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UCLA Men’s Water Polo Starts Strong

By Mike Regalado

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Jan 12, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; A UCLA Bruins logo at the entrance to Pauley Pavilion before the UCLA Bruins defeated Arizona State Sun Devils 87-72. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Fielding-USA TODAY Sports

There is another UCLA sports team that is starting strong this year and they are UCLA Men’s Water Polo, the #3 ranked team in the nation that started with a strong 4-0 start at the Triton Invitational in San Diego this weekend. The Bruins ran through four teams, scoring 20 goals in the first three games and 13 goals against the #10 ranked team in the nation, UC San Diego. Here were the weekend results:

vs Redlands, 26-1

vs Cal Baptist, 21-3

vs #14 Loyola Marymount, 22-2

vs #10 UC San Diego, 13-5

So yeah, they are pretty good.

It also helps that the Bruins have their top three goal scorers returning for what should be an offensive threat for UCLA this season. Senior Paul Reynolds, junior Danny McClintick and sophomore Ryder Roberts combined for 121 of the total 436 goals UCLA put in net last season. And that is just the start of the talent the Bruins have on this squad.

But right now, the Bruins are just focusing on the season and trying to get back to the top of the NCAA, which means going through crosstown rival USC. The Trojans are winners of six consecutive NCAA championships and have done anything but step back this year. In fact, although these schools with water polo operate in the MPSF (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), four Pac-12 schools dominate the top of the rankings.

1. Stanford

2. USC

3. UCLA

4. Cal

5. Pacific

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    • The Bruins play all of these teams at least once this coming season. And as far as the rest of the Top 20, UCLA goes into battle with #6 Long Beach State, #7 UC Santa Barabara, #8 UC Irvine, #9 Pepperdine, #11 UC Davis, #13 Princeton and #19 Whittier at some point this season. This will be no walk in the park for the Bruins.

    Still, UCLA head coach Adam Wright has the Bruins hungry for something other than winning regular season games. The goal here is Men’s Water Polo championship #9 and UCLA championship #112. Wright had lead the Bruins 28-4 season last year, only to lose to Stanford in the quarterfinal game and have salt poured in the wounds for a third-place game loss to Pacific. This year, UCLA looks to have themselves a different finish to the season.

    UCLA Men’s Water Polo, Next 5 Games:

    UCLA Invite

    Sat, Sep 13 vs Whittier, 8 a.m. PT

    Sat, Sep 13 vs Long Beach State, 10:30 a.m. (exhibition)

    Sat, Sep 13 vs Pepperdine, 2:15 p.m. (exhibition)

    Sat, Sep 13 vs Stanford, 6 p.m. (exhibition)

    Inland Empire Classic

    Sat, Sep 13 vs La Verne, 9 a.m.

    Go Bruins!