No. 2 UCLA Hosts SJSU, Bruin Invite
March 30, 2016 | Women's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The No. 2 UCLA women's water polo team returns home for an action-packed weekend as the Bruins host No. 11 San Jose State on Saturday followed by the Bruin Invitational on Sunday. Joining UCLA and SJSU at the Bruin Invite are Pomona-Pitzer and Redlands.
UCLA (17-2, 2-0 MPSF) is on a six-game win streak since falling to top-ranked Southern California in the title game of the UC Irvine Invitational last month. To kick off the month of March, the Bruins went 4-0 at the Wolverine Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich. In addition to routing George Washington and Bucknell, UCLA also took down No. 15 Loyola Marymount and fifth-ranked Michigan.
The Bruins opened MPSF play with a pair of wins against No. 24 Cal State Bakersfield and No. 8 Cal. Last week's tilt with the Golden Bears was a defensive showdown. Despite being held scoreless in the first and fourth quarters by the third-ranked team defense in the conference, the Bruins nabbed a 4-3 win.
In 19 outings this season, the Bruins have presented a well-balanced attack with multiple scoring threats. Forster leads the squad with 29 goals, followed by junior Mackenzie Barr (27), sophomore Devin Grab (25), and junior Alexa Tielmann (21). Also in double-digit scoring are freshman Lizette Rozeboom, junior Ashley Zwirner, senior Charlotte Pratt, and junior Kelsey O'Brien. In total, the Bruins have compiled 211 goals on offense, 114 of which were assisted, while holding opponents to 99.
Defensively, the team has tallied 54 blocks and 18 steals. Pratt leads the team with 12 blocks while junior Aubrie Monahan leads in steals with four. In goal, rookie Carlee Kapana has put up 96 saves and ranks second in the MPSF with a goals-against average of 4.84. Veteran keeper Alex Musselman has stopped 82 shots for an 8.63 saves average, ranking fourth in the MPSF.
Saturday's game against San Jose State takes place at 1 pm PDT. In Sunday's Bruin Invitational, UCLA takes the pool at 11 am PDT and 4:15 pm PDT.
Bruin Invite Schedule
April 3, 2016 at Los Angeles, CA (Spieker Aquatics Center)
11:00 am – UCLA vs. Redlands
12:15 pm – SJSU vs. Pomona-Pitzer
3:00 pm – SJSU vs. Redlands
4:15 pm – UCLA vs. Pomona-Pitzer