Twenty of the top water polo teams nationwide – nearly every Division I team in the country – will compete at this weekend’s Nor Cal Tournament in Stockton.

UCLA enters the prestigious mid-season tournament as the No. 4 seed, itching to rebound from a disappointing performance at the So Cal Tournament, where the Bruins lost two matches by one goal to No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 Cal two weeks ago.

Although the losses may seem too early to have any ramifications on the Bruins’ season, any loss will hurt the team come the end of the season.

“Every game during the season is so important,” coach Adam Krikorian said. “They only take two teams from our conference into the NCAA tournament, and it’s critical that we have the best record we can going into the conference tournament. One loss can really hurt.”

UCLA will get its chance this weekend to rebound, as well as demonstrate to the tournament that it is the team to beat. With the single-elimination format of the Nor Cal Tournament, the competition is wide open.

Last year, Cal took home the Nor Cal title, and the Bruins defeated USC for the championship two years ago.

This weekend, the Bruins open up play on Saturday at 12:50 p.m. against the winner of the Navy and Santa Clara game. If the Bruins win, they will play the team that emerges from the UC Irvine and Long Beach State match Saturday evening.

With the Bruins coming off a 6-4 win over a much-improved UC Irvine last week, the team hopes to continue to regain its top form.

Although UCLA is expected to advance through the early rounds, Krikorian won’t overlook any of the teams UCLA may play this weekend.

“We’re more talented than a lot of these teams, but not that much more talented,” Krikorian said. “We have to keep up our intensity and play with a killer instinct.”

Several of his players agreed.

“To win, we have to keep up our concentration, focus and intensity,” goalkeeper Joe Axelrad said. “And the most important thing for us is keeping it for four games.”

“We have to come out strong and play physical,” senior center defender Ted Peck said.

Even if UCLA does not win the tournament, individuals will likely reach a couple of milestones this weekend.

Krikorian is two wins away from his 100th win, and three-time All-American Brett Ormsby is three goals away from reaching the 200-goal plateau.