Squad dominates UCI 16-4 in season opener
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 7, 2002 9:00 p.m.
 OSCAR ALVAREZ Freshman playmaker Amber
Stachowski helped women’s water polo destroy UC Irvine
16-4 in the season opener.
By Eric Perez
Daily Bruin Contributor
Before the start of UCLA’s season opener against UC Irvine
in women’s water polo, a few members from the Newbury Park
High School girls water polo team near Thousand Oaks sang the
national anthem at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center.
That was about the only thing even remotely out of the ordinary
because it was business as usual for the defending national
champions. UCLA rolled over the Anteaters 16-4 Thursday evening,
scoring six goals in the first quarter.
“For a first game it was good,” said junior center
defender Robin Beauregard, who led the team with four goals.
“It’s always hard in your first game to come out and
compete because you’ve been practicing for so
long.”
Ten different Bruins scored and notched assists against UCI.
Junior Starting goalie Jaime Hipp was pulled after the first half
as the Bruins led 11-1, and Christel Smith took over for the second
half.
If anything, UCLA might have looked forward to this game just
because it could finally get the season under way after a long
preseason.
“We’ve been practicing for about four and half weeks
now without any games,” UCLA head coach Adam Krikorian said.
“I think the girls are just a little tired of beating each
other up and they wanted someone else to get at.”
Despite the fact that this was UCLA’s home opener, this
game had the feel of an exhibition matchup.
The Bruins made quick work of the Anteaters and made no secret
that they are looking toward this coming weekend’s
tournament, the Stanford Invitational at Palo Alto.
“I don’t want to put Irvine down, but we have to
look more toward Stanford, Cal and USC,” junior attacker Mari
Joyce said.
This weekend should pose more of a challenge for UCLA. Part of
that challenge will be facing so many different teams at the outset
of the season.
“That’s where a little anxiety comes in,”
Krikorian said.
