Every morning is a trip down memory lane for UCLA coach Adam
Krikorian.
As he walks into his office on the second floor of the J.D.
Morgan Center, Krikorian is greeted by images of his 10
championship teams, three of which he captured in his six years as
the head coach of the women’s program.
To his right and left, pictures, posters and magazine covers
adorn the walls, covering virtually every sliver of space in his
office. And behind his desk, there is space to add some new
memories.
Considered by many to be the most dominant team ever assembled
in women’s water polo, this year’s top-ranked UCLA team
is the heavy favorite to capture another championship.
“There’s no question we’re going to have some
easy games this year because we’re so talented,”
Krikorian said. “We’re going to beat some teams up
pretty good. We can honestly field two teams that can possibly win
a national championship.”
Besides returning virtually every player from last season, the
Bruins will also welcome back five U.S. Olympians to the squad.
Having been a part of a bronze-medal team in Athens, Greece, senior
Natalie Golda, junior Thalia Munro, sophomores Amber Stachowski and
Kelly Rulon, and freshman Gabrielle Domanic will spearhead a UCLA
team that seems virtually unbeatable in every aspect.
Michigan coach Matt Anderson, whose ninth-ranked Wolverines lost
13-3 to the Bruins this past Sunday, called UCLA the greatest team
ever assembled. That sentiment is commonly held throughout
collegiate water polo circles.
“I’m flattered; it’s great when people have
such respect for how talented this team is,” Munro said with
a smile. “Hopefully we’ll have our own expectations as
to what it is we want to be considered at the end of the season,
but hopefully it’s true.”
Yet, Krikorian isn’t going to let the perception his team
cannot be beaten enter the minds of his players.
“All that is talk,” he said. “You leave that
to the fans, the media. We’re not concerned about that.
“But we certainly expect to dominate teams. Depending on
teams we play, we think we’re going to be good enough to
handle teams easily. We want to play good water polo and put on a
show. That’s our focus.”
Nevertheless, the idea that this could be the most dominating
team ever assembled has been a topic of discussion in the water
polo community.
With 16 players already having international experience, the
Bruins are brimming with elite talent. And more than anything, the
scariest proposition for teams facing UCLA is the number of
potential lineups that Krikorian might throw into the pool.
“There are so many good players, you can spend a few weeks
preparing for all the different personnel combinations,”
Stanford coach John Tanner said. “People will be excited to
play against UCLA.”
Four of the team’s five Olympians will likely start this
weekend at the Stanford Invitational, relegating the core of last
year’s team, that finished fourth in the nation composed
entirely of freshmen and sophomores, to the bench.
“Everybody will be out to get us; every single team will
bring their best game to play us,” Golda said. “We
can’t let down for a second, but it’s that kind of
confidence that we need to realize we’re the best and that we
have a reputation to uphold.”
It’s that perception that has made it difficult for UCLA
to fill its non-conference schedule in large part because of the
sheer hesitation that exists when an opposing coach looks at the
firepower the Bruins’ possess.
This past week at the Michigan Invitational, UCLA was originally
supposed to play four matches, yet only played three because teams
simply didn’t want to play the Bruins. According to
Krikorian, rival Stanford and 2004 NCAA champion USC, both missing
players at the Junior World Championships this past weekend,
declined invitations to the tournament because they didn’t
want to face the Bruins at half strength.
Despite losing five of its players to the Junior Worlds,
including starting sophomore goalie Emily Feher, UCLA still had the
depth and talent to squash its opponents by a collective score of
49-5.
“There are going to be some teams that will give up before
the game even starts, but I guarantee (some) teams won’t give
up and they’ll believe they can beat us,” Krikorian
said.
The teams that pose the biggest threat to the Bruins appear to
be No. 2 USC, No. 3 Stanford and No. 4 Loyola Marymount, which has
a pair of Canadian 2004 National Team members.
Yet the lineups those teams possess lack the depth of
UCLA’s star-studded roster. That could make overconfidence
the lone threat to derail the Bruins, but Golda does not feel egos
will get in the way of the team’s success.
“Controlled confidence,” Golda said. “We know
we work hard, that we train harder, and that we have the most
talent in the country at any university and no one can touch us,
and it’s that confidence that we have that feeds our work
ethic.”
With members of last year’s squad still tasting the
bitterness of failing to make it to the Final Four, the first time
that has happened in Krikorian’s tenure as a head coach, that
result will ultimately motivate them for this season.
“Every year UCLA strives to win a national championship,
so it was obviously a big disappointment,” sophomore driver
Lauren Heineck said of last year. “But as much as it was a
letdown, we did well considering. It allowed a lot of players to go
through a year of turmoil and it let everyone on this year’s
team gain experience. Strength through adversity.”
The biggest challenge for this year’s squad may be
adapting and learning to play with one another. With over half of
the players not being a part of the team last season, Krikorian
believes there will unquestionably be an adjustment period.
That doesn’t, however, keep him from envisioning himself
jumping into the pool after the championship match this May.
Every day that Krikorian enters his office, he glances at the
picture that sits in a plastic frame behind his leather chair
““ the one of him celebrating in the water with his team after
the Bruins captured the 2003 NCAA Championship.
And though his office is filled with memorable images,
there’s always room for one more.