UCLA
Hawai'i
UCLA Falls to USC at UCI Invite
February 29, 2016 | Women's Water Polo
IRVINE, Calif. – For the second straight invitational, the second-ranked UCLA women's water polo team faced top-ranked USC in the championship game. Once again, the Bruins fell to the Trojans. Coming away from the UCI Invitational with a 3-1 record, the Bruins improve to 11-2 on the season.
UCLA kicked off Sunday's action with a 10-6 win over sixth-ranked Hawai'i. The Bruins came out like gang busters, netting four goals in the first quarter. Charlotte Pratt opened scoring for the squad, and Ashley Zwirner, Alexa Tielmann, and Lizette Rozeboom followed suit. Hawai'i held UCLA scoreless in the second quarter while notching one of its own. At the half, the Bruins led 4-3.
In the third quarter, UCLA lit up the cage with a barrage of goals from Devin Grab, Pratt, Tielmann, Zwirner, and India Forster. Hawai'i netted two to bring the score to 9-5. The 'Bows were unable to keep pace, however, as time wound down on the clock. At the buzzer, the Bruins had secured their spot in the title game.
In a rematch of the Triton Invitational championship game, UCLA went head to head with crosstown foe USC on Sunday evening. Seven different Bruins found the back of the net, but it was not enough to overtake USC's fire power. With multiple-goal performances from Stansfield, Haralabidis, and Peterson, UCLA was unable to keep pace and fell short, 7-10, as the clock hit 00:00.
Next up, the Bruins head to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Wolverine Invitational. UCLA faces Loyola Marymount and George Washington on Saturday, Mar. 5, followed by Michigan and Bucknell on Sunday, Mar. 6.
No. 2 UCLA (4, 0, 5, 1 – 10)
Zwirner, Grab, Pratt, Tielmann – 2; Rozeboom, Forster – 1
No. 6 Hawai'i (2, 1, 2, 1 – 6)
Abellan, Gonzalez – 2; Aan, Bell – 1
Saves: UCLA (Kapana – 8); Hawai'i (n/a)
No. 1 USC (3, 2, 4, 1 – 10)
S. Haralabidis – 3; Stansfield, Peterson – 2; I. Haralabidis, McKelvey, Games – 1
No. 2 UCLA (2, 1, 3, 1 – 7)
Rozeboom, Zwirner, Schilling, Grab, Forster, O'Brien, Pratt – 1
Saves: USC (Longan – 10); UCLA (Musselman – 10)
