UCLA women’s water polo faces San Diego State in first round of MPSF Tournament
The No. 2 women’s water polo team will open MPSF Tournament play today against No. 7 San Diego State in Palo Alto.
Water Polo
UCLA vs. SDSU
Today, 12:30 p.m.
Palo Alto
No TV viewing info
By the Numbers:
2
Seasons in a row UCLA made it to the MPSF title match
47
Number of goals senior utility KK Clark has this season
By Allison Collins
April 27, 2012 12:13 a.m.
The Bruins officially begin their postseason this weekend as they travel up to Stanford for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championships.
UCLA not only has their sights set on becoming conference champions, but this weekend is the stepping stone to qualifying for the NCAA championships later in May.
“Essentially, this weekend we are playing to earn the chance to continue playing,” coach Brandon Brooks said. “We want to be at NCAAs and do our best there, but our focus is game to game.”
Part of the excitement of this weekend comes from the type of play that the team will be involved in.
Rather than playing single games as they have been doing for the majority of the season, the team returns to tournament-style competition. During this season, the team played in three tournaments, suffering only one loss during that time.
“We play really well during tournaments,” senior utility KK Clark said. “We play really well when we’re tired because that’s the way we condition ““ working hard and working a lot.”
The Bruins will definitely be working hard, as they will play three consecutive games this weekend.
The No. 2 Bruins (18-3, 5-2 MPSF) will first face No. 7 SDSU (21-9, 1-6). In the previous matchup between these two teams, the Bruins were victorious as they beat the Aztecs 9-4.
The team looks to refine and refocus their game going into the weekend rather than fix things.
“At this point it’s not about changing things, its about focusing on and refining everything we have worked on this season,” senior goalkeeper Caitlin Dement said.
