Alex Roelse and his UCLA teammates gathered poolside Sunday afternoon for a quick celebratory photo before hopping back into the water to commence their warm-down.
The sequence had a rote feel to it, as if it was just another victory. That’s exactly what it was.
The Bruins men’s water polo team has made winning as routine as breathing over the last 689 days. UCLA eclipsed the NCAA record in the sport Sunday when it defeated UC Davis, 15-8, tallying its 52nd consecutive victory.
The winning streak ranks second among all sports in UCLA’s storied history, trailing only the men’s basketball team’s 88-game romp in the early 1970s.