“Are you ready to play or not?” Wright shouted to his team, in a circle on the pool deck as George Washington players waited in the water.
Their play riddled with errors, the Bruins did not appear prepared for the NCAA tournament at first. But by the time UCLA completed an 18-6 victory at Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Center, Wright felt renewed confidence in his team. The game, he said, allowed the Bruins to correct their mistakes before facing USC in the semifinals Saturday.
UCLA only needed 23 seconds to take the lead, with a goal from sophomore Nicholas Seveljic beginning a 4-0 run.