New recruits make a big splash as the Waves kick off their season with wins against UCLA and Claremont-McKenna.
By Erica Sigman
Staff Writer
The Pepperdine men’s water polo team kicked off the start of the 2003-2004 season with two solid victories at home.
On Saturday afternoon, the No. 5 Waves defeated No. 4 UCLA 7-4 and Claremont-Mckenna 16-4 at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool. Pepperdine left the weekend with a 2-0 record overall and left the Bruins at 1-1 and Claremont-McKenna at 0-2.
While the Waves were able to get a sneak peak at the new freshmen prior to the open of the season, it was only during these first two games that they were really able to see just how valuable these freshmen are.
“I felt confident and ready to play,” freshman driver Garrit Barth said. “I was very excited to play my first game with Pepperdine.”
Barth, who scored a goal a piece against each opponent, was not the only new player making his debut.
Junior goalkeeper Ben Tait came to Pepperdine this season with a year and a half on the New Zealand national team under his belt, and his experienced showed. When asked how it felt to play with the Waves for the first time, there was no hesitation.
“It was amazing,” Tait said. “It’s what I’ve been waiting to do for a long time.”
The coaching staff said they were extremely pleased with the performance of the new players.
“I’m very excited about the freshmen,” assistant coach Alex Rodriguez said. “The freshmen are very talented and have a great attitude. Our team has a good future.”
Pepperdine dominated the Bruins throughout the entire game, outscoring UCLA in the first two quarters and holding them scoreless in the second half.
“UCLA didn’t seem as strong of a team as I thought they would be,” Barth said. “When I got in the pool and played against them, I didn’t feel as if they were anything special. They’re a strong team, but we’re stronger.”
The success of Pepperdine was due in large part to the phenomenal defense.
“We did outstanding on defense, especially our two-meter guards,” Tait said. “It made my job a lot easier.”
The depth of the Pepperdine squad is shown with six different players scoring to help defeat UCLA. Leading the attack for the Waves was junior two-meter man Morgan Matthies with two goals.
Pepperdine closed the day with an uncontested win against Claremont-McKenna. Scoring a total of 16 goals and holding Claremont to just four, some might say the game was more like a cool down than an actual match.
“It was a really mellow game,” Barth said. “It was a good time to get more playing time and to work on different things. It was a good way to get a feel for how the team comes together.”
According to the players, this Saturday was the perfect way to kick off the season.
“We’re a close knit team,” Tait said. “We all have the desire to win.”
This coming weekend, the Waves go to Irvine to compete in the SoCal tournament.
“This tournament is extremely important,” Rodriguez said. “Last year we didn’t get the at-large bid in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament because we didn’t place in the top four in the SoCal tournament. We need to place in the top four and possibly make it to the final two.”
The players have high hopes for their individual performances as well as the teams.
“I just hope to keep playing well,” Barth said. “I hope the team keeps performing well and that we come up on top.”
As of now, the Waves are undefeated and hope to maintain a winning record throughout the season.
“We have concerns as far as consistency, but all in all I think we are capable of beating anybody at anytime,” Rodriguez said.
Pepperdine fans can contribute to the Waves’ achievements by simply showing as much support as possible.
“We had a lot of support at these past two games,” Tait said. “The fans made it a lot more fun.”
The Waves play UCLA at 2:30 p.m. this Saturday at UC Irvine and compete against Cal Baptist later that night at 6:55 p.m. Sunday’s games will depend on the outcome of Saturday.
September 18, 2003