UCLA
Long Beach State
UCLA to Visit Long Beach State, Host Alumni Game
February 02, 2017 | Women's Water Polo
The No. 3 UCLA women's water polo team returns to the pool Friday, when it visits Long Beach State for a 6:00 p.m. contest at the Lindgren Aquatics Center. The 6-0 Bruins have moved south during the opening weeks of the season, starting in Saratoga, Calif. and making its way through Santa Barbara, Calif. before this week's return to the Southland.
On Saturday, the Bruins will host its alumni game at Spieker Aquatics Center. The exhibition will begin at 2:00 p.m. and be followed by A Night with Women's Water Polo at the Pavilion Club in Pauley Pavilion.
A Night with Women's Water Polo is an annual event that occurs the evening after the alumni game. This night is not only to celebrate the upcoming season but also to raise money for the team. Parents, Donors, and Alumni are invited to participate in a night of food, drinks, music, raffles and auctions in order to help the women's water polo team achieve their goal of winning a national championship. Registration is $125 per person with a reduced rate for recent alumni of $100. All proceeds from the event go directly towards the women's water polo team. Online registration is now available. For more information and to RSVP CLICK HERE.
This Week -- No. 3 UCLA returns to the pool after 11 days off to take on No. 14 Long Beach State in a Friday road match. The Bruins and 49ers will begin play at 6:00 p.m. at the Lindgren Aquatics Center. UCLA will also host its alumni game Sat., Feb. 4 at 2 p.m.
The Series -- The Bruins hold a 33-0 record all-time versus Long Beach State and most recently defeated the 49ers 11-4 at Spieker Aquatics Center last season (Jan. 24).
Coming Up -- UCLA will officially open its home schedule at Spieker Aquatics Center on Fri, Feb. 17 versus No. 6 UC Irvine at 7 p.m.
Bruins Hold Steady at Third in Week 3 Poll -- UCLA once again checked in at No. 3 in the CWPA poll when the Week 3 edition was announced Feb. 1. The Bruins are also third in the MPSF preseason coaches poll, where they totaled one first-place vote and 28 points overall. Also receiving first-place votes were No. 1 Stanford (four), No. 2 USC (one) and No. 4 California (one). This marks the first time ever that four teams have earned at least one first-place vote in the MPSF preseason coaches poll. The MPSF has been the dominant conference in NCAA women's water polo, winning all 21 national championships since its inaugural season in 1996.
Exclusive Company - The 99 goals scored by UCLA through six contests is the second most by any Bruin team to start a season. The 2015 team scored 108. Meanwhile, the 18 goals allowed by the Bruins over the same period of time is the least surrendered by a UCLA team since the 2005 national championship-winning team (also 18).
Musselman Picks Up Second NOW Honor -- For her efforts last weekend at the UC Santa Barbara Winter Invitational, freshman Maddie Musselman was named the MPSF/Kap7 Newcomer of the Week for the second consecutive week. The honor, which was announced Jan. 24, recognized the attacker's contributions during the Bruins' four wins over ranked opponents. In Saturday's first match, versus No. 10 Pacific, Musselman tallied three goals and three steals in a 15-4 win over the Tigers. Later in the day, the freshman bested her earlier numbers with four goals, two assists and four steals in a 20-5 win over No. 15 Indiana. Sunday, in the early match, Musselman did not score, but assisted on two goals and was a force on defense with two steals versus No. 8 Michigan. She then put an exclamation point on the weekend with five goals and three steals in a 17-2 win over No. 11 UC San Diego. For the weekend, Musselman totaled 12 goals, four assists and four steals. This is her second career MPSF honor.
Record Watch -- Bruin redshirt senior Rachel Fattal has already maneuvered up the UCLA individual career record books over the team's first six games, and is within striking distance of the top spot in two notable categories. With her 14 goals thus far, Fattal has moved into sixth place on the all-time list with 184, just two behind the 186 of Catharine von Schwarz (1996-98, 2000). First on the list is Kelly Rulon, (2003, 2005-07) who netted 237 goals during her career. Fattal's 12 steals, meanwhile, have put her at 166 just one behind Katie Rulon's (2006-09) 167 for a share of second place and 15 behind Kelly Rulon's 181 for a share of the all-time mark.
Krikorian to be Honored -- Bruin water polo alum and UCLA Athletics Hall of Famer Adam Krikorian will be honored with the first-ever "Extraordinary Achievement in Olympic Sport" Award by the Los Angeles Sports Council during the 12th Annual LA Sports Awards on Monday, Feb. 27 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. In addition to his one NCAA title as a player in 1995, Krikorian won three championships as an assistant coach (one with the men's team in 1996 and two with the women's team in 1997 and 1998) and 11 more as a head coach (1999, 2000 and 2004 with the men's team and 2000, 2001, 2003 and a five-peat from 2005-09). As head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team, he has guided Team USA to two Olympic gold medals and three consecutive World League Championshiops. Krikorian has also been honored as Pac-12 Women's Water Polo Coach of the Century and is a member of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame.
Fresh Faces -- Musselman is one of nine freshmen joining the Bruins this season. Joining her is goalkeeper Hannah Storum, attackers Haley Evans, Jenna Hurst, Emily Skelly, and Brooke Maxson and utility players Bronte Halligan, Tara Prentice and Bridgett Storm. Additionally, UCLA returns redshirt seniors Fattal, defender Alys Williams and attacker Kodi Hill, who each took an Olympic redshirt year to train with the U.S. National Team. Junior transfer Donya Dehnad (goalkeeper) also joins the squad.
Who's Returning? -- Two Bruin returnees hit the pool looking to build upon award-winning 2016 campaigns. Senior Mackenzie Barr, who led the Bruins offensively with 44 goals and 28 assists, earned both a first-team All-MPSF nod and an NCAA All-Tournament first-team selection. Sophomore Lizette Rozeboom, meanwhile, shined in her first year and earned a selection to the MPSF All-Newcomer Team. She tallied 40 goals of her own in 2016. Barr (first team), junior Devin Grab (second team), senior Kelsey O'Brien (honorable mention) and reshirt senior Alexa Tielmann (honorable mention) all garnered All-America selections. Barr was also a 2016 Cutino Award finalist to round out her stellar season.
Bruins Capture Gold in Rio -- Five Bruins joined former UCLA women's water polo head coach Adam Krikorian in securing Team USA's first back-to-back gold and fifth consecutive Olympic medal at last summer's Rio Games. Courtney Mathewson, who also won gold in London in 2012, was joined by fellow graduates Sami Hill and KK Clark, as well as current Bruin attacker Rachel Fattal and incoming freshman attacker Maddie Musselman. Musselman tallied 12 goals throughout the Games. Mathewson scored seven, Fattal added four, and Clark contributed two of her own. In the cage, Hill recorded six saves in three games.
Head Coach Brandon Brooks -- Brandon Brooks (UCLA '05) returns for his eighth season, having compiled a 178-39 record over his first seven. Brooks, the 2015 MPSF Coach of the Year, has coached UCLA to three MPSF Tournament titles in six seasons (2010, 2012, 2015). In addition, the Bruins have advanced to the MPSF Tournament championship match five times during his tenure. Twenty-three of Brooks' players have earned 39 All-America certificates, and 21 players have earned 38 All-MPSF awards. As an assistant coach with the men's and women's programs, Brooks was involved in four NCAA championships, and as a player, he was part of two NCAA title teams (1999 and 2000). A two-time Olympic goalkeeper, Brooks was the starting goalkeeper for the 2004 U.S. team that won the silver medal in Athens.
