[Who will be the next champ?]: Women's water polo

Why They’ll Win: Look at two Saturdays
ago. That’s an indication of why the Bruins have a chance to
repeat as champions.

In a must-win situation against Stanford, UCLA held on for a
one-goal overtime victory. The Bruins could’ve easily blown
that one, but for the first time this season, there were flashes of
the championship team from a year ago that went 33-0. This was a
huge mental victory because UCLA, which split its two meetings with
the Cardinal, will likely see Stanford two more times en route to
the MPSF and NCAA Championship game. Don’t discount coach
Adam Krikorian. He knows what he’s doing. He’s been a
part of six national championship teams as a member of the
women’s water polo staff.

Senior utility Thalia Munro is the best defender in the country.
Junior driver Kelly Rulon is the biggest offensive threat in the
nation.

Why They’ll Lose: If the Bruins somehow
come out alive against Stanford, they’ll have to knock off a
Trojan team that hasn’t dropped a match all season long. UCLA
is 0-2 against USC, and those matches weren’t even close. The
Trojans are carrying an invincible shield around them; much like
the one the Bruins had last season. Don’t forget USC went
undefeated in its 2004 championship season. They have all the tools
to win another championship and no one seems to want to stop them.
As funny as it may sound, the Bruins are still suffering from the
Natalie Golda effect. The Bruins still miss the center forward who
graduated a season ago. Don’t think members of the team
aren’t wondering about the good ol’ days when Golda was
in the middle.

Outlook: 6 out of 10. USC is better than UCLA.
Plain and simple. The Stanford-UCLA game will come down to one
goal; the match can go either way.