Quest for Title #108: Men's Water Polo vs. U$C

by Bellerophon on Dec 4, 2011 9:44 AM PST

Typically, we re-cap all the non-revenue action on Monday, but today is a big day: Adam Wright's #2-seeded men's water polo team will take on the hated U$C Trojans for the national title this afternoon, with the match getting underway at 3 p.m. PST at the Spieker Aquatics Complex at UC Berkeley (yes, seriously, they have a Spieker too).

To get here, the Bruins had to face #3-seeded UC San Diego in the NCAA tournament semi-final on Saturday. But, despite the seeding being close, the match never was, with the Bruins slaughtering the Tritons 10-1 to easily advance to the title match which will feature a re-match of the MPSF conference final. The Bruins played tight defense and spread the goal-scoring around, getting goals from seven different players, being led by braces from Cullen Hennessy, Bret Lathrope, and Griffin White. Starting goalkeeper Matt Rapacz wasn't tested much, needing to only make three saves in the first three quarters, giving way to sophomore back-up goalkeeper James Hartshorne, who impressed with four saves, conceding none, in his one quarter of action.

The Bruins will take on a powerful Trojan team that they've faced four times this year, splitting the series an even 2-2. So, this match decides not only the season series, but comes with a national title. On the year, every match between the cross-town rivals has been a close contest, the last one being a 10-9 sudden death overtime victory for the Bruins to grab the MPSF conference title.

This appearance in the national title game will be the Bruins' first appearance since 2009, when they lost the title to none other than U$C. A victory will mark the first title for the men since 2004 and the first men's national title for UCLA in any sport since 2008 (men's golf).

The match gets underway at 3 p.m. PST and will be streamed live at NCAA.com.

GO BRUINS

BEAT 'SC!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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