UCLA
Pacific
No. 2 Men's Water Polo Overpowers Pacific 15-8
October 24, 1999 | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 24, 1999
WESTWOOD, Calif. - Bolstered by hat tricks from redshirt freshman Kyle Baumgarner and junior Adam Wright, the No. 2 UCLA men's water polo squad scored a season-high 15 points en route to a commanding 15-8 conference victory over sixth-ranked University of the Pacific at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center Sunday afternoon.
The victory preserves a six-game conference-winning streak for the Bruins, as UCLA improves to 13-2 overall and a perfect 6-0 record in MPSF action. Pacific drops to 10-8 overall and 1-4 versus conference opponents.
Junior Dave Parker scored on the Bruins' first possession and was quickly followed by junior Brian Brown to post a 2-0 lead. Pacific senior Andrew Tri netted a goal to cut the Bruin advantage to 2-1 before Baumgarner scored the first goal of his collegiate career. Senior Gabe Esposto tried to close in on the Bruins with another goal, only to have Wright and Baumgarner answer back with points of their own, keeping the Tigers at bay.
Junior Sean Kern, who scored five points in the 13-6 victory over Pepperdine yesterday, notched two goals in the second quarter, propelling the Bruin offense which held a nine point lead at one point in the fourth quarter. Other scorers for UCLA included senior Matt Armato, sophomore Jeff Pflueger, and juniors Andy Bailey and Blake Wellen.
Half of Pacific's points came from two-point goals by juniors Sergey Bushuev and Brett Ehlers. UCLA freshman goalkeeper Brandon Brooks pulled down six saves, while senior Tiger goalie Jeff Johnson tallied seven.
The Bruins' unbeaten conference record will be on the line when they travel south to take on UC Irvine Saturday, Oct. 30 in Irvine. UCLA will then face non-conference opponent UC San Diego in La Jolla Sunday, Oct. 31. Both matches are scheduled to begin at noon.
Pacific 2 1 3 2= 8
UCLA 5 3 3 4= 15
Pacific: Sergey Bushuev 3, Brett Ehlers 2, Gabe Esposto, Chris Lund , Andrew Tri.UCLA: Kyle Baumgarner 3, Adam Wright 3, Brian Brown 2, Sean Kern 2, Matt Armato,
Andy Bailey, Dave Parker, Jeff Pflueger, Blake Wellen.
Saves: Pacific-Jeff Johnson 7, UCLA-Brandon Brooks 6.
