SMOKE ON WATER ONE-TIME RIVALS SCORING BIG AT STANFORD - AND BEYOND.

Byline: Heather Gripp  Staff Writer

Peter Hudnut had a hunch there was something special about Tony Azevedo the first time they met. They were just kids, and Hudnut never had seen Azevedo play, but by the time Hudnut graduated from Harvard-Westlake High in Studio City, there was no doubt left about Azevedo's extraordinary water polo talent.

After a high school career in which Azevedo was the premier player on a Long beach Wilson team that routinely was one of the few to beat Harvard-Westlake, Azevedo and Hudnut reunited at Stanford to form one of the most dangerous duos in men's college water polo. In their final weekend as college teammates, they have a chance to earn a second consecutive national championship.

Stanford is the No. 1 seed at the four-team NCAA Championships, which begin today at Loyola Marymount with Stanford facing No. 4 UC San Diego at noon. No. 2 Cal plays Queens in the other semifinal for a berth in Sunday's championship match.

``This is the time to rock and roll,'' Azevedo said. ``It's time to go, time to play our best. I think we let up last weekend after we beat Pacific (in the conference tournament to secure an NCAA berth, after which Stanford lost twice), but we know what it takes to get this. ...

``We've got a lot of good players on this team. And the way Peter and I work together, we just know each other so well, it's incredible.''

Azevedo, who is only a sophomore because he redshirted in 2000 to play in the Olympics, repeated as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of Year. He led the conference with a school-record 90 goals, helping Stanford to a 22-5 record and its 23rd trip to NCAA Final Four.

Hudnut, a senior hole man, was a first-team All-MPSF selection for a second year in a row. He has 42 goals this season, giving him 131 in his career, 15th on the Cardinal's all-time list.

Although their days as college teammates are coming to an end, Hudnut and Azevedo look forward to playing together much longer. Both are members of the U.S. Senior National Team. Azevedo was the youngest member of the U.S. team at the 2000 Olympics.

``With him going to the Olympics, his game got exceptionally better,'' Hudnut said. ``That's beneficial to our whole team. We all share and grow off each other's experience, and he brings a lot to the table. ... He knows so much about the game, he's like another assistant coach there in the water.''

Hanging out with the national team is how Hudnut and Azevedo first met. Hudnut had tagged along to a practice with his club coach, Rich Corso, who also was a coach with the national team and later would be Hudnut's coach in high school. Azevedo, whose father also was involved with the national team, was there on the pool deck, too.

``We were just kids hanging out,'' said Hudnut, who later attended the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where he watched Azevedo serve as a ball boy. ``Tony had been playing forever. I was kind of new to the sport.''

The friendship blossomed during high school. Their appreciation for each other was further strengthened during summers as teammates on the Junior National Team.

``Whenever we played against them, it was a fun rivalry,'' Azevedo said of the games against Harvard-Westlake. ``It was always a big game, important, but it was fun. I'd get excited because it was someone you knew. I knew how good Peter was. It was a different kind of rivalry than like against Foothill, where it's we have to beat them because we hate them.''

While Hudnut enjoyed playing against Azevedo in high school, his memories of the meetings aren't as fun-filled; Azevedo's Bruins made a habit of winning. They won Southern Section titles in each of Azevedo's four years at the school. Hudnut's final high school game was a loss to Wilson in the 1998 Southern Section Division I final, in which Azevedo outscored Hudnut four goals to three.

Hudnut looks forward to a happier ending this time with Azevedo on his side.

``It's good to finish my career here,'' Hudnut said. ``It's fun to be playing with guys you know and to have a chance to go out a winner.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Tony Azevedo, here, in white cap, firing a shot at the Croatian goal in the 2000 Olympics, and Harvard-Westlake graduate Peter Hudnut have led Stanford to the brink of a second NCAA championship in water polo.

Greg Baker/Associated Press

(2) HUDNUT

(3) AZEVEDO

Box:

NCAA MEN'S WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS At Loyola Marymount