UCLA men’s water polo sweeps five East Coast teams, remains undefeated
Senior Matt Farmer contributed a total of 11 goals in the UCLA sweep at the Princeton Invitational this weekend. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Melissa Zhang
Sept. 10, 2017 4:37 p.m.
The Bruins dominated five ranked East Coast teams this weekend, demonstrating how the West still reigns supreme in the sport of water polo.
No. 4 UCLA (7-0) traveled to New Jersey for the Princeton Invitational, where it rolled through No. 17 George Washington 20-4 to open play.
Seniors Max Irving and Matt Farmer led the team in goals with four and three respectively, with the Bruin defense rendering the Colonials unable to score more than one goal each quarter.
Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Wolf made seven saves in the first three quarters, splitting time in the cage with senior Aleksandar Ruzic who saw his first action of the year.
UCLA then took on No. 18 St. Francis Brooklyn in the afternoon, never trailing on its way to a 12-3 win. Farmer and freshman Quinten Osborne led the team in scoring with two goals apiece. Eight other Bruins found the back of the Terriers’ net as they finished off the first day with two wins.
Play resumed early the next morning against No. 16 Bucknell, which UCLA defeated 18-8. Farmer once again was the top scorer for the Bruins with four goals, and freshman Felix Brozyna-Vilim posted a hat trick.
The Bison scored first thanks to a goal by Cooper Dolan from the front court, but UCLA soon kicked into gear, notching six unanswered goals and never trailing from there.
No. 14 Brown couldn’t challenge the Bruins either, falling 18-2 to UCLA. Freshman Nicolas Saveljic’s four goals and Irving’s hat trick gave the Bruins a large lead, and Wolf left Brown scoreless for the first two quarters.
The Bruins wrapped up the tournament, playing host No. 11 Princeton. The Tigers were also undefeated in gameplay until that point, but couldn’t pull off a final win. UCLA finished with a 14-8 win to complete the sweep.
Saveljic and fellow freshman Chasen Travisano each posted four of the nine goals scored by Bruin freshmen, with seniors notching the remaining five. UCLA is now 12-0 all-time against Princeton and returns to California with no losses so far this season.
