Big Waves Forecast for Water Polo Event

The Pepperdine men’s water polo team may have been looking toward this weekend’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference tournament a week early.

Although the Waves, 22-1 overall and 10-0 in the conference, defeated last-place Long Beach State, 7-6, Saturday in their final game of the regular season, they didn’t play like a team that has been No. 1 in the nation most of the season.

The Waves had already clinched the top seeding in the conference tournament earlier in the month and were riding out the rest of the season when Long Beach State (10-16, 1-7) nearly pulled off the upset.

So Coaches Terry Schroeder and Jim McMillan went back to the basics during Monday’s 2 1/2-hour practice in preparation for Friday’s opening-round game against Pacific or Long Beach State at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

“If we play like we practiced today, I don’t see why we shouldn’t win it,” Schroeder said Monday.

The conference champion gets an automatic berth in the NCAA championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Dec. 5 and 7.

However, Pepperdine has a luxury that no other team has--it probably doesn’t have to win the conference tournament to advance to the NCAA championships.

After their first undefeated season in conference play, the Waves probably will earn an at-large bid for the fourth and final spot in the NCAA tournament if they are upset this weekend.

UC Davis from the Western Water Polo Assn. and Queens College from the Eastern Water Polo Assn. are the two other schools already in the field.

All nine teams in the MPSF are ranked in the top 10, and two teams from the conference are expected to be represented in the NCAA tournament.

“I don’t think the pressure will be on us; we’re not in a do-or-die situation,” Schroeder said. “If we happen to play UCLA or USC in the semis, the pressure is going to be more on them. It’s a nice advantage to have.”

UCLA, the two-time defending NCAA champion, and USC, which won the conference tournament last season, will have to win the conference title outright to advance.

One of the two schools’ NCAA tournament hopes will end Friday. The fourth-seeded Trojans and fifth-seeded Bruins will meet in the first round, with the loser having no chance of reaching the championship game.

As for Pepperdine, which has an eight-game winning streak, winning the tournament is no lock. Stanford, ranked second nationally, is seeded second in the conference tournament. The Cardinal defeated Pepperdine, 4-2, in the semifinals of the Northern California tournament Oct. 19.

“The guys are smart enough to realize [being No. 1] doesn’t mean anything this time of the year,” Schroeder said.

Schroeder and McMillan both say this year’s team is one of the best ever at Pepperdine. The scoring is spread out and the team thrives on defense.

In a rematch victory over Stanford on Nov. 2, seven players scored. The Waves have won four consecutive games without a goal from Jeremy Pope, the team’s leading scorer with 45 goals.

On defense, the Waves held their opponents to fewer than seven goals in 18 games behind goalie Merrill Moses’ 4.55 goals-against average.

“The chemistry is better and I think there are more weapons on the team than we ever had before,” said Schroeder, who has coached the Waves for 12 years. “There is great balance. It’s not going to be a one-man show.”

University Beat Notes

The UCLA men’s and women’s soccer teams will continue on their quests for NCAA tournament titles this weekend. The women will travel to South Bend, Ind., to play second-seeded Notre Dame (22-0-1) in the quarterfinals Saturday at 10 a.m. The unseeded Bruins (19-2) defeated Southern Methodist, 3-2, Saturday in Dallas after Sarah Miller’s game-winning goal in the 73rd minute. UCLA is 10-0 on the road.

After beating Santa Clara for the first time, 3-0, the UCLA men’s soccer team advanced to the second round and will face Washington on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Spaulding Field. The matchup features the return of former Bruin assistant and current Washington Coach Dean Wurzberger, who coached with Sigi Schmidt from 1986-88. The two also share coaching duties in the off-season with the U.S. under-18 national team.

The USC women’s volleyball team (21-5) finished in second place, its best since the Pacific 10 was formed for women’s volleyball in 1986, and Coach Lisa Love recorded her sixth 20-win season in nine years at USC. . . . The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team won the Big West Conference title Sunday and became only the fourth team to go undefeated in conference matches at 16-0. Long Beach (28-1), ranked No. 1 in the nation, will be a lock to claim a top seeding in one of four regions in December’s NCAA tournament. The bracket will be announced Sunday.