Q&A: Pacifican sports editor weighs in on upcoming men’s water polo showdown

The No. 1 UCLA men’s water polo team will be trying to break the program record and tie the all-time NCAA water polo record of 51 straight wins Saturday – but it’ll have to get through No. 4 Pacific.

Daily Bruin Sports reached out to The Pacifican’s sports editor, Zach Withrow, to see what’s waiting for UCLA in Stockton, California.

Daily Bruin Sports: One of the few times this year the UCLA team has been down was to Pacific in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Invitational. What makes Pacific capable of matching the No. 1 team in the country?

Zach Withrow: I think it’s a good combination of talented youth and seasoned experience. … In that first match, we saw some strong play from Aleksandar Petrovic, who is one of the few remaining members of the great 2013 Pacific team (that nearly beat USC in the national championship in double overtime) and has been a leader for this year’s squad. … Redshirt junior Kale Ai has also been a leader for this team. … The Tigers have received help from rising stars like freshmen Engin Ege Colak and Luke Pavillard, the latter of whom has unfortunately been out the last few games. They have each stepped in and played at a high level this season; both scored in that first matchup with the Bruins, as well.

And while the team probably consists more of talented youth than seasoned experience, they are all playing behind an amazing leader in coach James Graham, who has really been the catalyst that has made this program so successful over the past few years. One might expect a drop-off from the team after losing great players like Alex Obert, Krisztian Laczkovics and Brady Moore to graduation. Graham, though, has continued his strong recruiting and preparation and the result has been another team that is one of the best in the nation.

[Related: No. 1 UCLA men’s water polo claims 50th consecutive win]

DB: The Bruins are looking to tie the NCAA record with their 51st straight win against the Tigers on Saturday, what does Pacific need to do to stop them?

ZW: (Senior attacker) Patrick Fellner absolutely gave the Tigers fits in the Mountain Pacific Invitational. They will have to contain him if they want to keep the match close. Fellner did most of his damage in the third as the Bruins began to get off more shots past Pacific’s line.

The whole Pacific unit had played well in the first half, but the offense came out cold in the third quarter, and much credit is due to UCLA’s (senior goalkeeper) Garrett Danner. While the defense wasn’t as solid as it was in the first half, those issues could have been minimized if Pacific was able to get anything going offensively.

One difference from the tournament match is that the Tigers will have a home crowd behind them Saturday. We Tiger fans need to bring the noise and try to give the squad any advantage possible. If the team can again get off to a fast start and sustain its mental focus after halftime, it will have a great shot at the upset.

DB: UCLA has been able to outlast other teams in the past in part because of the team’s depth – it has entire lines of players that can play at high levels. What’s Pacific’s depth like and can it go toe-to-toe with the Bruins’?

ZW: Junior Tim Reeves has been outstanding coming off the bench for Pacific this season. The junior has scored 23 goals on .469 shooting and has been a real spark plug for the offense. Freshman Andres Schmidt is another one of those exciting young players who has shown real promise this season; he has posted eight goals, 11 assists and 14 steals on the year. Local product Luis Araya has also brought great energy, recording 12 goals, seven assists and 11 steals so far as a freshman.

DB: Pacific left the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation this offseason. Was that a good move?

ZW: I think Pacific’s move to the Golden Coast Conference was a good one. The Tigers will still see familiar opponents, as Long Beach State, Pepperdine, San Jose State, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara have all joined them to form the new conference. … The move should increase Pacific’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament each year.

DB: In years past, the game between Pacific and UCLA has always been important because of the at-large bids in to the NCAA Tournament – a win for either team over the other would give them a better standing in the committee’s eyes. Does the fact that the Tigers and the Bruins are no longer in the same conference take some of the pressure off this game?

ZW: It is true that this matchup may have meant more in the past in terms of which team stands out above the other in the MPSF. The Tigers no longer have to jockey with UCLA and USC for position within the conference. However, I believe that there is an equivalent pressure on this match for a couple of reasons.

The obvious one is that the fate of UCLA’s pursuit of an NCAA record depends on this game. The Bruins are so close, and the Tigers would love to put an end to their run.

DB: What do you think about the typical “Big 4”? Does Pacific deserve to have it be renamed the “Big 5”?

ZW: The fact that Pacific has forced people to have a conversation about changing the “Big 4” to the “Big 5” is a demonstration of how remarkable the program’s rise has been. … While I am proud that our school has played so well, I think we should probably wait for a few more years of success from the Tigers, just to prove we are no fluke. UCLA, USC, Cal and Stanford have earned that monicker through decades of dominance, so I think it is fair to wait and see if Pacific can continue to sustain its success. I am confident the team will, though, and I am looking forward to the Tigers being regularly regarded as part of the “Big 5.”