By Mayar Zokaei
Daily Bruin Contributor
INDIANAPOLIS “”mdash; It wasn’t surprising that the UCLA
women’s water polo team advanced to the final game of the
Collegiate Championships at the Indianapolis University Natatorium
Sunday.
Consequently, it wasn’t too shocking that the No. 3-ranked
Bruins defeated USC to claim the title and end the Trojans’
pursuit of their second consecutive national banner.
The unexpected twists in this paradigm were that it was UCLA
facing cross-town nemesis USC, not top-ranked Stanford, and that
the Bruins decimated the Trojans 11-4.
The defending national champion Trojans upset the Cardinal 10-5
Saturday to earn their second-straight championship game berth.
UCLA dominated from the beginning against USC, jumping out to a
3-0 first-quarter lead on the strength of one goal apiece by Kelly
Heuchan, Serela Kay and Ashey Stachowski. Two of the Bruins’
goals resulted from the ejections of USC players and UCLA
capitalizing on the 6-5 man advantage, an area the Bruins were
deficient in during much of the regular season. Katrin Dierolf
accounted for the lone USC score of the half.
Elaine Zivich, who was named the tournament MVP, second-team
all-tournament selections Catharine von Schwarz and Jessica Lopez
and freshman Jenny Lamb each scored a goal in the second quarter as
UCLA built a commanding 7-1 halftime lead.
“I knew we were prepared, but not like what we did in the
first half,” said a soaked co-head coach Adam Krikorian.
“To end a season like that, it’s just a dream come
true. I’ve been waiting for a game like that all
year.”
The numbers were dumfounding: All 14 players logged minutes,
eight different players scored, goalie and second-team
all-tournament selection Jamie Hipp recorded 10 saves, and senior
von Schwarz led UCLA with three goals.
“It couldn’t have gone any better,” said von
Schwarz, who captured her fourth national championship after
redshirting last year. “We’re going to be pretty solid
for the next few years.”
UCLA was seeking revenge against USC on two fronts. It was these
same Trojans that ended UCLA’s season in last year’s
national semifinals, scraping by the Bruins 5-4.
The Bruins were also in hot pursuit of avenging a loss to USC in
the finals of the MPSF tournament. UCLA had beaten the Trojans
three previous in 2000 before losing to USC 9-7.
UCLA (30-5) captured their fourth national title in five years
and its first without Guy Baker at the helm. Baker is serving as
the head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team but has
maintained status as co-head coach, consulting his cohort,
Krikorian, for the past two years. The championship ring is
Krikorian’s sixth total, his fifth while serving as
coach.
Though the Indianapolis 500 is still three weeks away, UCLA
players were given the green light early and often by Krikorian in
an effort to generate early scoring opportunities.
Zivich almost single-handedly propelled the Bruins to the title
game. The sophomore attacker, who garnered MPSF All-Conference
second-team honors during the regular season, scored four goals in
piloting the Bruins to a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over
California Saturday in the semifinals.
UCLA manhandled Michigan in the first round as eight different
players scored, including four by Zivich and three by fellow
sophomore Eleanor Murphy, en route to a 15-2 victory.
The Bruins then upended UC Davis by a duplicate score as all 14
players saw game action. Seniors von Schwarz and Erin Golaboski and
freshmen Ashley Stachowski and Maureen Flanagan each scored a pair
of goals.
With a roster comprised of eight freshmen and seven sophomores,
UCLA now seemingly has firmly planted the roots for a women’s
water polo dynasty.
“Dynasties are made after the fact, not before,”
explained Krikorian. For us, we have to take it year by
year.”
Freshman sensation Lopez was an integral factor in the
Bruins’ success all season long. She earned honorable mention
All-MPSF honors and exuded immense poise and maturity,
characteristics not usually associated with exuberant freshmen.
And then there’s Zivich, the leading scorer for the past
two years. No. 11 came into the tournament a great player and left
a
bona fide collegiate star.
“I mean, it’s the championship game and everyone
plays? This is going to be a dynasty. If not a dynasty, then this
it’s definitely the beginning of something special,”
Zivich added.
The Bruins lose senior Carly Herrera, Serela Kay, Golaboski and
von Schwarz, but they return the core of their lineup and are
expecting a huge impact from a top-notch incoming freshman
class.
Theirs is a legacy the underclassman will revere, and perhaps in
time, surpass.