Women's Water Polo Signs Six Players
November 30, 2015 | Women's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – UCLA women's water polo adds six to its roster for the 2016-17 season. Head coach Brandon Brooks announced that Jenna Hurst, Brooke Maxson, Madeline Musselman, Tara Prentice, Emma Skelly, and Bridgett Storm have signed letters of intent to study at UCLA and play water polo for the Bruins.
“This recruiting class of girls is exceptional,” said Brooks. “They are all talented and really good people. To add a group like this to what we already have in the program makes me very excited for the future here in Westwood. I think there are certain traits that make people want to be Bruins and work to compete at the highest level, and this group is full of those people.”
Jenna Hurst – Attacker
As a junior, Hurst turned in a banner season with 94 goals, 90 assists, and 56 steals. As a result, she earned Coastal Canyon League MVP honors, CIF Division 4 Player of the Year accolades, and 2015 Daily News Player of the Year honors.
Hurst had her share of commanding goal-scoring showings with a seven-goal effort against Harvard-Westlake in the Southern California Championships in Irvine and five goals in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 final against Riverside Poly.
“Jenna is a quick attacker who also brings the game intelligence that I really like to have on my team,” said Brooks of the Royal High School standout. “She has a great attitude and does a lot of fundamental things very well in order to make her teams better.”
The UCLA-bound attacker was selected to the U.S. Cadet U-16 National Team as a junior. She broke Royal High School's single-season scoring record as a freshman with 95 goals, and set new marks in assists (62) and ejections drawn (52) as a sophomore. Hurst racked up 167 goals in her first two seasons at Royal, which placed her at third on the all-time career scoring list.
Brooke Maxson – Attacker
Maxson helped Foothill finish as the CIF-SS Division 1 runner-up last season to Laguna Beach while racking up 33 goals, 28 assists, and 34 steals.
“Brooke is a quiet competitor,” said Brooks of Maxson's playing style. “She plays great defense and has excellent speed which fits well with our style of play. A great compliment to Brooke's game is just how much people enjoy having her on their team. She is the kind of player a coach can trust to make the smart play all the time.”
Maddie Musselman – Attacker
The top-ranked recruit in the nation, Musselman is an All-County performer from Corona del Mar who recently helped the Americans win gold at the FINA World Championships. The Westwood-bound star netted five goals to assist Team USA to a gold medal win at 2015 FINA World Championships and she recorded nine goals at 2015 Pan American Games, in which Team USA won gold. She also added six goals in Team USA's run to gold in 2015 FINA Intercontinental Tournament.
While playing for Corona del Mar, she helped lead the team to a CIF-SS Division I Championship in 2013.
Signed my NLI in Rio de Janeiro today. Go Bruins💙💛🐻 #11/12/15 woo! @UCLAWaterPolo @USAWP ❤️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/cOL4tGzX6R
— Maddie Musselman (@maddiemusselman) November 12, 2015
"I was looking at the combination of academics, campus life and, of course, water polo," Musselman said of her decision. "There are many great schools and programs, and over the course of the year, it came down to where I felt I belong."
“Maddie is an exceptional kid and we are very happy she has decided to be a Bruin,” said Brooks. “She has great physical abilities and leadership qualities that she is getting to work on at the international level at a very young age. I think her combination of humility and competitive drive are rare and she is going to do great things at UCLA.”
Maddie's sister, Alex Musselman, is a former Corona del Mar standout and a senior goalkeeper at UCLA.
Tara Prentice – Utility
Prentice earned All-CIF-SS Division 2 First Team honors last season. She led the Nighthawks with five goals in the semifinals of the CIF SS Division 2 playoffs.
Before transferring to Murrieta Valley High School, Prentice was the Inland area's leading goal scorer, netting 116 goals for Temecula Great Oak as a sophomore. She also posted 86 assists and 112 steals that season. As a freshman, she tallied 76 goals, 74 assists, and 132 steals.
“Tara came to our water polo camp three years ago as a shy kid,” said Brooks of Prentice's development over the years. “It has been a joy to watch her grow into someone who can find a place on our Junior National Team. Her eagerness to learn and get better are complemented by her speed and length. She is a versatile player and will be able to play almost any position in the pool.”
Emma Skelly – Attacker
Skelly, a first-team All-County attacker from Orange Lutheran, paced the squad with 109 goals last season. She also led the team to a Trinity League championship title and helped Orange Lutheran reach the Division I quarterfinals.
”Emma has been working really hard in a great high school program and is a player who knows how to score the ball,” said Brooks of Skelly's work ethic. “She has so much potential to get better in leaps and bounds. I'm confident that in years to come she is going to be hitting big shots for UCLA.”
Bridgett Storm – Center
Storm, a member of the U.S. Women's Youth National Team, was a first-team All-Pacific Coast League selection for Corona del Mar last winter, helping the Sea Kings win another PCL title and advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals. She had 28 goals, seven assists, and eight steals while splitting time at two meters.
“Bridgett is a player who without question puts the team first in every situation,” Brooks said of Storm's versatility. “She can play center, defender, and attacker if we need her to. She has an exceptional motor when she is in the game and she will continue to improve. She is sure to make the players around her better.”
"They have the school spirit," Storm said of the Bruins, comparing the UCLA-USC rivalry to Corona del Mar's with Newport Harbor. "UCLA is very school spirit-based, and I really like that."