense,” Wright said Tuesday. “We spend a lot more time on five-man than on 6-on-5, but it’s no excuse. We will watch the video this week so the guys can see, first of all, how we are attacking the goal every time the ball is in somebody’s hand, but also how we were moving. We didn’t do a good job of spacing.”
In addition to Stanford’s Bonanni, multiple players that scored for the Bruins’ opposition played for the Olympic-qualifying U.S. National Team over the summer. Sophomore utility Alex Roelse, who was also a member of that team, found himself in an unfamiliar spot over the weekend – going head-to-head with summer teammates that are now opponents in rigorous league games.
“It’s a lot rougher, a lot more physical … you’ve got to be ready to do what is necessary in that moment in time,” Roelse said. “But once the game is over you’ve got to leave it all behind you, because they are your teammates somewhere else. … It stays in the pool.”
While Roelse was in a unique situation playing against former teammates, Danner found himself in a familiar place after the weekend – being awarded the Kap7/MPSF Player of the Week for the third straight year after NorCal titles.
“He made some critical saves, and if he doesn’t make those, we don’t have the success that we had last week,” Wright said. “I don’t think it’s a secret – he’s the best goalie in college.”
Danner was credited with 29 saves in his 2.75 games for UCLA over the weekend. Though confident in his goalie, Wright is aware that Danner’s talent in the cage can only peak if the players in the field do their part in forming a strong, cohesive defense.
“We always talk about giving Garrett a chance. If we give him a chance, then we put ourselves in a good position” Wright said. “We don’t give him a chance when we give counterattack goals, for example, or one-on-nobody. We can’t let these things happen, and some of that happened on Sunday.”
Though back in a familiar, undefeated spot, the team is aware that a lot can change come December. One win over the Bears and the Cardinal does not guarantee successes in late-season rematches.
In order to defend their national title, the Bruins cannot let early-season success give way to late-season surprises.
