The U men’s water polo team pulled off a couple of upsets on its way to claiming the 2009 UC-Davis Invitational during the weekend. The No. 14-ranked Utes knocked off No. 2 Cal Poly by a score of 12-8 and No. 4 UCLA 11-5.
The Utes traveled to UC-Davis on Saturday to compete in the invitational, which included 12 of the top teams in the country. The Utes won their first game against host UC-Davis by a score of 5-2, the first Utah victory against UC-Davis in two years. In pool play, Utah lost to the University of Arizona on Saturday morning but advanced after defeating No. 2 Cal Poly on Saturday night.
Although the UC-Davis Invitational is not part of division play and does not affect the overall records, the Utes are enthusiastic about the win and are looking to move up in the national ranking.
“We were a little bit surprised at how well we were playing together, especially beating such quality teams,” said Matt Clark, senior driver and captain of the team. “We were very excited and emotional.”
Utah faced No. 4 UCLA in the semifinal and beat the Bruins by a score of 11-5. The Utes advanced to the championship game to defeat UC-Berkeley 8-4.
“With two minutes left in the championship game, we were up 8-2, and we felt really good about that,” Clark said. “We’d held them to just two points for most of the game. We played a solid game with awesome defense.”
Senior goalie Sam Thomas was named MVP of the tournament. Thomas blocked two penalty shots, one during the semifinal and one in the championship game, to help his team continue its strong defensive play.
As for the offensive aspect of the Utes, Clark said the success is a manifestation of the fluent teamwork and every player doing his part.
“It’s not just one person,” Clark said. “The goal scoring was widespread. Eight different players contributed in scoring.”
Utah kicked off the ’09 season two weeks ago, hosting a tournament at the Park City Aquatic Center. Both A and B teams (somewhat equivalent of varsity and junior varsity) quickly splashed their way to 3-1 records. Both teams lost one game each to the University of Colorado, but recorded dominating wins against their Rocky Mountain Division opponents University of Denver and Colorado State University.
Last season, the A team fared well in the regular season but lost to Air Force Academy in the division championship. Utah is looking to redeem the loss as it heads to Colorado Springs to compete in the Oct. 3-4 tournament hosted by Air Force.
“We have a sort of rivalry with Air Force,” Clark said. “The games against them have always been physical and competitive. They have a great program and they recruit very well.”
Ultimately, the team hopes to take the momentum from UC-Davis Invitational all the way to the University of Florida, where the National Championship will be held this year. To do so, the players must first emerge triumphant in the four-team race to win the Rocky Mountain Division Championship, which will be held in Denver, Colo., in October.