M. water polo: Surfacing
By Graciela Sandoval
Oct. 27, 2003 9:00 p.m.
Southern California living is not always about kick-back days on
the beach.
Although Ted Peck enjoys bodysurfing in Newport, water polo has
been more rewarding for him because he has had to work hard to stay
with it.
While attending UCLA, the junior center found it easy to make
friends and pass his classes. But at first he was a work in
progress in the pool.
“When Ted arrived at UCLA, he was big and slow. Now I
would say he is strong and in incredible shape,” coach Adam
Krikorian said. “When he first came, he was one-dimensional,
not good in defense or speed. Now he’s improved so much in
those areas, and he’s becoming a complete player.”
For the past two years, the 6-foot-6 Peck has battled to improve
his physical conditioning. The coaching staff played him in all 21
games as a freshman, but Peck did not feel he was up to collegiate
standards.
“It’s a steep learning curve from high school to
college,” Peck said. “I really had to adjust quickly.
My coach was on my ass constantly, and it was tough trying to get
into shape.”
As the team’s starting center, Peck was expected to
contribute to the offense. Krikorian constantly put Peck under
pressure to score more goals. Even under such strong demands, Peck
learned how to use his size to his advantage and become a more
powerful and faster center.
“No matter what, you just have to keep fighting,”
Peck said. “Whether the coach is getting on you or
you’re angry, you can’t just start moping around.
That’s one thing I’ll probably take from my coach and
from the program. I’ve learned that no matter what the
circumstances, … when you’re down in the dumps, you just
have to keep playing.”
Peck also had to learn to harness his competitiveness and not
let his emotions get the best of him. Peck is still the same player
who earned 15 ejections as a freshman but is now more in
control.
“He’s a fiery player,” Krikorian said.
“Sometimes we butt heads because he’s a pretty stubborn
guy. He’s very competitive. He practices and plays with a lot
of emotion.”
This season Peck has helped the Bruins (12-4, 4-0 MPSF) to an
undefeated conference record. He has scored 15 goals and tallied
three assists as one of the Bruins’ leading scoring
options.
The team’s goal is to go undefeated in conference play.
And that objective is within reach this year.
“It’s a tangible thing but it’s also really
critical right now,” Peck said. “We had a really brutal
training camp in the summer. But the object was to have us peak at
the most crucial point of the season.”
By all accounts they’ve done just that.
Their wins over two No. 1 teams, USC and Cal, in the past two
weeks has solidified their status as one of the nation’s
elite teams. Peck was held scoreless against the Trojans but left
his mark physically in the game.
“‘SC tries to make you play their game by
frustrating you and pushing you around,” Peck said.
“They are a great physical team, and we had to be physical
back. We couldn’t blow up and freak out. Keeping our
composure was key because we knew we were better than
‘SC.”
Defeating the Trojans was a monumental victory for Peck and his
teammates, but the only thought in Peck’s and his
team’s minds right now is their next big game against
Stanford.
“Beating Stanford this weekend would make us
unstoppable,” he said.
