No. 1 UCLA Hosts MPSF Championship Tournament
April 27, 2017 | Women's Water Polo
The MPSF Tournament comes to UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center, beginning Friday. The event will feature three games during each of its three days, during 11:00 a.m., 12:45 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. time slots. The Bruins, who earned a bye through the first day of competition as the tournament's top seed, will take on the winner of No. 4 Arizona State and No. 5 California in Friday's second semifinal contest (2:30 p.m.). FloSwimming will stream each of the nine games. For more information, including how to buy tickets, visit UCLA's Tourney Central page.
MPSF Tournament Schedule
Seed 1 (UCLA), Seed 2 (Stanford), Seed 3 (USC), Seed 4 (Arizona State), Seed 5 (California), Seed 6 (San Jose State), Seed 7 (CSU Bakersfield)
Friday, April 28
Game 1: 11:00 a.m. โ #2 seed Stanford v. #7 seed CSU Bakersfield
Game 2: 12:45 p.m. โ #3 seed USC v. #6 seed San Jose State
Game 3: 2:30 p.m. โ #4 seed Arizona State v. #5 seed California
Saturday, April 29
Game 4: 11:00 a.m. โ Losers Games 1 & 2
Game 5: 12:45 p.m. โ Winners Games 1 & 2
Game 6: 2:30 p.m. - #1 seed UCLA vs. Winner Game 3
Sunday, April 30
Game 7: 11:00 a.m. โ 5th Place Game (Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5-6)
Game 8: 12:45 p.m. โ 3rd Place Game (Losers Games 5 & 6)
Game 9: 2:30 p.m. โ Championship Game (Winners Games 5 & 6)
MPSFย Tournament Tickets
All Session:
Deck Ticket: $90 (adult and student/youth)
General Admission Adult: $65
General Admission Student/Youth: $40
Single-Session:
Deck Ticket: $40
General Admission Adult: $25
General Admission Student/Youth: $16
The Series -- UCLA holds an all-time record of 19-1 against potential semifinal opponent Arizona State. The teams previously squared off earlier this month at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe, Ariz., where the Bruins recorded a 13-5 MPSF win over the Sun Devils. Alexa Tielmann led the way with four goals, while Rachel Fattal tallied four assists, including the school-record 182nd of her career. The Bruins were also unbeaten against the Golden Bears, who they faced twice in the regular season. The first meeting came in a dramatic finish to the third-place game of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, where Fattal netted a penalty shot with 17 seconds remaining to give UCLA a 12-11 victory in the non-conference contest (Feb. 26). Then, in an MPSF battle less than a month later, Fattal again posted a milestone-achieving performance, as she became the fourth Bruin to reach 200 career goals en route to a third-place spot on the team's all-time goal-scoring list in the Bruins' 10-4 win. UCLA holds a 50-10 all-time record against California.
Coming Up -- The MPSF Tournament will determine the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship, to be played May 12-14 at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind. Last season, USC claimed the automatic bid by virtue of its MPSF Tournament championship. The three at-large bids were swept by UCLA, Stanford and Arizona State--all MPSF teams. The field will be announced May 1 on the NCAA.com Selection Show at 5:00 p.m. (PT).
Bruins Remain No. 1 in CWPA Poll -- Announced Wednesday, UCLA came in at No. 1 in the CWPA rankings for the second consecutive week. With their 11-7 win over crosstown rival USC (April 22), the Bruins picked up two points in the poll. Stanford, which defeated San Jose State in its regular-season finale, 17-3, moved into sole possession of second in the rankings after sharing the spot with USC last week. The Trojans dropped to third. Arizona State and California, which were both inactive last week, round out the top five.
Musselman Named MPSF Player, Newcomer of Week -- UCLA freshman attacker Maddie Musselman was named both the MPSF Player of the Week and the MPSF Newcomer of the Week Tuesday. This marked the first time since the Newcomer award's inception in 2010, that a player won both awards in the same week. Musselman tied her career high with five goals, as the top-ranked Bruins avenged their lone loss against No. 2 USC, 11-7, and capped an undefeated regular-season run through MPSF play. The win secured the top seed in the MPSF Tournament and a first-round bye. Twice, the freshman broke a tie (including the game's first goal at 7:50 of the opening frame), while two other times, she extended the lead to a game-high four goals. Musselman scored her five goals on just seven attempts, and capitalized on three six-on-five opportunities. She added one earned exclusion and a sprint won. The Player of the Week award marked the first of Musselman's career. The Newcomer of the Week honor, meanwhile, increased her record total to seven.
Top-Tier Competition -- With UCLA's win over then-No. 2 USC, the Bruins improved to 5-1 against Top-4 teams on the season. UCLA has recorded two wins against then-No. 4 California (12-11, Feb, 26; and 10-4, March 18), one each against No. 4 Arizona State (13-5, April 8) and then-No. 1 Stanford (10-9, April 15) and now one over USC. The Bruins suffered their lone loss to then-No. 2 USC (10-9, Feb. 25). On the year, the Bruins have outscored Top-4 opponents, 65-46. Individually, Musselman leads the Bruins with 14 goals in those contests, while Fattal has 12. They share the lead with 11 sprints won. Kodi Hill, meanwhile, has posted a Bruin-high 16 assists. Fattal and Bronte Halligan have six steals apiece.
Exclusive Company -- The Bruins have outscored opponents 322-89 through 21 games this season. The 322 goals scored stands as the most by a Bruin team over that period of time, a record that it holds by four goals over the 2007 team. The 233-goal difference between UCLA and its opponents, meanwhile, is also a record. The next closest margin of 228 (293-65) was set by the 1998 team. With the 89 goals allowed, the 2017 Bruins have only been bested by their predecessors from 2003 (59), 1998 (65), 1996 (68), 2006 (75) and 2002 (80) and matched by the 2005 team.
In the Cage -- Goalkeeper Carlee Kapana has tallied 160 saves over 18.99 games played this season (8.43 saves per game). The sophomore allowed zero goals in three quarters of the Bruins MPSF-opening win over San Jose State. In four of her appearances this season, Kapana has surrendered just one goal. For the year, she holds a 4.21 GAA--good for third in the MPSF Kapana also earned her second career MPSF honor and first Player of the Week award on Feb. 21. Freshman Hannah Storum, meanwhile, has finished in the cage on eight occasions. She has tallied 20 saves and surrendered nine goals in 8.05 quarters played this season.
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.
