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Men’s water polo coach Adam Krikorian will lead the Bruin team into the MPSF tournament thi

MEN'S WATER POLO All Weekend MPSF Tournament Irvine, CA

It’s do or die this weekend for the UCLA men’s water polo team. After finishing their regular conference season with a 6-2 record, the Bruins head into the final tournament seeded third in both the conference and the nation. As they travel to Irvine for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference tournament, they will have to face off against the top teams in the nation in order to continue to the NCAA tournament the following weekend. If the Bruins want to ensure they appear in the NCAA tournament they will need to win the conference tournament outright. Meaning, if the seeding for the tournament is an indicator of how the individual teams will perform, the Bruins will need to defeat No. 2 Cal on Saturday and No. 1 USC on Sunday to extend their season and have a shot at UCLA’s 100th title. “I think we have a really good chance,” UCLA senior defender Michael March said. “I have complete confidence in the team. When we are on, we are so good. I have played with tons of different guys – all kinds of UCLA and international players and I know we have a talented group of guys.” Defeating both teams is something the Bruins have yet to do this season. The Trojans are currently riding a 23-game winning streak and are undefeated in the 2006 season. The Bears, on the other hand, fell to USC last weekend, ensuring their No. 2 tournament seeding. Rather than traveling home for Thanksgiving break, the men’s team will stay in the Los Angeles area, practicing and preparing for the most important weekend of its season to date. “It all depends on this weekend,” coach Adam Krikorian said. “We have to win the tournament in order to win NCAAs. “This is the biggest weekend of the year for us.” On Friday, UCLA will face the Pacific Tigers at 1 p.m. The last time the Bruins met the Tigers, the Bruins defeated them by a margin of five goals. Despite the relatively easy victory, the Bruins are not looking past the strong, physical Pacific team. “I know it’s cliche, but you have got to take it one game at a time,” Krikorian said. “They (Pacific) are a tall, physical team and we need to focus on that before we get on to anything else.” The team is hungry for the title. The Bruins showed that they have the ability to play with the top teams by taking the No. 1 Trojans into double overtime in late October. The Bruins fell to No. 2 Cal by only a single goal in early November. “We’ll go out and give it our best,” senior Will Didinger said. “I know it’s going to happen.” Confidence may prove to be a central component in claiming the conference title and much of that will be needed to accomplish a feat they have yet to achieve all season.

BRUINS HONORED: For his outstanding performance over the weekend, March was named MPSF Mikasa Player of the Week, along with USC’s Jovan Vranes. March, a team captain, scored a total of five goals against both Long Beach State and UC Irvine, bringing his total on the year to 20 goals scored. The week before, senior and fellow captain Logan Powell received the same honor for his contributions in UCLA’s matches against Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara.