W. polo: Women’s water polo works to stay motivated
By Vincent Lim
April 4, 2005 9:00 p.m.
With the start of the postseason less than a month away, UCLA
women’s water polo coach Adam Krikorian acknowledged that he
is concerned about his team’s state of mind, despite a pair
of victories over UC Irvine, 14-4, and Arizona State, 12-0, this
past Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Because of the
Bruins’ much-publicized success in the pool this season,
Krikorian admitted he still worries about his team becoming too
complacent and possibly losing an important game late in the season
or during the postseason. “I worry about it all the
time,” Krikorian said. “It’s been difficult for
the girls to keep motivated.” Like her coach, sophomore
driver Kelly Rulon, who led the top-ranked Bruins (22-0, 7-0
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) with four goals in
Thursday’s game against the Anteaters, stated that she also
worries about the team becoming apathetic and failing to play up to
its abilities. “You always worry about it,” Rulon said.
“You can’t get too complacent, because when you get
complacent, you’ll be unprepared against a Stanford or a
USC.” But in both conference games the Bruins removed any
doubt of lackadaisical play, shutting out the Sun Devils this past
Saturday and marking the first time that Arizona State has failed
to score a goal in its program’s history. JUMPING OUT OF THE
BOX: The Bruins, who have only seldom been tested in matches this
season, credit their ability to strike early as the foundation for
their success. In the games against UC Irvine and Arizona State,
the Bruins outscored their opponents 6-1. Over the course of the
season, UCLA has hammered its opponents in the opening period by an
astounding 81-16. “We try to come out strong every
time,” freshman utility Monique Blanchard said. “But
it’s more expected for us to come out strong against top
teams.”
UP NEXT: The Bruins began their five-game road trip on a
positive note, shutting out Arizona State. UCLA is now looking
ahead to its much-anticipated game against No. 3 Stanford on April
15. The Cardinal gave the Bruins a close call back on Feb. 12 in
Stanford, losing to UCLA 6-5.
