The Strong Silent Type

ELI GILL Senior Alfonso Tucay may be quiet, but
he makes a big splash as a two-meter man on the UCLA men’s water
polo team.

By Adam Titcher
Daily Bruin Contributor

He towers over the pool at the Sunset Recreational Center
without making a noise. He whispers the lyrics of Wyclef Jean to
himself when no one is looking. He paints and draws whatever comes
to his head. He is shy, but if he speaks it is important, because
that is Zo.

“Alfonso is the quiet giant that thumps in the
night,” junior goalkeeper Brandon Brooks said.

In the last five years, senior Alfonso Tucay has not said much,
but he has quietly worked on his game and now starts at the
two-meter offense for UCLA’s men’s water polo team.

Besides the advice of coaches and players before him, he has
found inspiration with Herman Hesse’s book,
“Siddhartha.”

“”˜Siddhartha’ goes out and chills,”
Tucay said. “That book is more goal oriented, and that is why
I like it.”

Siddhartha, later known in his life as Buddha, found meaning in
life with religion. Tucay has not been divinely inspired, but he
has taken his game to new highs.

Tucay knows very little about Buddhism, yoga and meditation
““ he is simply a determined person.

He knows what he wants, and he tries to pursue it in a
roundabout way, much like Siddhartha did. He has played minimally
for the last four years.

And now, Tucay has helped the Bruins jump out to a perfect 3-0
conference record.

Tucay is the team’s second leading scorer with 16 goals,
and he is shooting impressively considering he had five goals in
the previous four years.

Yet, he does not like to discuss statistics. He does not see his
new leadership role as an opportunity to capitalize in the box
score.

Rather, he encourages tough defense because he feels it is just
as important as offense. He is about contributing and helping his
teammates while having fun.

“I am just trying to play my role,” he said.
“If it is my shot to take, I will. But I go in there, play
hard and hopefully win.”

Tucay, like the rest of the team, has taken one game at a time
this season, because he knows winning is not everything. Each game
is a learning experience for him as well as the team.

With his extended tenure, freshman players learn from his
passion for water polo.

“In the water he is quiet, but he leads by example,”
freshman driver Brett Ormsby said. “He always has a positive
attitude and always works hard. He makes other people want to work
hard.”

This hard work is not foreign to Tucay. As a freshman, he
weighed around 275 pounds. In his second season, he lost 30 pounds,
bulked up in muscle and made the traveling team.

After years of impressing coaches with his work ethic, he
finally has earned a starting role. At 6-foot-4, weighing 220
pounds, he leads.

“He has been one of the most dedicated and hardest workers
we’ve had here,” head coach Adam Krikorian said.
“I would say 90 percent of the people in his situation would
have quit by now, but Zo is not a quitter.”

Tucay’s determination continues to inspire. He is quiet,
but that does not stop others from looking up to him.

He has a physique that many players look to match.

Krikorian thinks he is one of the fastest on the team,
convincing the rest to chase him. All the players listen extra
closely when he finally speaks.

“He does not say many words, but when he does, he has a
point,” sophomore driver Albert Garcia said.

As Tucay’s current roommate, Garcia can vouch that he is
talkative outside of the pool.

When Tucay is not busy working on his game, he works on
elaborate copies of Monet and Van Gogh paintings. He recently
finished painting a pastel by impressionist William Degouve de
Nuncques. And he enjoys an eclectic variety of music including
jazz, hip-hop and classic rock.

Otherwise, he is enjoying himself in the pool as a key leader on
the team.

One goal which still lingers in the back of Tucay’s mind
is winning another title.

“Sometimes when I am tired or bummed out about practice, I
say, “˜Wow, what if we just win and bring it back senior year,
three times in a row,'” he said. “Anytime when it
is your last year playing and you come out with a championship, it
is really good.”

He has been around for two national championships (1999, 2000),
but if the Bruins win this year, he knows it will be extra
special.